Common Scholarship Myths Butsted!

Applying for scholarships can seem daunting, overwhelming, and downright undoable.  But it's not!  Check out these limiting beliefs that might be keeping you from funding your future. Which ones are holding you back?

1. Scholarships are only for smart people with good grades–WRONG
   1. Scholarships are for people who show that they are worth helping.  YOU are worth helping. Good grades will certainly help, but it’s not everything.
2. Scholarships require too much work and effort!  It's too hard!
   1.   My method requires some work upfront, but then enables you to apply for a scholarship in as little as 15 minutes.
   2. Depends on the scholarship.  You have to decide what you are willing to do and what hoops you are willing to jump through.  Scholarships can range from Random Lottery Drawings all the way to incredibly niche categories to Beauty Pageants.
   3. You will also need to decide what level of competition you are going to go for.  Some national scholarships have thousands of applicants each year.  Most local scholarships have significantly less. I once won a scholarship that only had 
      1. Pageants are not Scholarship programs, in my opinion.  Are they good experiences that can help you grow and develop as a person?  Absolutely!  But any “Scholarship” that requires you to buy your own $4000 dress, is not an efficient way to gather money for college.  
3. I can’t win a scholarship; my parents make too much money
   1. That’s wonderful!  That means you didn’t grow up in poverty!  It doesn’t kill all scholarships 
   2. Merit scholarships are an awesome thing– You can get scholarships through sport activities, musical achievement, artistic expression, and more.  A scholarship for winning a Duck calling Competition exists.  Don’t give up.
4. You need to be a Jr. or Senior.
   1. You can start as early as 9th grade and some scholarships, like Utah’s 529 Scholarship you can win as soon as age 1.  Getting a 529 account saves your scholarship money and compounds it as you grow older.
5. It’s too late for me
   1. Are you dead?  If you are reading this, obviously not. 
      1. If you are in Jr. High School– You have plenty of time, and can reapply for many scholarships and possibly win them multiple times.
      2. If you are In High School—You still have time
      3. If you are still in College–Still have time, but scholarships are harder to find.
      4. If you have graduated– Still yes.  It’s called Loan Forgiveness Grants.
         
         Article Common Scholarship Myths Busted by Emily Tuckett Feb 2024