Sorry if this is in the wrong place. Also sorry if itd been asked before.
I’m a rusrisrising senior and a lot of things about the app process confuse me. Scholarships do too. When do i apply for them? Now? After i apply? After I’m accepted?
Ps. Are there any scholarships/sites i should avoid because they’re scams?
By FAR the best place to find scholarship money is at the schools where you apply. As you choose schools to apply to, look at their scholarship offerings and check the deadlines there. They will vary widely. Many times you need to apply early to be considered for best scholarships, and for your best chance at merit money you need to apply to schools where you’re a prize to be pursued. That is, google “name of school common data set” and look to see if your stats are above the 75% percentile.
This type of money is separate from financial aid money, which is based purely on your family’s income.
Any scholarship that asks you to pay to apply is a scam. Most scholarships outside of the colleges themselves tend to be small, one-time scholarships which might give you a little bit, but not enough to make a significant dent in your college bill. Exceptions to this are a few big-name scholarships like the Coca-Cola, Jack C. Cooke, and Gates scholarships, but those are very very competitive so it’s best not to put all your eggs in that basket.
All the places I’m applying are in-state oublic schools, it doesnt seem like they would have many scholarships but I’ll check. For outside scholarships is it best to apply for those after i apply to colleges? Or before? Or during?
Thank you for your help