Remember when your parents told you not to accept candy from strangers? They were mostly right. (Please be smart.)

But there are strangers out there looking to help you pay for college. That candy you should not only accept, but you should educate yourself on how to find more. Bonus: this kind doesn’t ruin your teeth. Better candy… made of cash.

In simple terms, scholarships are money you get because someone—a person, a company, a non-profit, a college—sees something in you and, as a result, wants to help you succeed.

What do they see?

Your academics, athletic ability, and artistic merit are what most people think of. But sometimes it’s just your willingness to participate—e.g. make a speech, write an essay, even design a prom dress out of duct tape—or a circumstance or quality that you could have no control over, like who your parents are or where you live.

With so many potential scholarship sponsors and so many different ways you could earn merit aid (another name for scholarships), seeking out scholarships can feel a bit like deep ocean diving: using a tiny light to search a vast darkness with skull-crushing pressure on all sides.

That’s why we’re going to divide and conquer.

There are three types of scholarships: private, local, and institutional. Each one has its own pros and cons as well as a specific timeframe (when you can apply) and prime season (when the most money will be available). You can cut down on how much time you spend searching for them by being strategic about when and where you look.

We’re going to talk about each type of scholarship in its own section of this guide, but here are the very basics so you can decide which to focus on first:

1. Private scholarships are available year-round to everyone (middle schoolers through graduate students), but prime season is September through April of your senior year. 

   • Note that these tend to be the hardest to actually find/win, and getting enough of them to “cover college” is about as solid a strategy of paying for college as playing the lottery.

2. 95% of local scholarships are available only January-April of your senior year.

3. Institutional scholarships’ timelines vary, but to make the most of them you should ideally have your act together by November of your senior year.

People who win scholarships generally have one or more of the following going for them:

• Great academics (grades, test scores, aptitude for a specific subject)

• An amazing talent (athletic, artistic, awarded)

• A unique set of qualities (e.g. an adopted Native American transgender female from Montana majoring in Floriculture with veteran parents who now work as teachers)

• Lots of time and determination

Which describes you? 

More than one? Awesome! 

Only one? We can work with that.

If you can think of no reason you should or could get a scholarship, and you don’t honestly think you’ll devote much time to looking and applying for them, skip to the next section: Finding Building an Affordable College List. Your limited time is better spent there.

Ready to find some scholarships?

Awesome. One last thing to set you up for success: preparing to win the scholarships you find.

How long will it take? 

3 minutes to read and as long as you need to execute. 

Impact on your scholarshipping success? 

Exponential.

Five Things Students Who Win Multiple Scholarships Do Differently

#1 Recycle essays and letters of recommendation

Scholarship applications usually require one or both of these. But this doesn’t mean you need to start from scratch every time. In fact, you shouldn’t! 

It’s very little trouble for a teacher to tweak and send a letter after they’ve already written one for your college applications.

Likewise, if you’ve already written some great short responses on leadership, service, or your major—and I know you have because you’re on the College Essay Guy website—then you can most certainly rework and reuse these for scholarships.

#2 Have a resume on hand

Please don’t let this intimidate you. A resume is just a list of stuff you’ve done typed up to look nice. In fact, when you are ready to make one, here’s a resource on the 5 One-word Steps to Creating an Amazing Resume. Go ahead and print it, or bookmark it for later.

Having a resume handy will save you tons of time as you won’t have to write/type the same activities over and over or waste time re-remembering everything you’ve done. #WorkSmarterNotHarder

#3 Focus on best fit scholarships rather than dollar amounts

Plan to apply for five times the amount of money you are hoping to win. Applying for everything you can is wonderful until it’s overwhelming. Focus your efforts on doing an outstanding job where you are most likely to strike gold.

I would rather you apply for a $500 scholarship where you’re one of three applicants than a $10,000 where you are one of millions.

I’d rather you apply to 5 scholarships that are pretty specific (North Carolina Hispanic STEM Scholarship) than 500 “Enter your email address to win!” scholarships.

#4 Enlist Parents/Mentors to Help Find Scholarships

Remember those folks you jotted down to be part of your College Affordability Squad during the pre-work section? This is a way they can be an incredible asset: by helping you find scholarships.

But you gotta help them out a little. Here’s how:

[action_item]

Action Item:

1. Write down a list of every noun that describes you. Ex. Polish, basketball player, Civil War enthusiast, veteran dependent, STEM major, cancer-survivor. Anything. Here’s a webpage to help you if you need it.

2. Download/print a copy of Mrs. Miller’s Scholarship Tips.

Note: Some of the scholarship websites on this handout are for North Carolina students only–since that’s where Mrs. Miller lives–but you can definitely look for similar resources for your state. Your high school counselor should know of at least one or two.

3. Send and email/text to your squad to get them in the loop.

Here’s an example message that you are welcome to copy/paste and adapt.

Hey [insert parent/mentor name],

I’m reading a guide on how to pay for college. I want to apply to at least 5 [or number of your choice] scholarships totaling around $4,000 [or other dollar amount] by Halloween [or other target date]. From what I’ve read, it’s going to take just as much time to find the scholarships as it is to apply for them. Would you be willing to help me look? If so, I’ve already got a list of scholarship websites and a list of words that describe me ready to go.

Thanks for being with me on this.

[insert your name]

Wow. That’s powerful. You’ve shown initiative. You’ve got a plan. Sign me up to help!

#5 Have a centralized scholarship tracker/spreadsheet.

Whether you enlist the help of others or make this a solo journey, having a single place where all your scholarship information lives is incredibly helpful in keeping you organized and motivated.

[action_item]

Action Item: Create a scholarship tracker. If you’re like me and enjoy organizing things a specific way, you’re welcome to create your own database. Otherwise, here’s a link to a Google Sheets one that I think could work for just about anyone. Just make sure you make a copy, unless you’re willing to share what you find with potential co-applicants!

I find scholarship trackers like this one are helpful in three ways:

1. If you are getting help, you don’t have to meet regularly to exchange information. Your helper can add information according to their schedule and you can apply according to yours.

2. It helps you keep track of great fit scholarships that either haven’t opened their applications yet or that you’ll be eligible to apply for in the future.

3. It helps you keep track of deadlines and different pieces of the applications as you apply. There is no such thing as being able to apply late when it comes to scholarship applications and one missing item can result in your disqualification.

For those ready to take on the challenge of scholarship tracking, let’s begin with the most famous type: private scholarships. Click here to begin your journey.

If you want to start with Local Scholarships or Institutional Scholarships instead, awesome! Click away.