I’m currently a senior and I’m applying to colleges right now. However, my income is above a lot of need-based scholarship applications, but I’m still in need of some extra financial assistance. Are there any scholarship applications that are not need-based and look impressive on college apps?
The thing that impresses me about scholarships is when they have lots of zeroes at the end. College admissions will not be wowed by one scholarship vs another.
- It is highly unlikely that any scholarship that is still taking applications would have a result before college applications are due.
- It normally isn’t winning the scholarship that is good for college applications. What happens is that they are correlated. What helps you win the scholarship also looks good on a college application. The exception to this is where all the work is done as part of scholarship application. Essay contests are in this category.
- High dollar scholarship from third parties are extremely competitive.
The best merit scholarships come from schools where you have been accepted. Are you applying to any colleges where you are guaranteed merit aid? Are your stats sufficiently high that this would be a possibility!
The sort of “scholarships” that can impress are usually aimed at low income kids from underresourced high schools. They usually identify those kids much earlier in high school, offer some sort of mentoring, over time. And are highly competitive.