The perfect time to prepare for college is during the last two years of high school. At this time, it’s essential for you to take your standardized tests and complete college essays. If you take the SAT or ACT during high school and don’t do as well as you would like, it’s reasonable to take the tests again, and you can be fully prepared by having One on One ACT Test Preparation. The college or scholarship applications is an essential part of ensuring that you get into the college of your choice and have enough funds to finance your education. Because the strength of your applications is representative of the effort you put forth, give it your best.
There may be several obstacles a student must face when deciding on which college to attend. For many people, scholarships are the only way that they can attend a university or college—especially if they are interested in obtaining a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree, which can be very expensive. The cost of an education is often discouraging and prevents some students from enrolling in their first college choice. However, the promise of a scholarship gives them an extra edge to apply. Scholarships can give people the opportunity to attend school without getting themselves into deep debt or spending money that they simply cannot afford to spend on school.
If you are interesting in scholarships, it is safe to say that you have probably been focusing on the “big guns.” In other words, you are probably looking for the scholarships that can pay for your annual tuition—or at least come close to it. These big scholarships are definitely worthwhile, and you should apply for them; but you should not overlook the “lesser” scholarships, or those that offer around $2000 or less as a prize.
Between college campus visits, researching the perfect college and filling out applications choosing a college can be a daunting process. However, when you factor in scholarship applications it’s even more cumbersome. The benefits are definitely worth the time it takes to complete these tasks. Scholarships are a good way to get money for college that you don’t have to pay back and helps take the burden off paying for your education.
It may seem more worthwhile to put all of your energy into applying for scholarships that will almost pay off your tuition, rather than potentially waste your time with scholarships that might not even cover the cost of your school books. But it is a mistake to think that these “lesser” scholarships are any less worthwhile than the scholarships offering ten grand or more—and here’s two reasons why.
Remember, every little bit of money towards your tuition counts. And if you are applying towards multiple lesser scholarship (definitely recommended!) then you may find out that your “little” prizes add up to a decent amount of money. For example, winning six scholarships of “just” $500 will add up to $3000 in all—winning six scholarships of $1000 will add up to $6000, and so on. Your chances of winning may be significantly low depending on the requirements. The type of scholarship offered here is open to just about everyone.
Think how many people are applying for the big scholarships. Nationwide scholarships, scholarships sponsored by wealthy organizations, etc., are going to be both highly publicized and highly coveted. Depending on the regulations of the scholarship, you might be competing with hundreds, thousands or hundreds of thousands of other students for the top prize.
A “lesser” scholarship, on the other hand, is more likely to be both local and overlooked due to the “low” scholarship prize. This means that you may have a higher chance of winning the scholarship.
