Money Grows on College Campus Trees

How To Get a College Scholarship

Some sources say that there is more than 50 billion dollars in scholarship money available to future college students. Sometimes it seems that getting just one scholarship can be impossible, but the next five steps will make the process much more easier.

1. Don't Get Pessimistic The very first thing that needs to be done is a check on your attitude. If you don't believe that you will get a college scholarship than chances are pretty good that you won't. I would tell you to don't ever give up when trying to apply but the problem is that many students don't even give themselves a chance in the first place. Be positive about getting money for college and don't believe that just because you didn't graduate in the top 10 percent of your class that you won't be able to get some much needed money for your college education.

2. Start early High schoolers would be wise to begin the long search for college money when they are about 16. Before the end of the 10th grade year, parents and students ought to start exploring the financial aid programs that colleges and universities offer. Students need to contact the schools in order find out about college admissions and the requirements each school has for financial aid. You should start looking in your own community because the local-level scholarships aren't as competitive as the national-level ones. One of the best places to locate local scholarship organizations are sororities.

3. Involve the family Obviously parents ought to have the money ready long before their kid moves out of the house. Parents need to be there in every way for their children. They have a special obligation to make sure their children will be able to pay for college. Many high school students have no idea what they are doing in the whole college admissions process. Sadly enough, many high school students don't even realize that they can get free money for college. They are told time after time in high school the potential to get free money, but for some reason they have become accustomed to block out anything a high school counselor has to say and don't ever realize how much opportunity for free money they are missing. Therefore, a parent needs to actively teach a child throughout their high school career that education is so important that organizations, companies, and even individual people are willing to pay for it.

4. Get a head start Just like the 8 lap, 2 mile race, there is alot of benefit to getting a large lead on your competitors. First, students can become eligible for federal grants and work-study money by applying for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is a funding requirement for many colleges. Second, taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) during the junior year of high school will qualify students for a bulk of the national college scholarships that require a PSAT score.

5. Excel in and Out of The Classroom It should be obvious by now that many college admissions officers not only look at the grades but are starting to concentrate on the person instead. This means that you may have the best grades in your class, but unless if have done something to give back to your community, college admissions officers may not be very impressed that you have done nothing to help others and have concentrated solely on your own work and self. Activities outside the classroom are actually more important than high grades and SAT scores to many college scholarship and college admission committees because they want to know how you will impact a community or a college once you get there. Therefore, there is still hope for those who didn't spend all of their time studying in high school. As long as you spent your time actively involved in the community or in extra curricular activities, you should have no problem finding a nice scholarship.

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