For many high school seniors, scholarships are the pathway to paying for college. However, it can be difficult to know where to start. The Laker Anchor has compiled a list of tips for successfully applying, for and winning scholarships.
“The best thing to do is listen, have good time management, and ask for help” Naomi Vansingle, a Spring Lake High School counselor advised. Vansingle also said that applying for scholarships specific to the college you are attending is a great way to maximize your chances of winning scholarships.
Manage your time efficiently
Senior year is a stressful and overwhelming time with classwork, college applications, and scholarships. Typically, the hardest part about applying for scholarships is finding scholarships you are eligible for.
Spring Lake students benefit from three counselors who are always filtering through potential scholarships that Spring Lake students are eligible to apply for. Students can visit their class page on Schoology to see what scholarships counselors post about.
Apply to small, local scholarships
Although small scholarships tend to be smaller amounts, fewer people apply to them. Opposed to applying to national scholarships that thousands of students around the country apply to, apply to local, Tri-City scholarships with only a few applicants. It may seem counterintuitive to apply for scholarships with smaller award amounts, but you are statistically more likely to win a local scholarship contest than a nationwide scholarship.
Ask for help
Spring Lake has many resources that students can take advantage of. Not only are counselors available for help, but so are teachers. When writing an essay, have it looked over by a teacher from the English Department. When finalizing your resume, ask Kelli Heavilin, Spring Lakes Business teacher, to review it.
Finally, the best way to maximize your scholarship chances is to maintain a strong academic reputation throughout your high school years. Staying motivated is hard, but when it comes time all the hard work will be with it.