Many high school students are currently either finishing up their junior year of high school or are waiting for responses from colleges that they have applied to. In lieu of this time period, it is a good opportunity for junior and senior high school students to start seeking out scholarships, in order to minimize the cost of attending college. As a former Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund application reader (one of the largest Asian scholarship organizations in the United States) and a Gates Millennium Scholarship recipient, I wanted to provide a few tips to students as to how to maximize scholarship opportunities to help offset the financial burden of going to college.
TIP #1: Apply to as many scholarships as possible.
While it may seem that I am stating the obvious, students will often fail to maximize their application opportunities either due to procrastination or unwarranted misgivings. Some of the concern that students feel is whether they will even be considered for the scholarship, as many times they believe that they didn’t struggle as much in their personal life in comparison to other people who may have gone through factors such as homelessness. While it may be true to a certain extent, this thought process should not be a delimiting factor as to whether to apply. Let the scholarship funders and readers make that decision.
TIP #2: Be honest and sincere in the scholarship essays.
This is an important factor that scholarship readers are evaluating for. Many times, I have seen essays from students that are short and/or lack the emotional depth needed to capture my attention. It is important for students to talk about their personal background, especially if it is one that clearly details their personal struggles and their triumphs over the difficulties life tosses their way. It is these type of essays that not only tell me that the student is still striving to achieve his or her best (as evident from applying to the scholarship), but also that the student is resilient. Many times, students feel as if scholarships are a measurement for how much one has struggled personally -- that if they did not become homeless, starve, or come from a single parent or foster family background, that their difficulties are trivial. This is not at all the case, as struggles come in different shapes and sizes. It is good that students recognize their personal privileges and opportunities that they received, but students should also recognize that the purpose of scholarships are also to recognize individual’s hard work and achievements. So make sure to write personal essays that show how you grew over the years.
TIP #3: If a scholarship has a multiple essay requirement, use that to your advantage.
Students tend to end up looking at essay requirements for scholarships preemptively give up. Personally when I was applying to the Gates Millennium Scholarship, I remember looking at the 6 essay requirement and automatically thinking about not applying. Already as a high school student with a lot of academic and extracurricular responsibilities, I felt really unmotivated to apply. On top of all this, there is no guarantee that I was going to receive the scholarship. Even though this was the case, I ended up completing the application reasoning that these essays can serve as templates for future essays to other scholarships. A simple strategic choice in hindsight but its a decision that is hugely beneficial in the long run. To my befuddlement, I eventually received the Gates Millennium Scholarship despite my initial reluctance to commit to the immense workload.
In Royal Education, we ground our work through our personal experiences, implementing informed and supportive methods to ensure that all students are successful in their own capacities. We hope that this article was helpful in preparation for applying to scholarships. If you have any questions about our services or want us to write about a particular topic, feel free to reach out to us in the following social media outlets:
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