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How to Start the College Scholarship Process
Do you want to win money for school, but have no idea how to start the scholarship process? Help is here!
I recommend that parents begin by talking to their students about their financial situation and how they plan to make the scholarship process a team effort. If students are aware of their parents’ desire to help them find and win scholarships, they will be more willing to do their share of the work involved. (Learn how I helped my son win scholarships and graduate from college debt-free here)
Talking about the high cost of college, the family’s financial situation, and how scholarship money can greatly reduce future student debt will help students see how important it is to start early and do everything they can to win scholarships.
These conversations are not always comfortable, but are extremely important as students begin their college search and start to get inundated with standardized test prep information and college brochures early on in high school.
The next step is to set up a file box with the following folders: resume, transcripts, letters of recommendation, community service, test results, honors/awards won, tax information, applied scholarships, not yet applied, scholarships won, college brochures, essays, employment, and printing materials.
Get organized!
Having a place to put all the information that will be coming your way is key to getting organized right from the start. Let your students know exactly where you are going to collect their information and encourage them to get in the habit of adding any correspondence from school that has to do with college and scholarships to the designated folder.
Creating a digital folder on your computer is another way to quickly save information that you think may be useful, and your student can forward any emails or articles they receive to you or save them to be referenced later in the scholarship process.
In regards to community service and employment, it is good to know early on that many organizations offering scholarships will want to know exactly how many hours per week the student has volunteered or worked all through high school.
Figuring out that number when the student is a senior is a daunting task, so keeping track of the hours as soon as he or she starts high school is a great way to easily provide an accurate number when filling out scholarship applications.
THESE PARENTS HELPED THEIR KIDS WIN SCHOLARSHIPS
Also, make a note of the names and contact information for each job or community service project in which the student has been involved.
Employers and volunteer coordinators can be great sources when students need quality letters of recommendation as part of the scholarship application package.
Community service is a large part of many scholarship applications, as I share in this post here, so encouraging students to start volunteering early in high school is a great way to prepare them to be eligible to apply for more scholarships.
Would you like to read more? I have put together step-by-step scholarship guide ebooks sharing exactly how I helped my son win enough college scholarships to graduate from college debt-free.
GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPIES NOW
Open to High School Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors! APPLY NOW HERE
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The Ultimate Scholarship Book is the perfect companion to my ebooks. Find thousands of scholarships in the big green book and learn how to win them with the strategies found in How to Win College Scholarships.
Monica Matthews is the author of How to Win College Scholarships. She helped her own son win over $100,000 in college scholarships and now shares her expertise with other parents and their students. She truly has “been there, done that” in regard to helping parents and students navigate the scholarship process.
Her method of helping students in finding college scholarships, writing unique and compelling scholarship essays, creating amazing scholarship application packets, and more have taught desperate parents to help their own students win thousands of scholarship dollars. She teaches them how to apply S.M.A.R.T. with outstanding results.
Monica’s scholarship tips have been featured on many prominent websites, and she has been dubbed the “Go-To” expert on college scholarships.
This is such a great resource, Monica! Your experience provides wonderful information for families seeking $$ for scholarships!
Thank you, Terri. I love what I do and the emails I receive from happy scholarship winning families are AWESOME! 🙂
Great advice. With big things like this, feeling overwhelmed & not knowing where to start is the biggest hurdle!
Yes, it can seem so overwhelming at first. I just talked to a mom whose college daughter just won a scholarship. She said her daughter knew exactly what to do since she learned how to apply for scholarships using the ideas in my guide while in high school. I LOVE hearing true stories like that! 🙂
Oh how I wish I had this ten years ago when I was applying for scholarships! Very great article!
Thank you, Tony! Please feel free to share my scholarship info with your friends and family who have college-bound students. 🙂
Fantastic advice – college is already a confusing, massive process. It’s good that there’s someone like you out there helping keep the way towards scholarships clear and concise!
Thank you, Tony!