<p>I am starting to lose it. I have written something like 10 merit scholarship essays in the past couple of weeks, in between a full load of AP classes and ECs and regular apps and all of their supplemental essays, and for some reason no two prompts are even close to alike, so, I have had to start from scratch for each...and I've missed a lot of the silly fun senior year stuff that the other kids have time to do...because it is all scheduled to coincide with football season, which is all-important at my school...and when I think these essays could be worth like $40k up to full ride, I start to panic whether they are good enough...and then the colleges tell you that at that high a level of scholarship everybody has great stats and ECs and recs and it comes down to the essays...Why can't they all decide based on everything in the regular application?? Talk me down, folks!!! Calm me down!!!</p>
<p>P.S. If you do I promise when I’m rich from my stories I’ll create a special scholarship just for children of helpful CC parents or helpful CC students, NO ESSAY REQUIRED!!!</p>
<p>Are these private scholarships or college-offered scholarships?</p>
<p>frankly, to relieve some of your stress, you should be applying to some schools that give assured scholarships for stats.</p>
<p>If these are private scholarships, are they one-time scholarships or are they for 4 years? </p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>All are coming from colleges themselves, mix of public and private, for 4 years. I applied to state flagship, which awards mainly by stats, but really don’t see myself there. I just don’t have time to apply for one-year only awards.</p>
<p>Glad to hear that these are for 4 years.</p>
<p>I can understand your frustration. Let it be a warning to other students that when choosing schools to apply to for merit, find a few (not just one) that give assured scholarships for stats (no essays) and limit those that require time-consuming essays to 3-5. </p>
<p>Do any of these scholarships also require “scholarship weekends”? If so, that could be another headache if you’re expected to attend several at your own expense at a time when seniors are already very busy. </p>
<p>What are your stats? and what state school did you apply to and what kind of scholarship can you expect from it?</p>
<p>I understand your pain. DD is going through the same thing right now. It’s amazing that none of the essays overlap! She’s been writing essays every weekend & weekday that she doesn’t have too much homework. I keep assuring her that it’ll be worth it in the end & that the end will be soon (lol).</p>
<p>Chin up, you can do it! If the pressure it getting to be too much, carve out a little me time. Take a short break, grab a cup of coffee with a friend. Remember that your a bright student who has worked hard during hs, you need to follow through to get the big reward!</p>
<p>Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound like a sour puss but, from what I’ve seen, a lot of the big dollar scholarships that are essay based end up going to home schooled kids who can spend all day for a week or more crafting a big essay.</p>
<p>You might consider that you might end up with more dollars if you try other approaches, such as:
- apply to local scholarships (Rotary, Garden Club, etc). The applications are simpler and there is less competition. The amounts are less, but still can add up.
- Work on great grades so the college really wants you.
- Make sure you apply to a solid, fun, financial safety (perhaps a quality smaller college in your state).
- Forget the scholarship route altogether and make sure your act is together to fill out the FAFSA as early as possible in January – qualifying for aid early can save thousands.
- Shorten college time by doing well on those AP classes (lots of colleges will give college credit for strong AP test scores). </p>
<p>It’s easy to hyperventilate at this point in the senior year. Tons of stress right now – you have lots of hopes and dreams and there is much that won’t be known until late March or early April. </p>
<p>So, let’s consider the worst case scenarios: you aren’t accepted to any of your colleges (Solution: if you don’t have a safety application done, now is the time!)
Scary scenario #2: You are accepted to lofty schools but there is no financial aid except huge loans
(Solution: make sure you have an application done now for an affordable, decent school that will be glad to have you). </p>
<p>So, even with the worse case scenarios, no one has died here. Even if you end up living at home and taking (very affordable) Community College classes, you still have family, friends, health and a future. Go browse some internet photos of cholera in Haiti or life in Darfur. </p>
<p>Sure, we all hope you are headed to your dream college on a full ride scholarship. That would be super. But isn’t it sad to think that ONLY that path would bring you happiness?</p>
<p>I suspect you are a great and worthwhile kid. Be shrewd and put some elbow grease into a winning a well fitting scholarship – but don’t beat yourself up that there aren’t enough hours in the day to apply to every opportunity out there. </p>
<p>Time to be a connoisseur and carefully select your path. Sounds like a few hours spent on senior fun might make some memories worth having. Life is a buffet – you just can’t eat everything on the table. Good luck!</p>