Posts Tagged ‘money for college’
How to Get a Scholarship: Results and Your Next Step
[Note: This is part three of a three part series on How to Get a Scholarship. To read parts one and two, visit Research and Planning and Choosing and Applying.]
Photo: howtolearn.com
After researching, choosing, and applying for a scholarship, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself! Then, gear up to receive results and take the next step in your journey to college education. The good news? No matter what the results, Cappex is here to help.
After Applying
- Check to see if there is a way to track the status of your application. There might be a timeline offered by the organization to track the application process.
- Find out how the organization will notify you with results. If it’s through email, be sure to check your email (and keep an eye on that pesky Spam folder) regularly. If it’s through the US Postal Service, be sure you don’t throw out any mail that might pertain to your scholarship.
- Don’t bank on one scholarship – continue researching your options to maximize your chances of earning college funds.
Results: The Good
- Congratulations! You’ve won a scholarship!
- If you don’t know already, find out how the funds will reach you. Will it be through a check or through your university? Make sure you know how and when the scholarship will be applied so you can track the transactions.
- You basically have a first draft of a college essay written. Cool! Use it on your college applications when it is relevant.
- Start budgeting and planning how you can use your funding most effectively. If the scholarship can be applied anywhere, decide what works best for you financially.
- Try to calculate what you will still owe after using your scholarship money. Then, apply for more scholarships!
Results: The Bad
- Don’t freak out if you didn’t win the first few scholarships for which you applied. This is totally normal – you’re not going to win them all.
- Keep looking. Keep digging. Keep asking and researching opportunities. Talk to your guidance counselor if you are having trouble. They may have some secret weapons and places to look.
- Ask the organization that denied your application for notes on why you were not accepted. They might be able to offer good advice on your writing skills. It also might be reassuring to know that they just had too many applicants this year and it was only a matter of numbers.
- Don’t give up! Try filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) if you have not already.
The most important thing to remember is that time spent on scholarships is time well spent. They are terrific opportunities with many benefits. You gain experience and the good feeling of working hard towards something special – your college years!
How to Get a Scholarship: Research and Planning | Choosing and Applying | Results and Your Next Step
How to Get a Scholarship: Choosing and Applying
[Note: This is part two of a three part series on How to Get a Scholarship. To read part one, visit Research and Planning.]
Photo: buzzle.com
Scholarships are excellent tools for helping students pay for their education. Students can be rewarded with a scholarship for everything from their academic performance to their artistic ability. However, with all of the options available today, it is not always obvious which scholarships to choose or how to submit an application. The good news? Cappex is here to help you find the right scholarship opportunities for you.
Choosing
- It’s important to research many different scholarships. You probably will not find a perfect fit on your first try, nor find one scholarship that can cover everything.
- Consider your financial need. If to this point, you are completely without any funding for school, choose a scholarship that gives you as much monetary help as possible. You may be able to find one that offers funding each year, instead of all at once.
- Consider your time frame. If the deadline is one week away, make sure you have enough time to complete the application and do a good job. If you don’t think you can, check to see if the scholarship is offered every year. You might be able to apply the next year, giving yourself more preparation time.
- Consider whom the scholarship targets. Choose only those scholarships that actually pertain to you. If you’re considering a scholarship for student musicians, do not try to fake a musical interest or talent. Choose one with criteria you meet – if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. It’s out there!
- Consider your competition. If this is a national scholarship, you know you’ll have to stand out among thousands of other students. If this is a private business or a local organization offering funding to a specific group, you may have a greater chance of earning that scholarship money.
- Consider the source. Make sure the organization offering the scholarship is legitimate and follows through. If it looks questionable, try to contact someone who can give you real answers and send you physical information on how you will receive funding. Make sure you know how to avoid scholarship scams.
- Bottom line? If you find a scholarship opportunity that immediately excites you, do it! Anything that gets you pumped up about education is a good thing. Trust your instincts.
Applying
- It may sound silly, but be sure to fill out the application completely! If you are lacking a component or have incorrect information listed, you run a great risk of being tossed out before even being considered.
- Don’t complete the application in one sitting, especially for those scholarships that ask for an essay. Create drafts, edit your work, and have someone else you trust look over your application and give you feedback.
- To make the application process easier, keep a master list of all of your credentials and accomplishments. Use this as a reference when applying to each scholarship!
- Be thorough and use concrete examples in your essay. Generalizing will not help you stand out!
How to Get a Scholarship: Research and Planning | Choosing and Applying | Results and Your Next Step
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How to Get a Scholarship: Research and Planning
Photo: smartmoneydaily.com
Scholarships are becoming an increasingly crucial way for students from all walks of life to pay for their schooling. Scholarships open up doors and provide opportunities for college education that would otherwise remain out of reach. The hardest part? Getting started and finding the best scholarships for you! The good news? Cappex is here to help you find them.
First and foremost, don’t assume that you won’t qualify for scholarships! They are not just awarded for perfect grades or financial need, although those are certainly great reasons to apply for funding. Don’t give up before you’ve researched your options.
Research
- Scholarships exist everywhere, even in unlikely places.
- Check with local businesses – often they have programs or small scholarships available to students planning to go into business or marketing.
- Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship may offer scholarships to students going into religious studies or those that have completed volunteer work.
- Look into opportunities at the schools to which you are applying. Sometimes scholarships are offered after a student has performed well for several semesters.
- Word of mouth can be a great tool. Let friends and family know you are on the lookout for scholarships. They may know of ones you’d be interested in or have advice where to look.
- Check out these cool essay contests.
- Take the PSAT (Practice SAT)! You can opt to have your scores sent to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which sponsors the PSAT. They offer scholarships to students with excellent scores. Plus, its great practice for the real SAT.
- Visit Cappex for scholarships that align with your interests or major. There is funding available for everything from the arts to engineering!
- Clear up scholarship myths and misconceptions by checking out these Scholarship Myths Debunked.
Planning
- Start early. Give yourself enough time to research, apply, and try again if for some reason your first few attempts are unsuccessful.
- Apply to more than one! Don’t be afraid of utilizing multiple scholarships to pay for your education. Just make sure that they don’t interfere with any Federal Aid you are receiving.
- Scholarships have deadlines. Again, the earlier you begin searching for the scholarship that is right for you, the better your chances are of completing the application on time.
- The PSAT has a sign-up deadline, too! Sign up early in the school year to take it when your high school offers it. Usually, the PSAT is offered in October.
- Set aside a small amount of time each day to do one thing on your scholarship To-Do List. Whether this is “Find One New Scholarship” or “Write INTRO to Scholarship Essay,” make time to do it. Small steps lead you to your big goals.
How to Get a Scholarship: Research and Planning | Choosing and Applying | Results and Your Next Step
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7 Scholarship Applications for Students to Complete Before 2012
There are so many scholarship opportunities out there, and as a blogger for Cappex, I feel it is my pseudo-superhuman duty to bestow some of them upon you for you to click on.
Students get so severely stressed out about finding scholarships even though there are thousands upon thousands upon thousands of scholarships out there to be had. A little work just has to go into it. Maybe some organization, some time to actually apply, some more time to review your work, and maybe a little more time to make it extra super appealing to whoever will be reading your application.
Just because you apply for a scholarship doesn’t mean you’ve done a good job at showing the scholarship providers that you deserve it. But you probably do deserve a nice hunk of free money; so take the time these scholarship applications probably deserve instead of just crossing your fingers that some Wizard of Oz type person will just pick your name out of a hat. Give youself a step up!
Start now. See if you’re a match for these scholarships, all due before 2012.
1. Dr Pepper Million Dollar Tuition Giveaway
Deadline: December 31
Award range: $2,500-$100,000
Quick fact: Open to high school juniors through college juniors, Dr Pepper will be awarding 50 different students with big, like really big, scholarships.
2. ScholarshipPoints.com Scholarship
Deadline: December 14
Award range: $500-$10,000
Quick fact: This scholarship’s application process shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.
3. Most Valuable Student Award
Deadline: December 2
Award range: $1,000-$15,000
Quick fact: Open to all high school students, this scholarship is renewable, which means it actually can add up to $60,000 total!
4. Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Student Essay Contest
Deadline: November 11
Award range: $50-$100
Quick fact: Available for all high school students.
5. STOP hunger Scholarships
Deadline: December 5
Award range: $5,000
Quick fact: All grades, high school and up, with volunteer or community service are eligible to apply for this renewable scholarship–remember, renewable.
6. Imagine America Scholarship Program
Deadline: December 31
Average award: $1,000
Quick fact: High school seniors and college freshman must be attending or plan to attend a participating US career college.
7. Ecologist Initiative Scholarship
Deadline: December 31
Average award: $850
Quick fact: This scholarship is meant to engage young people from around the world in environmental clean-up and conservation projects. If that’s passion of yours, apply!
Will you apply to any of these? How much time do you spend on scholarships applications?
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The Easiest, Coolest, Bestest Scholarship Ever Now Exists
That’s right, ‘bestest’ is not a word. But it certainly applies to the scholarship that Cappex has just unleashed on the public:
The Cappex $1 Butterfly Effect Scholarship
You’re right again, that’s not a typo. We are giving away $1 scholarships to A LOT of people.
Want more details?
Watch this video to get a clear idea of why we’re giving away dollar bills and how it can turn into a $2,500 scholarship:
[youtube width="600" height="350"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM37lhi4E3I[/youtube]
Still need a bit more of a breakdown?
We want to give you $1 as a kinda symbolic gesture to mark the start of your college and scholarship search. It’s like the first flutter on the way to your big college dreams.
So what we’re trying to say is that just like how the small action of a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a chain of events that leads to a large-scale hurricane halfway around the world, one dollar can be the thing that sets in motion the events that lead to your awesome dreams.
Plus, apply for your dollar, and you’re also eligible for the $2,500 scholarship!
If you’re already a member on Cappex, you should apply by logging into Cappex.com and going to the scholarships tab.
If you’ve never been on Cappex before, go here.
The most important thing, is that to really make the butterfly effect grow like crazy, we need your help! Share this linke– http://www.cappex.com/butterfly — on Facebook, Twitter, or just through word of mouth.
Will you join the Butterfly Effect?
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Scholarship Alert! 7 Scholarships to Apply for Today
Looking for scholarships can be a tedious process (especially if you– cough, cough– haven’t made a Cappex.com profile that will literally match you to scholarships that are in your reach). So, from us to you, here is a list of 7 scholarships with approaching deadlines that are all fairly simple to apply to.
See if you’re a match!
1. Womenetics Advancing Aspirations Global Scholarship
Amount-$1,500-$5,000
Deadline-August 12
Quick fact-Don’t be turned away men! This scholarship is open to both men and women enrolled in college.
2. AFSA Second Chance Scholarship
Amount-$1,000
Deadline-August 24
Quick fact- 5 scholarships will be awarded.
3. “First Kiss” Scholarship
Amount-$500
Deadline-September 1
Quick fact-Available for high school students to adult college students, all you have to do to apply is write a 250 word story about your, yep, first kiss. Haven’t had one yet? Make it up.
4. Go! Study Abroad Scholarship
Amount-$1,000
Deadline-September 15
Quick fact- This is for students who are planning on studying abroad.
5. Ayn Rand “Atlas Shrugged” Scholarship
Amount- $50-$10,000
Deadline-September 17
Quick fact-Yes, a book and an essay are involved, but there will be 84 scholarship winners!
6. Hit the Books Scholarship
Amount- $500
Deadline-September 30
Quick fact- Scholarship award must be used for educational books and materials.
7. Just Poetry Scholarship
Amount-$100-$500
Deadline-September 30
Quick fact-9 scholarships will be awarded to applicants who submit their original poetry.
Looking for more scholarships? Check out www.cappex.com/scholarships.
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Recent Cappex Scholarship Winners!
Cappex.com is very excited to announce our most recent scholarship winners from Spring 2011. These students have proven that with their leadership and volunteer activities, they can make a difference in the world. Congratulations!
You can be a scholarship winner too by making a Cappex profile! Your profile will then be used as your “application” for the Cappex scholarships, like, say, these two coming up:
A GPA Isn’t Everything and I Don’t Want to Pay for College.
That’s exactly what these two superstars did to win their scholarships:
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“A GPA Isn’t Everything” Scholarship – Winter II Scholarship Winner: Rebecca D. from Mt. Prospect, Ill., will be attending college next fall. During her high school career, she served as a member of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and eventually its President for two school years. The program was recognized as one of the best programs in the state and won grants from the Operation Teen Safe Driver for its success. Rebecca was also a peer tutor and a member of her school’s service organization which works to better the community and help with special needs schools as well as the elderly.
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“I Don’t Want to Pay for College” – Spring Scholarship Winner: Matthew J., from Murfreesboro, Tenn., is currently a college student with a broad background in volunteer and service with his church and Boy Scouts including canned food drives, making care packages for the 101st Airborne and community clean up. Matthew’s a talented student who channeled his passion for music and science into an awesome project where he designed, produced and then performed with two homemade instruments. |
Want to see past scholarship winners? Check them out on our Facebook page!
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10 College Scholarships with Spring Deadlines
As spring approaches (hopefully sooner than later), the stress of figuring out how to pay for college begins to settle in. After all, you’ve spent the last year freaking out about applying to colleges and then freaking out even more waiting to hear back from college admissions…So, you probably haven’t thought too heavily about how you’ll scrap up the tuition.
Lucky for you, Education Today’s Suzanne Shaffer has made a list of 10 great college scholarships for all kinds of students. Here are the 10 scholarships she recommends for this spring:
1. Holocaust Remembrance Project Essay Contest
Scholarship award: 10 first place winners–$2,500 to $5,000; 10 second place winners–$500, 10 third place winners–$250.
2. New Threats to Freedom Scholarships
Scholarship award: $1000 to $5,000
3. Marine Technology Society Scholarships
Scholarship award: up to $10,000
4. Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest
Scholarship award: first place-$5,000 second place-$3,000 third place-$2,000
5. Buick Achievers Scholarship Program
Scholarship award: renewable $25,000/year for 100 college freshmen and $2,000/year for 1,000 college freshmen
6. Cappex “I Don’t Want to Pay for College” Scholarship
Scholarship award: easy application for $1,000
7. ScholarshipExperts.com Essay Scholarship
Scholarship award: $1,000 to $3,000
8. DAR (Daughters of the Revolution) Scholarship
Scholarship award: varies
9. 2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Scholarship award: $2,000
10. AARP Women’s Scholarship
Scholarship award: $500 to $5,000
And if you want even more scholarships, there’s a goldmine on Cappex.
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