<p>ok, so i have 1800 sat score, and should be able to get 2100 in october. i just finished my junior yr. should i start applyign for scholarships? what do they mostly look at? how does the process go? my gpa is pretty high~</p>
<p>so someone explain please.</p>
<p>Well, in my experience, the scholarship application process didn't really start until about midway through senior year. I don't really know of any scholarships to be won before then, but if you look on the princeton review site, there's some scholarship database linked that has varying deadlines.</p>
<p>Basically, these scholarships are going to focus on a variety of different things, which may also vary based on whether they are local, statewide, or national. A scholarship might be based on an applicant's essay alone, or, also potentially grades, extra-curriculars, need, and community service. Also, some might be for really specific things. One I saw was for students possessing an amateur radio license.</p>
<p>However, the biggies I see aside from academics are leadership and community service, over and over again. Basically, they look for club/sport leadership positions and community service hours. Oh, and many will ask for teacher/guidance counselor/clergy rec letters.</p>
<p>Overall, expect to write an essay (or multiple) on scholarship applications, and also to potentially fill in various information requests such as what clubs you've been involved with, sometimes class rank, work experience, etc. Though I doubt you'll have many or any quite yet, one thing you can do is start putting together a detailed resume of everything you've done in high school, including any special awards and leadership positions in any clubs or sports, and rough estimates of the dates of involvement and how many hours per week/ weeks per year your are involved. (A little hint: if the number of hours is less than 1 per week, reduce the number of weeks to come out with a whole number, or so my guidance counselor recommended.) This will serve three purposes, which is that you'll be able to use it on your college applications, which will also ask these things, you'll be able to fill in the spaces on your scholarship applications, and you can create a less-detailed overview of it for your teachers and guidance counselor who will be writing your letters of recommendation for both your college applications and your scholarship applications.</p>
<p>As for how the process goes, you basically just fill in the applications and turn them in by the deadlines. If you're fortunate, you'll have a guidance office that takes care of getting information about local scholarships and mailing in your applications, but if not, you'll probably have to do some research in local newspapers and such to see where scholarships are being offered, for what criteria, and for how much. Over the course of this process, you'll likely receive plenty of lovely "thanks, but no thanks" letters from these places, which is no big deal because you can't expect to win everything. Other than that, it can kind of vary, because some will notify you through personal mail, and others will mail to your school first. At my school, the ones that did the latter were kept secret from us until our senior awards (which made it a very very nervewracking night).</p>
<p>Other than that, I don't really have much more to add. Sorry if this response is a tad too detailed. I just wanted to be thorough.</p>
<p>thanks. that cleared up things alot!
^_^</p>
<p>One additional piece of advice. You may want to begin to research scholarship opportunities now and make a list of due dates for each. There are some that are due in October and November and you will be prepared. You can look at old posts or check out fastweb. Then google the different scholarships to find out the requirements. You probably won't be able to see the applications until they are out, but at least you will have a list of possibilities and deadlines. </p>
<p>National scholarships are very competitive. My son applied to about 40 and recieved two, plus a small local scholarship. His SAT's were not strong (1860), but he had a strong GPA, he was a three season athlete, he worked 15 hours a week during sophomore and junior year and he had lots of community service. Also, his community service activities were unique and were definately related to his interests. </p>
<p>One thing he discovered was that he was able to rework most of his application essays to meet the essay requirements for the scholarships.</p>
<p>thankyou. ^^</p>