Tips to land scholarships

What is the number one thing that college students think about? Money. Students often ask questions like how to pay rent, pay for lunch, afford gasoline, and of course, how to pay for tuition and textbooks.  Well, college students are lucky because finding the funds is actually a lot easier than most people realize. The number one source of money that is readily available to tons of college students is scholarships.

During the spring semester, The University of Akron and a lot of organizations, both within the university and outside, start accepting applications and handing out checks. While scholarships are widespread and readily available, surprisingly, not many students utilize them. The hardest part of applying for scholarships is finding them. Where can students get this money? Lots of places, actually. A source of scholarship money is actually through The University of Akron. The University offers a wide variety of scholarships for different majors, interests, and achievements. The best place to start is by searching uakron.edu/scholarships. On that page, students can find a variety of categories for which one can be eligible, such as transfer students, graduate students, and continuing students.

In fact, for continuing students, is there one quick and easy form to fill out each year that automatically applies students to private and endowed scholarships made available through the university by the Office of Student Accounts. Also, there are several opportunities for scholarships through each college, such as the College of Arts and Sciences or College of Applied Science and Technology. More scholarships can be found through each school at the university and for individual majors as well. Scholarships can also be found through places like the Office of Accessibility or for students who are also veterans.

Scholarships may be available through student organizations as well. Not only are scholarships recognized in nationwide organizations like the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, but student organizations can help give students some edge on a resume or application too.

Scholarships are also made available through organizations outside of the university. Many corporations like Walmart or Starbucks offer scholarships for students who work for them, and some even offer scholarships for students whose parents work at certain corporations. Also, students might find the most random scholarships for things like being incredibly tall or living in a certain region. A simple Google search will return tons of results that might apply to you.

The next step is collecting the materials you need. Each scholarship has different requirements, so make sure to read instructions very carefully. Some require essays, others cover letters, resumes, transcripts, letters of recommendation, samples of work, or other materials. Make sure you know what you need to include so that you can prepare. Also, be wary of due dates and deadlines for applications.

Applying for scholarships can be an intimidating and overwhelming process for many students. But there are some ways to ease the strain. It is important to keep in mind that not many students actually apply for scholarships. So even if you think you do not have a good chance of receiving it, apply anyway. Your chances might still be pretty great.

Also, the University of Akron has lots of services that can help students improve their work. For example, if a scholarship requires an essay or cover letter, the university has two writing labs where students can take their work to get feedback and help from tutors. The career center on campus also offers services like helping craft resumes and cover letters. Another piece of advice is ask for letters of recommendation early. When asking a professor, employer, advisor, or whoever else for a letter of recommendation, the standard amount of time to give them is  two to three weeks before the deadline of the application. This gives them plenty of time to write a good letter and get it back to you on time.

Many organizations and places at the University of Akron are beginning to open up their scholarship applications for the next academic year, so now is the perfect time to look for them. Applying for scholarships benefits for students, from paying for school and textbooks to being another bullet point on a resume. Scholarships are far and wide, and can apply to so many students, so if you are looking for money now you know where to look.