As an incoming high school senior, I have spent a good part of this summer researching scholarships that i plan to apply for. However, I noticed many scholarships don’t open for application until August 1st (and a good amount don’t even open that early). Although I know many smaller competitions are open, does anybody know if any competitions involving award amounts over $1,000 are currently open for application? I am looking for scholarships that are either competitive or merit-based (not awarded on the basis of financial need, nationality, etc.). Thanks so much for any responses, I greatly appreciate it!
The best scholarships for merit are awarded directly by the colleges. Make sure you apply to college where you would either be guaranteed great merit aid, or would have a likely chance of getting merit money.
What are your stats? Check University of Alabama. Their application goes live very soon.
The above comment is correct and you should definitely come up with an institutional merit aid strategy (think of it this way: in addition to needing admissions safeties, you need financial safeties).
However, to directly answer your question, not really. Coca-Cola Scholars and AXA Achievement are the two that really open (and close) relatively soon – usually late October. However, most big programs open and close in the fall semester, so don’t wait until after college applications are done to apply if you do plan to go for the outside ones. I also wouldn’t recommend submitting your application more than a few days before an application deadline; you need whatever new awards and accomplishments you can get if you’re trying to win outside scholarships.
Most of the time, essay prompts are similar year to year, so you can go ahead and start drafting some essays even if the competitions aren’t officially open. Except a few creative prompts, most of the time you will be writing about your academic/career goals, your high school accomplishments/why you deserve a scholarship, or your family’s financial circumstances/why you need a scholarships. So starting to write down what you want to say for those prompts now could be a big help down the road when the competitions do start to open up.
I also found it helpful to get a copy of everything scholarships tend to ask for - 2014 tax returns, high school transcript, letter of recommendation, military discharge forms for parents, college acceptance letter, resume, birth certificate, etc. Then make a bunch of copies of each and keep them in a big folder. It’ll save you a lot of time having almost every document you could possibly need in one location - no last minute hunting the day before an application is due, you won’t have to worry about printer mishaps, etc.
I know this doesn’t really answer your question, but I’m guessing you just want to start working while you have free time, and this accomplishes the same goal since most scholarships are not open until fall.
@thumper1 to answer your question about stats, I have a 34 ACT composite and a 3.99 GPA unweighted. My school is currently in the process of installing a five-point AP scale. Thank you for the recommendation on Alabama, I will definitely check it out!
@CourtneyThurston @baileyj57 thank you both for your input! You gave some great ideas and I definitely know where to start now!