As you may (or may not) know, I recently finished my first year of university, which can be very expensive. I was lucky enough to receive four scholarships to go towards my first year’s tuition, and today I’m going to tell you how I found out about them, and how I won them.
How do I find them?
It can be pretty difficult to win scholarships when you can’t find them. Here are some great places to start looking:
- Your parents
Your parents know a lot people, and those people most likely know about some scholarship opportunities. A lot of companies also have scholarships for their employee’s children- I got one of my scholarships through my Dad’s work! - Your school
Most schools have a committee of teachers that give out scholarships to students at the end of the year- talk to your guidance counsellor to find out more information about how you can be get in contact with the committee! If you are interested in studying a specific subject that you’re currently taking in school (Math, English, Biology, etc) talk to that subject area’s teacher! They will most likely know of other scholarships that are specifically for that subject. - Your future school
Universities and colleges have access to tons scholarships, awards and bursaries to go towards paying tuition- check on their website or talk to an academic advisor to see what’s available to you! These can also be a good thing to put on a resume if they are specific to your field of study! Most post secondary schools also have entrance scholarships- if you are accepted into the school and you have a high GPA, you will most likely receive one (the higher the GPA, the more money you will receive!). - Your work
Lots of employers and companies have scholarships to support their young employees, ask your manager if your work does! - Google
When trying to find scholarships, Google will be your best friend. There are dozens of websites that will filter scholarships for you based on your studies, ethnicity, hobbies, skills and talents! Play soccer? Search “soccer scholarships”. Have a Ukrainian background? Google “Ukrainian scholarships”. Had cancer? Look up “cancer survivor scholarships”.
I’m telling you, there are scholarships for EVERYTHING if you look around hard enough, it’s just a matter of finding them.
Now that you’ve found some scholarships to apply for, you’re probably asking me “Okay Sarah, it’s great that you helped me find some scholarships, but how do I win them?
- Get good grades
This one should be fairly obvious. While you don’t need to be a straight A student to receive scholarships, most of them require that you have fairly good marks. Scholarships are, of course, giving you money to continue your education, so they want to make sure that their money is going to go to a student who tries hard in school. - Volunteer
This looks really good not only on job applications, but scholarship applications as well. Volunteering shows that you want to make a difference in your community. When a scholarship committee sees that you want to help others, they are going to want to help you in return. Lots of volunteer programs also have scholarships specific to that program, so if you volunteer for a smaller program, it will be easier for your hard work to be acknowledged. - Don’t forget to apply to smaller scholarships!
While a $300 scholarship doesn’t sound as tempting as a $1000, these may be easier to receive. A lot of the time, scholarships with bigger values will have more applicants, which means that your odds of receiving a scholarship will be smaller. When possible, try to apply for scholarships from smaller organizations. The less people that apply for the scholarship, the bigger the odds of you getting one are. I applied to a scholarship that was given out two monetary awards- and only three people applied. - Apply for anything that remotely applies to you- even if it’s a long shot
If you’re reading the requirements for a scholarship and see that one or two of the rules or requirements do not apply to you, or even if you are unsure, apply anyways. If there are little to no applicants, the organization may decide to give the award to the candidate that they think is the most deserving, even if they are not exactly what they are looking for. Odds are they are going to want to give the money out to someone instead of letting it sit around and not be used. - Apply for scholarships that play to your strengths
Are you good at writing? Interviews? Making videos? Scholarship applications come in all sorts of forms. The majority of them are in the form of essays, but there are also some that request videos, interviews or many other materials instead. If you know that you are a weak writer but are great at making films, try to find scholarships that don’t require essays.
I hope these tips will help you win some scholarships, and remember- be yourself in the applications, and prove to the scholarship committee that YOU are the best choice to receive the scholarship!
Sarah
sarahvandale 