If you’ve been applying for college scholarships for a while, you may consider yourself a sort-of expert. The thing about scholarships though is that there is so much to learn that you may actually not know everything. These 5 things you think you know about college scholarships are incredibly important and could just be the difference between you (or your child) getting the help paying for college that they so desperately need.
5 Things You Think You Know about College Scholarships {but Really Don’t}
Only certain types of people can apply for a scholarship –
There seems to be a huge myth out there that certain people can’t apply for college scholarships. While that may have been true many, many years ago, these days it isn’t quite true. There are so many scholarships available that just about anyone can find one that they qualify for.
The majority of scholarships are contests –
Again, another big myth is that the majority of scholarships have to be won. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. The majority of scholarships are actually offered by colleges themselves instead of a sweepstakes pool where only one winner “wins” the money.
Most scholarships are not need based –
Another common misconception is that you have to be low income or have a financial need to be awarded a scholarship. This couldn’t be farther from the truth and in fact, is a confusion between a grant and a scholarship. Grants are generally need based (such as the Pell Grant) whereas a scholarship is awarded to the best candidate.
Getting a scholarship will keep you from getting other financial aid –
This scholarship myth can be one of the most damaging since it could keep people from not applying for a scholarship and missing out on those funds. Being awarded a scholarship will absolutely not affect any other financial aid that you may be receiving. Again, scholarships are based on merit and not need which means that you absolutely can receive them even if you’re receiving other financial aid.
So many people apply that there won’t be any money left for me –
Finally, another severely damaging myth about college scholarships is that there are so few available that applicants will have a hard time getting awarded. This is actually quite untrue and in fact, the majority of available scholarships go unclaimed year to year. This is actually good news for you and means that you absolutely should go ahead and send in those scholarship applications that you have been working on!
These 5 scholarship myths are by far the only ones out there. Scholarships seem to be surrounded by a lot of mystery, but the simple truth is that there is no need for that. When you’re preparing to apply for your own scholarships, do your research, ignore the myths and you will be successful in what you set out to do…pay for college! Just remember our rule of thumb: apply for AT LEAST one hundred scholarships!
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