It’s time for another blog post here at First-Gen Fail-Safe. This week is about scholarships (aka free money)!
Last week, I told you guys all I know about the FAFSA for Federal Student Aid, but what about aid that doesn’t come from the government? Aid you don’t have to pay back? Aid that doesn’t require signing a contract?
There are a variety of methods for funding your journey in higher education. Loans and scholarships are just a couple of them!
What’s the Difference Between a Loan and a Scholarship?
I’m so glad you asked!
Loans can be explained as borrowed money. They have two main categories: federal and personal.
Federal loans come from the government and personal loans come straight from the bank.
Regardless of which entity you decide to work with, loans are a set amount of money they let you use with the expectation (backed by a legally binding agreement) that you will repay what you borrowed.
You are expected to pay back every bit of the loan’s principal – or original amount – plus interest to the entity you borrowed it from, be it the government or the bank.
Scholarships, on the other hand, are money given to you with no strings attached.
Whether it’s based on your financial need or merit (academic qualities that make you stand out from the rest), you are not expected to pay scholarships back.
This money can come from various foundations, community groups, memorial funds, donors, or even the school you’re hoping to attend.
If you are interested in learning more about scholarships and loans or even what it means to be merit or need-based, College Avenue Student Loans has a very informative page that touches on them as well as grants!
Where to Find Scholarships
There can be a lot of scholarships to sort through when on the hunt for financial help. There is such a wide assortment of them available that it can get very overwhelming.
As I mentioned, scholarships have a multitude of sources from community groups to university aid offices.
They also have a variety of geographical scopes from national to local, and some are even specific to just certain high schools.
Some scholarships want you to be first-gen while others want you to be a legacy student. There are some for members of certain college prep programs, players of specific sports, and even future students of particular majors.
With all of these options, it’s no surprise that you can get lost in the sea of possibilities and give up altogether.
I think what’s most important in your scholarship search is to find what focuses on the smallest group of people. This means starting as local as possible and applying for the ones that most apply to you.
For me, the Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia was a go-to. This site works similarly to the Common App in that I could apply to multiple scholarships in one place.
From Ruritan clubs to church groups, I was able to see all of the local scholarships I qualified for and submit applications in mass to them. I have gotten funds from them every year of college and honestly could not be more grateful for the centralized source.
If you don’t live in Western Virginia, that’s not a problem! There’s a convenient Community Foundation Locator that can help you find your nearest one, wherever you are in the United States!
Beyond staying local, you want to stay relevant to yourself.
You’re a girl in golf? The only child of a single mother? The younger sibling of a current college student? A theatre kid who wants to pursue a degree in the arts? There are specific scholarships for all of that!
Applying for these awards is more likely to benefit you because they’re so specific that they will have very few applicants to choose from. So don’t discount even the smallest detail of who you are and who you want to be!
Scholarship Essays
Also an important place to dig deep about your past and personal goals, scholarship essays are where you really share yourself.
While I could go on and on about what to include, I think this video summarizes the important points to be made in a much more entertaining way:
Once You’ve Applied…
The time between submitting your application and hearing back can feel like forever, especially if the scholarship is a lot of money. Remember to be patient!
If you are granted an award, you will always receive some type of notification.
It can come by mail, by email, or via another channel such as a phone call. ALWAYS send a thank you back in writing, whether by card or by email, just to show that you appreciate the generosity.
Do remember, though, that there is always the possibility that you get declined.
If this happens, you may or may not be notified. If you do receive a rejection message, that’s okay! Always keep in mind that someone else needed the help too.
Regardless of whether you received or were rejected for a scholarship, I encourage you to apply again the next year.
That’s right… unless explicitly stated as “renewable”, you have to reapply for the aid every year of college. But that’s okay because you now know where to get the applications!
I wish you all the best of luck in your hunt for financial help. I will be here if you have any questions. Feel free to reach out (and follow me) on Instagram and Twitter. Next week, I’ll be explaining the jargon of financial aid packages colleges send to accepted students!
First-Gen Fail-Safe 