Scholarship Tips

by Dawn Moser

Start looking for scholarships and check with your counselor weekly during your senior year
Build a resume
Work hard in school--Grades are an important factor in earning scholarships
Take the ACT/SAT fall of your senior year to get the best possible score. Many awards have a minimum ACT/SAT score requirement.
Apply for at least 30-40 scholarships

Organize scholarship applications in deadline order. Even the best qualified will be disqualified because of missed deadlines.
Set time aside on weekends or in study hall to work on applications. It takes a lot of time to apply, but the payoff could be big!
Talk to your college about school-specific and major-specific awards. Many of the biggest scholarships come directly from the college
Check with organizations related to majors.
Do a scholarship profile with EducationQuest or FastWeb to help locate scholarships that match your criteria.
Search for scholarships on the NCIS web site under financial aid sort