student pathways center
Senior edition
#4 | dec 2023
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Monthly Newsletter
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Searching for Scholarships
Scholarships for college are given to students for good grades, athletic ability, community service, or other qualities, traits, or abilities. Businesses, organizations, and universities award scholarships to a variety of students.
Scholarships range in both amounts and competitiveness. For example, a local scholarship may offer $500 for one year, but will only be open to seniors at your high school, while a national scholarship may offer $10,000 for four years of college, but will be open to students across the country.
Do
- Search (and apply) for scholarships on sites like scholarshipjunkies.com, thewashboard.org, goingmerry.com. These sites will match you with scholarships after you answer some questions.
- Apply for local scholarships at the high school, in the community, from employers, and the college.
- Continue to apply for scholarships while you are in college.
Don’t
- Pay money for information or assistance with scholarship searches. There are plenty of free options online, or ask your school counselor for help.
- Procrastinate! Deadlines are firm, and it’s important to get paperwork and applications submitted on time.
- Waste time and energy. Make sure you meet eligibility requirements for scholarships before you apply. Also, many scholarship applications require essays on similar topics - it’s okay to reuse your work where applicable!
Featured Scholarships
Washington State Volunteer Service Awards.
Honor the many acts of kindness individuals, families, service groups and organizations perform in communities across the state of Washington. Deadline 12/22
($1,500) - In 250 words or less submit a response to the question: "Create a Top Ten List of the top ten reasons you should get this scholarship." Deadline 12/31
A $2000 scholarship for a HS junior or senior living in OR or WA. Deadline 12/31
Scholarship Reporting
Seniors! We want to recognize your achievements and awards. Use this form to report any and all scholarships. This form will remain open until May 2024.
TIPS FOR A COLLEGE ESSAY
Essay Do's
- Read more about the school or scholarship to understand the background, guiding principles, and priorities.
- Write an original, tailored essay that responds to the prompt. It’s often clear when a student is using the same vague essay over and over.
- Consider why an education at Puget Sound specifically would help you foster and grow your leadership qualities.
- Consider your personal goals and how you might give back to the community and the university.
Essay Don'ts:
- Reuse the essay you wrote for your application for admission if you’re applying for a scholarship at the same school. The committees often look at these two applications together.
- Talk about your volunteer/leadership accomplishments without context, or just as a list. Context helps us understand why you chose to include these on your application and what it says about you.
- Think only about the present without considering how you will grow in the future, what support you will need, and what you can contribute as a member of the college community.
College Corner
Applying for college
Every college sets its own admission requirements, so it’s a good idea for you to check the college’s website or talk to an admissions counselor to see what criteria (GPA, test scores, etc.) applicants must meet in order to be a good candidate. PRO TIP: the only admissions requirement for community colleges is that you graduate high school!
Early applications are usually due in the fall, sometimes even as early as October. For regular admissions, applications are usually due in December or January. Encourage your child to start working on them now.
Use this planning tool to keep track of universities you’ve started looking at and know their deadlines.
Here are the most common parts of an application:
- The Application
- Personal Statement or Essay
- Transcript
- Test Scores
- Short Answer Response
- Activities Log/Resume
- Letters of Recommendation
Scholarships
Where should i search for scholarships?
1) Google the school you are interested in with the word "scholarships"
2) Log into Xello through ClassLink, click on College Planning on the right hand side and go into the section called "Local Scholarships"
3) thewashboard.org - this is a WA state based scholarship site where you build a profile and it matches you with scholarship options
4) goingmerry.com - this is a national database of scholarships where you build a profile and it matches you - this is a national database of scholarships where you build a profile and it matches you with ones with ones
**Note that there are times of year that an larger amount of scholarships are released. These are typically October and February
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