Counselor: Scholarships

It Takes Two, Lots of Work and Some Luck!

by Colleen Slavik

November 02, 2007

Seniors of 2008, is time going by as fast for you as it is for me? As your senior year progresses, it seems there are a myriad of things for you to do. You are looking at your senior prom, the last big football, basketball or volleyball game, senior pictures, applying to schools and filling out scholarship applications.

How to get as much money as possible in scholarships? This is a question students, parents and yes, the school counselor ask?

It is necessary for you to have information about scholarships. This is accomplished in several ways:

• The scholarships are listed on our web page. Students may access these from computers at home or at school. Many of the scholarships have to be filed online!

• A list of all scholarships is posted outside of the counselor’s office on a bulletin board.

• Seniors with e-mail access receive information from the school counselor. If parents want these notices, they may contact the school counselor with their e-mail addresses.

• Notices of new scholarships are put into the announcements. Every announcement has the reminder to check the web page for new scholarships.

• The counselor hands out applications when possible to students who have expressed an interest in a certain field or school. Students may stop in and look at any applications available.

Next, it takes students working very hard to submit applications for scholarships. Applications are often judged on neatness, how complete they are; as well as, the specified criteria for each scholarship. Students often need to write essays and get letters of recommendation. It is a time consuming and often daunting task to get everything together by the deadlines. One criterion some students find hard to meet is the service learning component. Students who have participating in community, 4-H, or church activities often forget to include these as service learning.

Lastly, it takes some luck. Some years there are tons of applicants. The next year, there may be many less. However, as the price of college continues to escalate, students can expect stiff competition when applying for scholarships. One bright spot in this is the colleges work very hard to provide the best financial package for your student. Many schools include scholarship applications in their application for admittance. So, the sooner a student submits his or her application and equally important, the FASFA form, the better the chance of a good financial package.

Scholarships can be found at http://www.farragutschools.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/12/18/436f9006824b2

I wish great success to all our students when applying