A One-in-Twelve Chance at (at least) a $1000 Scholarship!
Why I Don't Advise Skipping the Big Scholarships
If I told you that your high school senior had a one in twelve chance of earning at least a $1000 scholarship, would you insist they write a short essay and fill out a form to have a chance at the prize?
Well, there is a senior-year scholarship that offers those exact odds. And the top prize for this scholarship is in the mid-five-figure range! Yet, I often see people, sometimes supposed “experts,” advising students to forego the big national senior-year scholarships. These people say that they are “too hard to win.” But I disagree with that advice for several reasons.
First of all, students actually DO win these large scholarships. For example, with the Coca-Cola Scholarship, 150 students win each year. Some of the other large scholarships have dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of winners. With so many prizes being awarded by these large scholarships, it’s not a one-in-a-million shot.
Another reason I encourage students to apply for some of the large senior-year scholarships is because it’s excellent practice and preparation for their future scholarship applications. For some students, these large senior-year scholarships may be their first experience filling out a scholarship application. Applying for these scholarships helps the student get used to the process. It forces them to gather materials like transcripts, resumes, letters of recommendation, and other items they will need for their future application. Many of these scholarships use the same submission platforms as other scholarships the student will want to apply for in the future, and by simply applying for one scholarship the platform will match students to other scholarships for which they are eligible. Sometimes the data from one scholarship application will be ported to other applications on the same platform, saving the student time later down the road.
One of the most important reasons for applying for some of the large senior-year scholarships is that it allows the student to build a body of essays that can be reused and repurposed for future scholarship applications. Many scholarships, whether large or small, national or local, use similar essay prompts for their applications. Since most of the big senior-year scholarships are open during the fall semester, applying for these scholarships lets the student build a body of essays that they can refine and leverage in the spring, when most local scholarships become available to seniors.
Another reason I recommend students apply for the large senior-year scholarships is my own experience. My son won three of these scholarships that some skeptics say are “impossible” to win, earning him $23,500 just from these large scholarships that so many say are “impossible” to win. One was a first-place prize worth $20,000, the second was a tier-two prize worth $2500, and the third was a $1000 prize from the scholarship I referenced above that has a one-in-twelve chance of earning an award. My son was not a straight-A student, didn’t have elite standardized test scores, wasn’t an athlete, and did not qualify for need-based aid. And, my experience with my son isn’t unique. Every year that I have been a scholarship coach, I’ve had students win some of these large senior-year scholarships. In fact, every year that I have been doing this, I have had students win the one-in-twelve chance scholarship I referenced above.
Check out the Scholarship GPS Course if you want more detailed information on many of these scholarships, including suggestions for your applications, essays, and even samples of winning essays. One module in the course covers scholarships I recommend for nearly every student, many of which are the large senior-year scholarships I’ve been discussing here (including a lesson on the scholarship with one-in-twelve odds of winning!).
