5 Non-Monetary Reasons to Apply for Scholarships
Especially for High School Students
When my son and I started on his journey to winning over $95,000 in scholarships, we did so purely for financial reasons. We had not done the proper saving and financial preparation for college, such as The College Dude recommends, that would have allowed my son to go to college without significant student loan debt. However, as he started to win scholarships, we quickly realized that there are benefits beyond just the money scholarships provide. Here are five of the non-monetary benefits that students receive by applying for scholarships:
Resume Enhancement
Winning any scholarship is an accomplishment a student should be proud of and include on their resume. With $100,000,000 in scholarships going unclaimed every year, it’s clear that many students don’t even bother applying for scholarships. Adding a scholarship win to a student’s resume shows that they have more than just the talent to win a scholarship; it shows that they have drive and ambition beyond most of their peers. Any scholarship win is worthy of placement on a student’s resume, but especially if that scholarship is related to the student’s future college major and/or career, as the scholarship win adds to the student’s Personal Narrative as a leader in that niche.
Alumni Networks & Additional Benefits
While some scholarships only provide a monetary reward, numerous scholarships also offer additional benefits. One of the scholarships my son won was the Equitable Excellence Scholarship. According to the scholarship website, “In addition to providing monetary scholarships, Equitable will offer award recipients with development opportunities and engagement programs to support their onboarding into their first year of college. Programs will include a strong emphasis on mental health as well as other workshop opportunities that focus on mentoring, networking, and professional skill-building programs with Equitable’s own workforce and executive leadership teams.”
These added benefits aren’t limited to big national scholarships. One of the local scholarships my son won paired him with a mentor who provided guidance and support throughout my son’s first year of college. Many scholarships have robust alumni programs that offer networking benefits that can reap rewards from grad school to the “real world.”
Improved Writing Skills
Unless your student is only applying for sweepstakes scholarships (which are entirely random and like winning the lottery), your student will write essays as part of their scholarship applications. According to a recent study, nearly 75% of employers are looking for candidates with strong written communication skills. My son is not a natural writer. In fact, he used to hate writing. And it was a challenge getting him to start the scholarship application process. However, by writing scholarship applications, my son became a better writer. Today, my son loves writing, which has led to him earning numerous scholarships and being a better student with the countless papers required in college.
Practice for College Applications
As adults, we always apply for things, from jobs to mortgages and much more. However, most teenagers have very little, if any, experience applying for anything. Like it takes practice writing to become a good writer, becoming a skilled applicant takes time, effort, and practice. Applying for college has many similarities to applying for scholarships. When my son started his first college admission application, he had already applied for numerous scholarships. The practice he had gained from applying for scholarships made the college application process incredibly smooth and stress-free. Having previously filled out numerous scholarship applications, my son was familiar with how to answer application questions and write the essays required for his college applications. Ultimately, my son had a 100% college acceptance rate, and I attribute at least some of that success to his experience of applying for scholarships. That 100% acceptance rate and his scholarship success offered another significant benefit (Patrons, see the BONUS BENEFIT below).
“Investment” in College
According to the US News and World Report, 25% of first-year college students don’t return to college for their second year. There are three primary factors that cause students to fail to return to college: academic reasons, financial reasons, and personal reasons. Scholarships offer the cure for two of these reasons. Scholarships can help or eliminate the financial stress that leads so many students to drop out. Additionally, students who take the time and effort to apply for scholarships better understand the actual cost of college. They are more “invested” in college than the student whose parents are paying for school or the student who doesn’t feel the pain of student loans until after they get their degree. Because a student who wins scholarships has put so much effort into the process, they take college more seriously and achieve higher grades. Yes, students with scholarships can still enjoy college life - but because they don’t want to waste their earlier efforts, they achieve a balance that allows them to achieve academic success.
Start Now To Enjoy These Benefits
I always tell people that our only regret about scholarships is that my son didn’t start applying even sooner. He started his scholarship journey as a high school junior. Had he started earlier, he likely would have won even more scholarships, earned more money (including money in his pocket!), and enjoyed even more of the benefits of scholarships. However, we have to start where we are.
I love having the opportunity to work with students during their first and second years of high school. It not only allows me to help them possibly win scholarships at an early age, but I can also help them build their resume and Personal Narrative for even more scholarship success later in high school.
Students who start applying for scholarships in their junior year of high school have a distinct advantage compared to their peers who wait until senior year. They build the skills for scholarship success. Plus, some scholarship opportunities for high school juniors are not open to seniors, including a full-ride scholarship!
But I’ve also helped multiple students who came to me in the spring of their senior year still win scholarships. The only time it’s “too late” to apply for scholarships is after you graduate college. So, no matter where you and your student are, start applying for scholarships today!
If you would like a free scholarship consultation to find out how your student can get started on their scholarship journey, just drop me an email to get started.