As an adult, you don’t need to be persuaded that college is important. Whether you attended or not, you can recognize that having a college degree helps you set the stage for your life and career. It is pretty easy to see the importance of college given your experience. The same cannot be said for your kids in high school.
Despite what you may have told them, they do not have the same outlook on college as you do now. The whole process can seem intimidating, and there is a whole lot to worry about financially such as student loans and tuition. Basically, there is plenty of pressure that can influence how your teenager approaches things.
You may be thinking about what you can do to help. Well, you are in luck.
There are alternatives that can erase all of the anxiety your teen may be experiencing. These alternatives are scholarships. Otherwise known as “free money,” they come in handy financially. In some cases, they can even cover the entire cost of tuition. It is your job to make sure your teenager knows how to find these opportunities.
There's a lot that you can do to motivate your child to start applying for scholarships Click To Tweet. Here are a couple of tips to tell your kids when thinking about scholarship applications.
Use Scholarship Search Tools
There are plenty of helpful tools when it comes to scholarships. The best resources are scholarship websites that organize and provide details on different “free money” opportunities. These resources come with more than just scholarships; for instance, they are normally accompanied by various different advice pieces and guidance. Students can learn about and find almost any scholarship with these online, free resources.
Start Early
The importance of getting started early on scholarships cannot be understated. From a volume standpoint, you have the best chances of winning a scholarship by simply applying to as many as possible. On top of this, your chances of winning multiple scholarships increases. This is accomplished by starting the search process early. How early? Really early. Most high school students should start searching for scholarships by the start of Junior year Click To Tweet.
Find Weird Scholarships
One of the hardest aspects of the scholarship game is the competition. Since these opportunities are so
popular, there are thousands if not tens of thousands of applications for just one big scholarship.
The best way to get around this competition is to search for a scholarship that fits into a specific niche. These opportunities are known as “weird scholarships.” An example would be an award that is only offered to red-heads; another example is a scholarship for people who wear glasses. The key is to get creative with your searches. This is something that the scholarship resources mentioned earlier can help with.
Get Organized
In reality, getting organized is paramount for any project. It is extremely important for the scholarship application process. If your kid has been applying to hundreds of scholarships, then it is easy to see how disorganization can impede the overall process. Without proper organization, your child may find himself or herself revisiting old scholarships or miss entire groups of scholarships.
Find Local Scholarships
The incentive for finding local scholarships is essentially the same for finding weird scholarships. You want to apply to a scholarship with lower competition, and you want to seem more relevant to the organization as a candidate. By looking at local opportunities, this is exactly what you are doing. There will simply be less applicants to contend with, and the scholarship is more relevant to you since you live in the area.
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Andrew is a freelance writer and content manager who has taken an interest in personal finance. After graduating from college with plenty of student loan debt, he decided to start spreading advice on student loans and funding higher education. One of his side projects is a start-up scholarship website, ScholarshipFly, that already has plenty of scholarship listings.
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I attended college and it was and continues to be a huge financial burden. This list is great for people with kids and those who want to go to college. Wish I saw this when I was going to school. 🙂
Student debt really is such a burden! I managed to get through school debt free, but like you I wish I had read some of these ideas beforehand. There are so many scholarships available nowadays. Thanks for leaving your two cents, Mary!