How to Get College Scholarships: A Beginner's Guide

Families don’t often think about this until it’s too late, but grades and standardized tests are the biggest way to scholarships. When scholarships are based off of grades and test scores (that are standard across the board), those last for all four years of school. Multiply the dollar amount of the scholarship by 4 and that’s a lot of money!

But what if it’s too late? What if you can’t go back and fix your grades or re-take standardized tests? People often think of scholarships when a student is applying or has already applied to their schools (typically Junior-Senior year).

Don’t worry, there are other options for you.

At this point, it’s about taking matters into your own hands. Applying to scholarships is truly a job in itself. You have to search, write essays, fill out applications, and they may even ask for a video submission (we are seeing this more and more). Kelly’s favorite site for scholarship search is https://myscholly.com/.

At this site, the students create a profile and it will send scholarships it knows the student is already qualified for, to their profile. This takes a lot of the work off your plate when you don’t have to filter through all available scholarships for what applies to you, the student. They also show you a score to show how well it matches your profile.

Students don’t often feel motivated to write essays, make a video, or fill out these long forms to apply for scholarships. Especially when the student isn’t taking on the financing for college personally (it typically falls on the parents). It truly is a job to search for scholarships. And they are trying to enjoy their remaining time in high school – going to games, seeing friends, and making memories.

They don’t always know where to look and they may get discouraged just from searching for available scholarships before applying. But scholarships make a big difference and they require more than submitting your name and hoping you get a reply. Putting the work in up front pays off financially, of course, but it also relieves a lot of stress during the college years.

There are things parents can do as well. Many company’s offer scholarships or have programs, so they should check with their employer. The company’s vendors will often have money available as well. Churches, Kiwanis, and other organizations like this are great resources for scholarships too.

Think of the different activities that the parent and the student has participated in during their high school years, these organizations can have scholarship money available. Sometimes all it takes is thinking outside of the box and reaching out to those organizations.

If you need help finding and applying for scholarships, visit our contact us page to get started with College Recruiting Specialists. We offer help with standardized testing, college search, applications, and more. We’re here to help guide you down the road to the best college for you!