How to Complete Scholarship Applications Efficiently

College is a very expensive endeavor, which is why students should apply for as many scholarships as possible. This process can be time consuming, but there are strategies to make it less so.

The most time consuming part of most scholarship applications is the essays. Essays can take a long time to write, so students should avoid writing more than is necessary. After applying for college, students should have a ton of pre-written essays that can be used for scholarships. For example, many scholarships ask applicants to write an essay about their future plans and how the scholarship would help them. This prompt is very similar to the common supplemental essay, "Why do you want to attend ____ college" or college essays that ask for intellectual interests directly. These essays may seem different but they both regard pursuing educational and career goals. Take some information from these college essays and paste them together into one future plans scholarship essay. Make sure to edit and improve the essay to ensure it flows and sounds good. There may be many applicants for a single scholarship, so it is important to write a compelling essay. Furthermore, the competition regarding scholarships is why having one or two go-to essays is important because they enable students to quickly apply to many scholarships as opposed to only a few with specific essays written just for them.

Some scholarships will ask for extracurricular activities and community service via a resume. Using the Common App or Coalition on Scoir activities sections is a great idea to save time. Just copy and paste from the application platforms to a word document to create a resume. However, using a resume format is important so edit after pasting.

Students will almost always need their transcripts as well. To save time, get a copy of it from a guidance counselor so it is on hand during the application process. SAT/ACT score reports could also be requested. Students can view their SAT scores and download a score report PDF from their College Board account. Check whether each scholarship accepts unofficial scores.

After only a few hours, students can assemble everything they need to apply to many scholarships. Applying to as many as possible increases the chance of earning money, which can make college more affordable. Tell your college's financial aid office about any outside scholarship you receive, because your total aid can't be more than your cost of attendance and the college may adjust other aid, such as loans.