Now I’m not talking Pell Grant or hardship Grant from their University either…
Has anyone here ever won one of those “Write an essay scholarships” here and won the scholarship? I have yet to encounter a person whom has recieved one. Is it even worth trying?
Are you talking about local scholarships that require an essay or an essay writing competition scholarship?
The best scholarships by far cone from the colleges themselves.
^^^ Read through the details about the scholarships offered by the colleges you are applying to, and see which of them you are be eligible for.
Not a national one, but my daughter won six local ones when she was a graduating senior in addition to a scholarship from the college that she attends.
I’m talking about both kinds of scholarships. I’m now searching the local library database in Florida for scholarships and I am seeing scholarships of all sorts: local, national, regional, etc. I did not even know about these scholarships and I constantly read articles about all of these scholarships around and how so much money goes unclaimed. So I am wondering in my head, “Do I have a good chance of winning these scholarships because no one knows about them and I would be one of the only ones applying?”
I’m 18 credits away from my Bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Management. I was told by financial aid that I am maxed out on Pell Grant and subsidizes and unsubsidized loans. Also my credit is not good enough to get private loans. Therefore, I am I need find away to finish my degree
How much money do you need to complete your degree?
My kid tried for several of these scholarships, awarded based on essays. He worked hard and wrote great ones, but came out empty-handed. Obviously, someone wins (as with the lottery) but the odds are slim and I doubt that it’s really worth the effort. My two cents.
105 per credit hour x 18 credit hours. Plus the cost of books. So probably around $2300.
Yeah I know. It almost seems like playing a scratch off ticket game, to be honest
This is the time of year local community foundations are accepting essays for the Fall 2018 scholarships. Google your city’s name and “community foundation” or the county name and community foundation to find yours, most have scholarship funds and a local area to serve so there will be fewer applicants to compete against.
Talk to the financial aid office, some organizations help nontraditional students with faster timelines.
Also, review your college’s website, often there are department scholarships that can be applied for.
My D won several scholarships through our community foundation and one from a women’s group that a retired teacher was part of who nominated her for their organization’s award which she won.
Can you work and earn that money and then finish your degree?
Kids do win them. But you have to understand what the sponsor group is looking for. That can be more than a 12th grade school essay.
Most well known scholarships are for graduating high school seniors. Since you are already in college, you will want to look carefully for ones that apply to your continuing college education situation. I know they exist. You might want to start another thread such as “Looking for 3rd Party Scholarship for current college students.” Otherwise a lot of the advice you are likely to get may be for high school seniors.
You could take a semester off, work, and finish the semester later. It’s not much to earn. I suggest you talk to financial aid about scholarship suggestions. I’m not familiar with your major, but is there some related association for it that might have scholarships?
$2,300 looks like something you should be able to earn on your own. Can you pick up more hours at your current job, or get a second gig somewhere? Do any employers in your area take on people for the holidays?
Maybe the way to think about these essay-based scholarships should be like college admission stats. If the scholarship goes to one person, and there are only 20 people that try for it, then the probability is just 5%. That’s Harvard and Stanford territory. If you’d question the value of submitting an app to those universities because the chances are so low, why would you bother writing and submitting an essay for these scholarships?
Of course, the key is how many they get. I doubt that’s published because it would tend to suppress submissions.
My daughter did. It wasn’t a huge award by any stretch, though. I know as her parent I’m pretty biased, but I thought her essay was pretty darn good for that one.
Our D won a local scholarship from a well-known local business for $1,000; however, most colleges will offset any need-based aid offered by the amount of the local scholarship up to the total of the need-based aid offer, so in most cases, it’s a zero-sum game.
Although it’s nice recognition to receive a local scholarship, unless the amount exceeds the amount of need-based aid offered or the EFC, it doesn’t really provide you a financial advantage, and actually saves the college money by reducing their need-based aid to the student winning the local scholarship.
One private college our D applied to offered her a partial “scholarship” but for practical purposes, it was a discount off the sticker price of the college as an incentive to enroll.
Unless you’re among the lucky few that receive a full ride merit academic or athletic scholarship, or a scholarship award that exceeds the need-based aid offered or the EFC, it’s hard for us to get excited about chasing relatively low amount local scholarships, especially if attending a high-priced private college unless you have a very low EFC.
My D did not get the big one (full tuition/full ride) that requires separated application and essay from the college, but the next level which is around half of tuition from the school. She also received one local scholarship that required application, essay, and interview but that is small and non renewable. Together with a couple more, they basically replaced all the loan and work study as well as some grant. The EFC is not affected.