Scholarship Tip Sheet for Students by Shelly Siegel

 SCHOLARSHIP TIP SHEET FOR STUDENTS! 

What is a scholarship? A scholarship is a financial award for a  student to help them further their education. Usually they are  funds set up by an individual donor, or an organization, or a  company that wishes to assist those who may seek education  relative to their own values and goals. 

What is a Foundation? A foundation is an entity or  organization that supports charitable activities by making  grants or scholarships. A foundation (often non-profit) that  usually raises monies and finds ways to make them available to  individuals or groups who are seeking to meet the goals of the  established foundation. Many colleges and universities have  their own foundations. Their sole purpose is to raise money to  offer scholarships to their students. 

Myth: Only smart people get scholarships. Not true.  Scholarships are set up to help all students succeed, Criteria  vary depending on the wishes of the donors.  

Warning! Never pay for scholarship search! Also, never give  credit card information to hold or open an account. 

The following sites listed below will help you get started on a  search for scholarships. Try not to become overwhelmed.  There are a lot of scholarships out there. Start by choosing  ten or even five. 

In addition, check your local resources. And remember to check  with your TRIO staff.

Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Community Centers, Rotary  Clubs, Banks, AND your college or university often have their own foundations. Sometimes if a family member is part of a  labor union, the union provides scholarships. Credit unions also  can offer scholarships. 

SOME IMPORTANT GUIDELINES 

1. Keep a list of the scholarships that you might apply for.  CREATE A SCHOLARSHIP DATABASE FOR YOURSELF – Use  column titles such as: Title of scholarship, award amount,  Is it offered annually, criteria, due date, word limit,  requires letter of recommendation? If yes, how many? 

Check for the following: 

2. Who qualifies? 

3. How much is the award compared to the work involved in  applying? For example, if it is a $500 scholarship, and they  are asking you to submit a lot of information, is it worth  the time?  

4. What are the criteria? You must meet them all. 5. What are the questions or prompts that you must answer? You must address them all or your essay will not score high  enough to win, and you must answer them fully. 

6. How many words is the essay? Stick to this or you could be  disqualified. 

7. If you win, do you have to be accountable to the donor  later?

8. Apply, apply, apply. You may not win them all, but you  won't win any if you don't apply. The more you apply for,  the better your chances. 

9. Once you win, add the title/s of the scholarship/s to your  resume. Scholarships mean more than money. They  demonstrate you were recognized for your passion to  succeed. 

10. Pay attention to the posted deadline. Be sure you have  everything you need to complete your application before it  is due.  

11. Many scholarships require letters of recommendation.  Find professionals who can write on your behalf rather  than friends or family. Ask for letters of recommendation  far in advance to give your recommenders time.  

A FEW WORDS OF CAUTION 

CHECK with your financial aid office. If the funds are  awarded to your college or university, and you have used  100 percent of your loans and grants, there could be  consequences. This can happen if your aid disburses  before you receive the scholarship money. 

Usually, it takes 6-9 months to apply and then receive the  award. Start now! If you are applying for several, make  sure you wait to hear if you were awarded the scholarship  before taking out any loans!!!

SOME EXCELLENT SCHOLARSHIP SITES 

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The North Dakota State College of Science has an amazing  scholarship website.  

1. They keep it current. 

2. They include deadline dates that are easy to see. 3. Some links are connected to even more links. 

4. It's massive – so you must have patience to sort through  the scholarships that are relevant to you! 

EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIPS LINK 

**************************************************** UNIGO.COM 

1. UNIGO is a legit scholarship, career info database, and  college exploration site. 

2. You don't have to create an account to search scholarships  for your area 

3. It includes tons of resources – so can be overwhelming

Choose Explore College Scholarships from the dropdown menu: 

Scroll down and find the list of links on the right-hand side of  the screen: 

Choose from the menu: 

I suggest Scholarships by State to start with. However, start  searching through all of the links. 

Collegeboard.org 

College Board Scholarship Site LINK 

Jack Cook Kent Scholarships 

https://www.jkcf.org/our-scholarships/ 

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There many are other national free scholarship websites that  are legit. Most of them require you to register an account.  Here are three more…. 

Scholarships.com

Fastweb.com 

Chegg.com (for discounts on text books) 

Contact Shelly Siegel for more information: Ssiegel@nhcc.edu 

763-424-0904