Congratulations. Your child got accepted into Harvard. Now, who is going to pay for it? Before loans come into play, take a look at scholarship opportunities, as there are thousands of them, offered by schools, nonprofits and others. Collegeboard.com alone has more than 2,200 possible scholarship options that total nearly $6 billion. Here are some aspects to be mindful of in your quest for the optimal funding fit.
DEADLINES Some scholarship application deadlines are early in the fall of senior year. Mark the due dates on your calendar and work your way backward to figure out how much time you’ll have to get each piece of the application finished.
RESEARCH Researching scholarships, requesting information and application materials, and completing applications all take time. Be sure to allot time for each step.
REQUIREMENTS If you have a question about whether you qualify for a certain scholarship, contact the scholarship sponsor. There’s no point in applying for a scholarship that you are not eligible to receive.
INSTRUCTIONS Stick to the word limit for the essay. If supporting materials are not requested in the application, don’t send them.
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
