Every year, for senior students graduating, a variety of scholarships are available for them to apply to and help pay for their college education, whether those scholarships cover tuition, room and board, material fees or a combination of them. Although most scholarships are available for application later in the year after students have already received admissions decisions, some are already available now for students looking to acquire some early.
For students searching for scholarships to apply to, there are several resources available including information on open scholarships run by both the school and public information. The ANHS database of scholarships can be found on the school website under the Guidance tab or included in the Guidance Newsletter. Public websites with information about scholarships can be found with a simple Google search or on some popular websites such as Scholarships.com or Niche.
Mrs. Liegler, one of the academic advisors on campus says about the scholarship application process, “Students should apply to as many scholarships as possible because it’s free money. And who doesn’t love free money?”
Different scholarships have varying degrees of difficulty in their application process, some requiring materials such as essays or extracurricular activities.
One of these scholarships includes the National Merit Scholarship which is ran by the National Merit Organization for students who score highly on the PSAT. This scholarship thus requires test scores, essays, descriptions of extracurriculars, and grades.
Most scholarship committees require none of these supplemental materials, and some require a combination of the options.
Some scholarships also require application through multiple rounds in order for a student to actually receive it. The aforementioned National Merit Scholarship, for example, has to pass through the Semi-Finalist and then Finalist status before considering students for actual scholarships, which are then offered by the official organizations, universities, and corporations.
Another multi-step scholarship that is more selective and difficult to obtain is the Questbridge scholarship that many students apply for.
Tram Tran (12), a student in the running for such a scholarship details the process: “20,800 applied and 6,683 got admitted. Usually only around 1,500 students admitted get the full ride to a university.
This is one of the most selective scholarships in the country because of how many people apply for it. That is the reason for the extensive process and levels one has to go through to receive it. However, typically the more difficult the process the better the reward, as this and other scholarships offer 4-year full rides that cover every cost of university.
Students can receive scholarships that they find simply based on various aspects of their identity such as hair color or personality traits. Thus, there are scholarships available for all students regardless of their personal or academic background.
The scholarships detailed on the school website that are still accepting applications include CEHA scholarships, the California Elks National Foundation scholarships, or the Elevate Women in Technology scholarship this month.
As the year progresses, more scholarships will be made available as students have to continue checking as they are released.
