Earning enough funding for college can be tough. In fact, winning enough scholarship money to cover the endless amount of college fees feels impossible at times. Questions like, “Where do I find scholarships?”, “How do I know if this is a good application?” and “Is this really worth applying to?” spiral through our heads. But luckily, advice is on the way!
Mariah Jacobs, a current student at Washington University, is a first-generation college student who earned enough scholarships to cover her entire tuition and housing. Just a couple of the many scholarships Jacobs won include Support Our Scholars ($10,000), Jason Beaird ($1,000), WashU Scholarship ($70,000), Chums ($1,000) and Josie House of Help, which provides free dorm supplies. I asked Jacobs for advice to help out other students, and here is what she said.
Her Campus (HC): When did you first start applying to scholarships?
Mariah Jacobs (MJ): I started around the same time as college applications, which I regret. Even though I had a late start, I never really stopped applying. Even if I take a hiatus from applying, I’m always going to go back to trying. Think of applying to scholarships as a job—something that you just have to do. So if you’re reading this article, start applying right now.
HC: How did you prepare for scholarship applications?
MJ: I spent a lot of time writing essays and making resumes during my senior year. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to apply to as many scholarships as I could while balancing school and college applications; the applications for college and scholarships asked similar questions. It logically made sense to focus on applying to scholarships instead of getting a part-time job since it required less time commitment.
HC: How did you learn what types of scholarships were best to apply to?
MJ: Initially, it was just trial and error. I originally focused my time on applying to big scholarships like Coca-Cola and Gates Foundation. But, to be honest, I never made it beyond round 2 in scholarships like those. I never got frustrated at not winning anything because it was only about an hour to three hours of my time per application. Some applications only took me 30 minutes, so I decided to focus on the little scholarships that people often overlooked. Towards the end of my senior year, I applied to scholarships valued under $10,000, targeting mainly scholarships of $1,000. I used my college career center as a resource to find these small scholarships.
HC: What do you think was the difference between the scholarships you won versus those you lost?
MJ: I think it was the fact that the application pool was so small. Also, I tried to add as much personality as I could so that you see my voice shining through when you read my essays.
HC: Do you think academic standing or extracurriculars significantly impacted your winnings, or were they more based on your essays?
MJ: They were interdependent. My academic standing, extracurriculars and essays all come together to write a story. I was a girl with an outstanding capacity to persevere.
HC: What tools and resources did you use to help you with scholarships?
MJ: I mainly used my college career center and teachers at my school. My senior year, I also had a mentor through CollegePoint, a CollegeBoard organization, that helped me find scholarships.
HC: How did you ‘filter out’ scholarships that weren’t worth applying to?
MJ: Don’t apply to Niche scholarships or any on websites like that unless you like gambling. Those are essentially lottery tickets. It doesn’t hurt to apply to big scholarships like Coca-Cola, but your chances of winning are slim. My advice: stick to local and specific. For example, I won SOS, which was only for women and seniors in Central Florida high schools. Chums was another local one for Black women in Central Florida.
HC: How do you balance your time between school and applications?
MJ: I didn’t. I was hanging by a thread senior year. At that point, I stopped focusing much attention on passing AP exams and instead looked for scholarships. But looking back, it was definitely all worth it.
HC: What would you say to people who are struggling to win and feeling unmotivated? What advice would you give them?
MJ: A scholarship is literally free money; there is nothing better. Even if you don’t win, it doesn’t take that much extra work to apply. Use the same essays from college applications. I earned $1,000 in around 30 minutes. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s possible.
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