Scholarship Tip #2: Time to Search

Tip #2:  Make TIME to Search

Most students (and parents) talk about being frustrated while searching for scholarships in a vague way, and when I ask them how long they spend searching for scholarships, they dance around the subject until finally admitting that they looked for about 20 minutes before being overwhelmed...and then don't look again for 2-3 more weeks, if they ever looked again (most students only ever look for one 20-minute session, then give up).

The problem is both lack of FREQUENCY and DURATION.  The solution is increasing both.

I'm pretty practiced at scholarship databases, searching scholarship books, even using Google and Pinterest to find scholarships--and one afternoon I was trying to find specific scholarships for seniors that were coming up in the next few months.  It took me about 40 minutes to find 3 scholarships that were good fits for many of our seniors.

What does this mean for you?  You should expect to put in the same amount of time (maybe more), with roughly the same yield.

DURATION:  You should be able to find 3 scholarships to fit YOU in about 40 minutes - 1 hour.  You've got to just sit down, not get frustrated with the ones that don't fit you--and then when you DO find the good fits--put them on your XCel Spreadsheet (explained in Tip #3) that is YOUR personal list of scholarships.  This is the DURATION:  plan to search for 40 minutes - 1 hour, and the yield of finding 3 scholarships in that time is fairly accurate.

FREQUENCY:  You should search for scholarships once a week, beginning as early as possible in high school (seriously...begin as a freshman).  If you are a junior and you haven't started yet, try to search 2 times a week to make sure you know which scholarships you will apply for before your senior year begins.

***Important Note:  Many scholarships are open to students in multiple grades, and so if you are searching in 9th grade, you can begin to apply for the scholarships listed as "open to 9th - 12th graders".  Even if you don't win in 9th grade, you can re-apply in 10th, 11th, and even 12th grade.  With extra practice, your chances of winning increase.