<p>Are the chances of getting a scholarship extremely hard?
How do I apply? Do I just apply randomly to any that I want? </p>
<p>My parents said that I don't get to go to a private school UNLESS I have a scholarship.</p>
<p>It is hard to know where to start.</p>
<p>If you are asking about merit scholarships that are unconnected to financial aid awards, start by looking carefully at the web sites of schools you are interested in. Sometimes the merit award information is included in the “financial aid” pages, and sometimes it is elsewhere on the admissions pages.</p>
<p>In general, it will be very difficult to get merit awards unless your record puts you near the top of the applicant pool. Find out what the standardized test scores were for a recent admitted class, read what the school’s web site says about qualifications for merit awards, and go from there.</p>
<p>Sometimes the merit scholarships require a separate application, with special essays, and that part of the application may be due before the rest of the application. In other cases, no separate application is needed; awards are simply based on the overall quality of your high school record. Check the web sites of individual schools.</p>
<p>Some schools have scholarships that are awarded as part of a need-based financial aid package. Also, part of the financial aid package may be in the form of grants, which do not need to be paid back. It all depends on the school, your record, and your FAFSA or CSS/PROFILE financial aid forms.</p>
<p>Are you a high school senior? If so, and you are planning to apply to colleges this year, you must start looking for information about scholarships right away.</p>
<p>Finally, you need to take a look at some of the threads that have been placed at the top of the financial aid page. Many schools that offer merit scholarships are listed there, along with some information about the sort of record that might be expected. As you will see, full scholarships are few and very difficult to get, as you probably realize. If you are looking to find one that minimizes the price difference between a public school and a private, you probably want to apply to pretty many schools, and be careful to include some at which your record makes you a very desirable candidate.</p>