Need Money for School? What Not to do when Applying for Scholarships

Only applying for high amount scholarships
Every college-bound student knows that college is expensive, with the national average price tag of $24,610 for in-state public colleges, and a whopping $49,320 for the average private university. Buying books, paying for housing and food can add up quickly and it’s important to have a way to pay for it that isn’t just from student loans.
Knowing you’re not eligible but applying anyway
For many students entering college for the first time are overwhelmed by the enormous cost of education and threat of student loan debt for years to come. If this sounds like you, an excellent route you can take is to apply for scholarships to help shoulder some of this debt from the student, but oftentimes the process can be confusing and overwhelming. The following are common errors that students make when taking on the task of applying for scholarships and paying for school.
Not applying for ones you’re eligible for
You know you need a lot of money to cover the costs of tuition, but one glaring mistake is to only go after the scholarships that promise to yield the most money. First of all, you’re going to be in a huge pool of students who are also applying for the same one. Only going after the awards that are valued at $10,000 will give you horrible odds when the time comes for them to choose the recipient. Instead of only choosing scholarships with high amounts, apply to ones that offer smaller amounts, building your amount as you go. Celebrate every time you receive a $500 award because that’s money you don’t need to spend toward education.
Falling for a scam
Make sure to read the application down to the letter to determine whether or not your situation is applicable. If the award is only for students living in Topeka, KA and you live in New York — don’t apply. If they’re looking a student in a field you aren’t going to study — don’t apply. You’ll only be wasting your time. It doesn’t matter if you craft a winning essay, answer all their questions, and hand it in two months before the deadline; if you aren’t eligible to receive it, you won’t.
The odds will be in your favor if you fire off as many applications that you’re qualified to receive, as possible. Students often make the mistake of not applying for as many scholarships as possible and will leave a lot of money on the table. The average scholarship application is not difficult and will likely not receive as many applications as you may think.
If you’re ready to take the next step and apply for scholarships, check out this list of the top 10 sites to find scholarships.
Legitimate scholarships will never, ever ask you for your credit card information in order to process an application. There are several tells that the award you want to apply for is a scam and CollegeBoard has compiled a list, in case you are questioning its authenticity.
Figuring out what you want to do with your life and the direction you want to take in your education is difficult enough, paying for education doesn’t have to be as stressful.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com on July 21, 2017.
