<p>I am a sophomore and am looking to apply for some scholarships, but most of them are only available to seniors.</p>
<p>That is true. You have to see what your school offers. Look at the dept of your major. However, it’s late and deadlines may have passed.</p>
<p>Are you a HS sophomore or a college sophomore?</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>high school sophomore… should have probably mentioned that</p>
<p>oh…lol…so why are you looking now? The scholarship sources have no motivation to award to high school sophs. They don’t even know if you’ll actually attend college in the future.</p>
<p>^A friend gave me a book by this kid that supposedly paid his way through college by hobbling together lots of smaller outside scholarships, can’t remember his name or the name of the book, but he was making the TV and speaking circuit several years ago. One of his recommendations was to start early and apply for scholarships throughout HS, not just sr year. I sure never saw any merit in the strategy, but unfortunately I think it still holds some false traction.</p>
<p>OP, outside of a few, extremely competitive large outside scholarships, the most likely ones that you will be able to get are going to be local ones that your HS GC should be able to tell you about (again these are for graduating seniors). Be aware that most of these are for relatively small amounts (usually a few hundred dollars) and most are only for fr year and nonrenewable. They are definitely helpful, but if you need a substantial amount of financial help and are unlikely to qualify for enough need based FA, you should start researching Institutional scholarships, those offered through colleges. These tend to be for larger amounts and are often renewable each year as long as you keep your grades up. Check threads here, including those for NMS.</p>
<p>Okay, as a high school sophomore, the one significant scholarship that you are eligible for, and still have time to prepare for, is the National Merit Scholarship based on the PSAT score you achieve in October or November of your junior year in high school. Get a high enough score on that test, and it could net you a 4-year, free tuition scholarship - or even a full ride! - at hundreds of colleges around the country. You’ll find the list of participating colleges [url=<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf][b]here[/b][/url”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>So, yes, even though there are a handful of small scholarship competitions that are open to high school sophomores, the National Merit competition in the one that counts. Spend your time between now and next October preparing for the PSAT (especially over the summer!), and, if you do well, you may not ever need to worry about any other scholarships!</p>