<p>Every single time I submit an application for a scholarship or a program that requires a transcript, I feel certain that I will not get it because of my C+ in my junior year.
My grandmother died on the day of my final for AP US History, a class that I'm already shaky on. I ended up having an anxiety attack in class and had to go home early..but I still got a failing grade on my final.
My teacher told me that it's not the end of the world and no one gets straight A's...but that's not true at all.</p>
<p>All of the rest of the grades on my transcript are A's, with two B's.
I have a 3.79 GPA. </p>
<p>I do a lot of volunteer service and participate in many extracurriculars.
I spend weeks on my essays, pouring my heart and soul into them and getting at least 10 people to edit them before I submit...but it's never enough.</p>
<p>I've applied to 20+ scholarships in the past two months and haven't heard back from a single one. That's not including the other 60 or so that I've applied to throughout the year.</p>
<p>If you were counting on outside scholarships to pay your way through college, then you’ve got a bigger problem than that one “C” on your transcript.</p>
<p>Others have said it before, but I’ll say it again . . . the way to afford college is to find a school that will pay you to attend, with either need-based aid or merit aid. Even if you win one or more of those outside scholarships, they’re rarely going to be more than a small amount, and they’re rarely going to be more than a one-time award - so how would you cover the rest of your four years of school?</p>
<p>At this point, if you need the money, I’d focus on getting a summer job. That’ll be a lot more productive than spending any more of your time on essays.</p>
<p>And I’m assuming, at this point, that your one “C+” didn’t keep you from getting accepted to college . . . so I’d stop worrying about it and move on. In a couple of months, it’ll be ancient history.</p>
<p>Dodgersmom is absolutely right. My son applied to about a 100 outside scholarships and got ONE. For about $2K and he got it likely because there aren’t that many kids eligible to apply for that one–it’s for cancer survivors… So yeah, getting big money for scholarships is even more difficult than getting accepted to HPY. There are truly not that many of them out there. FOr the smaller awards, they usually cater to a select group. Like if TJMaxx has some awards out there, it is highly likely that a kid working part time there is going to get that award C+, or not. My dentist sponsor an award too, and though anyone can apply, your chances are way up there if you are a patient of his. And both of those local sponsored awards aren’t for huge amounts. </p>
<p>Yes, I know kids who get the smaller awards with some connection to the awarding agency with C+s and stats not as high as yours. But I also know kids with 4.0s that got zip from hundreds of outside awards that they applied to. A friend of mine’s son had a low EFC, was going to Harvard, got no fin aid from them because his family income was from renting out apts which killed them in the aid process, applied to even more than any one I knew, and he got a big fat zip too, and if anyone should have gotten something, he was one up there. My one son got runner up and some certificates for his participation in some scholarship contests including one that cost me a lot of money to go to the dange award ceremony that would not let you know what he won, just that he won something. He just got a certificate. Yeah. So I’ve been down that path. I’d encourage kids to apply to some lottery ticket awards and then to carefully select some that are targeted and seem to fit the applicant–like if your parents’ company has awards for kids of employees–absolutely apply for them, or any high school sponsored ones as you are only competing with those in your grad class, but please, you should not be depending on any of that money. Getting a sizeable award, any money is really like winning the lottery.</p>
<p>My son who applied to over a hundred of the awards only got any word back from a handful, even to thank him for applying and that he did not get anything, so I would not be sitting there holding my breath since with near perfect SAT scores he only got a 10% yield for these groups even telling him he was denied, and the one award he got, he had to have had cancer and survive it to get. Your C+ is not so much the issue.</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that applying for most of those outside scholarships is a waste of time. Exceptions would be one for which you’re particularly well suited (such as the cancer survivor one mentioned by Cpt) or local scholarships that don’t have as many applicants. I know of kids who have applied for hundreds of scholarships and not gotten a single one, and these were kids with good stats, community service, etc. We did a cost benefit analysis and told my D not to bother - the time spent filling out apps and writing essays could be much better spent. If you don’t get a scholarship, I doubt it will be because of your C+. For most of those outside scholarships, the odds of getting one are mighty low.</p>
<p>If you are a junior, not a senior, there are even fewer awards for you this year. It’s next year that those outside scholarship will be most open to you. But still, as I said, and others as well, don’t expect a bonanza. Look for those where you have a good chance due to your connections to the cause.</p>
<p>The best prospects for scholarships and aid are from the colleges themselves, so pick some colleges where you are a top student in their pool. Yes, for admissions purposes, at the most selective school, your C junior year, is going to hurt you and reduce your chances. For merit awards, usually the SAT/ACt scores trump the grades if they are not too low. and in your case they don’t seem to be. </p>
<p>When you apply to colleges, make sure you have some in there where you are a top applicant number wise.</p>
<p>I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re not yanking our chain. I had a C- or a D+ (I don’t remember) in calc my junior year. I still managed to get quite a bit in outside scholarships. However, it’s not common and if you don’t get them, it’s not going to be because of ONE grade.</p>
<p>Yes - you can get some scholarship money. Your experience of a grandparent passing away at a time when you were taking a test is not as unusual as you might think. You will be fine. I am sorry for your loss.</p>