The Scholarship Search: Your Child’s Number One Priority

As a parent, you want the best for your child, meaning the best education in a top college or university they have always dreamt of. However, that will come with costs, which sometimes may be simply unaffordable. Luckily, your children do not have to give up on their dreams since there are myriad opportunities to earn a scholarship and save thousands of dollars in tuition. 

However, it must be noted that earning a scholarship is challenging yet easily reachable if you take the necessary steps and make effort. If you are particularly interested in scholarships, you are in the right place to learn more about them. So, please keep reading. 

Tips for Searching for Scholarships

We have already mentioned that earning a scholarship is not an easy task, but it is very doable if you follow specific steps. We have compiled a list of ten valuable tips and encourage you to follow them carefully. If you are a parent looking for a scholarship for your child, make sure to be their strongest support system throughout the process. 

Encourage your child to do extracurricular activities

Obtaining a scholarship may be heavily impacted by your child’s participation in extracurricular activities, enrollment in a part-time job, or, even better, by conducting service dedicated to the community. In this regard, an admission committee tends to look favorably at the applications coming from such students. Now that you know this, we recommend you encourage your child to think about what their interests are and take on new activities. 

Start the search early

It is never too early to begin searching for a scholarship that will support your child’s studies in their favorite institutions. Luckily, countless opportunities exist; you just need to plan enough time for your research. If you can, it is recommended that you and your child begin searching for such opportunities during the high school years, so you both become aware of which ones could be most suitable and familiarize yourselves with their requirements so that you can begin working towards that. 

If you haven’t started searching for universities during high school, you may want to do so as soon as the application period for colleges or universities begins. 

Allocate time each day for the search

If you’re a parent, teach your child the habit of being consistent in their efforts. In this case, they should set aside a specific time during the day for their scholarship search. For instance, 30 minutes a day may not take much time, but it significantly contributes to the scholarship search. Opportunities are published constantly, and consistent research will help them keep updated. If you can, we recommend that you and your child keep a list of preferred scholarships and apply accordingly. 

Check with your employer

At times, employers offer scholarships for their employees and their dependents, in this case, the children of their employees. However, these scholarships may often go unclaimed due to the employees’ lack of awareness of such opportunities. As such, having a chat with your employer doesn’t do any harm. Give it a try, and good luck! 

Use scholarship search engines

The internet is, most of the time, the best source of information. If you simply type in the keyword “scholarship”, in a matter of seconds, it will pull up thousands of scholarship opportunities. However, that may require too much time and effort to narrow your list. Instead, try researching by using search engines. Concretely, use qualifiers, including the name of the school or program you want to pursue. 

Turn to the school counselor for help

Your school counselor may be an excellent source of information. In general, they have information you don’t have and advise you to apply for a scholarship that meets your educational background, individual talents, extracurricular activities, and similar. Some school counselors may also help you prepare your financial aid strategy. So, if your school offers to counsel, reach out to it. 

Don’t disregard small scholarships

It goes without saying that all of us would want a full scholarship that would cover all our expenses and would allow us to forget about the financial side. However, that should not prevent you from searching and applying for smaller scholarships, which might still be of great help.

Most importantly, your child’s prospects of success may be higher since there is often less competition for such scholarships. 

Have your child write a good essay

Writing an essay is considered by many one of the most difficult aspects of a scholarship application. Yet it is also one of the most important parts of it. As such, make sure to encourage your child to deliver a well-written essay that addresses the main requirements of an application. 

In general, those essays require the applicant to write about themselves, demonstrate what they have accomplished in their lives, and make a case to convince them of their suitability for the scholarship. To avoid spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors, proofread your child’s essay before submitting it. 

Don’t miss the deadline

Late applications are infrequent, not to say never considered. Thus, you must ensure that your child pays particular attention to the deadline and submits their application on time. Avoid last-minute applications where you usually find yourself in a hurry to complete and submit the documentation; the chances of error in those cases are higher. 

Search for scholarships every year

From year to year, new scholarship opportunities come up. It is important not to give up and persevere in the search. That you didn’t receive your preferred scholarship one year doesn’t mean you couldn’t earn it the following year. Keep searching and applying every year; perseverance is always a winner. 

Conclusion

Earning a scholarship may be time-consuming, stressful, and at times, disappointing. As such, it is vital for a parent to become a positive influence throughout the entire application process and highly encourage your child not to give up.

You must also help them learn from their previous application “mistakes” and correct them in the future. Remember that obtaining a scholarship is immensely rewarding, as it will enable your child to fulfill their dreams without worrying about the financial aspect. Although scholarships may not cover the whole cost of college, it will help by reducing the debt and still ensure a high-quality education.