While student loans are the talk of the town, anyone with a college-bound kid knows how crucial scholarships are to cut down on that loan amount in the first place. Scholarships play a major role in affording college; a 2022 report from Sallie Mae found that 60% of families relied on scholarships to pay tuition.
Federal Student Aid recommends that students start researching for scholarships the summer after eleventh grade, but it’s never too early (or too late) to understand exactly how college scholarships work. Here are the biggest myths about college scholarships you should stop believing, so you can save every penny possible.
“Say yes to any college first, search for scholarships later”
The last thing you want is to be staring at your beautiful acceptance letters, only to discover that none of those dream schools are able to award you the merit aid you need. The hunt for meaningful scholarships is not a post-acceptance afterthought, but a guiding force in what schools you apply to in the first place.
To get started, research the “Common Data Set” for each school to learn whether they give merit aid and how many students received it. Many schools also have some sort of net price calculator that allow prospective students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account.
“Only straight A students get money”
According to that 2022 Sallie Mae report, 45% of families think students need to be academically exceptional to win money for college. While it’s true that many scholarships have stiff competition, there are millions of scholarships available. It’s a myth that stellar students are automatically set, or that subpar students will be left with nothing.
Students with leadership and other extracurriculars to boast can look into the types of institutional scholarships that aren’t so GPA-dependent. Outside of researching a school’s specific scholarships, look into private scholarships—private scholarships are typically small, but they can add up. Check out opportunities that might come from local businesses, nonprofits, sports clubs, and more. Remember, you can apply for as many scholarships as you want.
“I don’t need to fill out the FAFSA”
The purpose of the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is to determine how much financial aid a student qualifies for—including both need-based and non-need-based aid. Even if you think it’s not for you, it’s worthwhile to fill out to discover how you qualify for all kinds of financial assistance, including federal, state, and school-based aid, as well as merit-based scholarships.
Many households don’t realize there is no official income cutoff to apply for federal loans, but filling out the FAFSA is necessary for you to be considered. Moreover, many schools require it so they can award institutional scholarships.
“Scholarships are only for high school seniors”
Some college scholarships are open to high school juniors, and others are reserved for current university students. Don’t assume it’s too early or too late to look into scholarship opportunities; it’s worth it to keep applying throughout your college career.
And if you already secured a scholarship as a high school senior, make sure you read the fine print. You might have to reapply for it each year.
“Applying for scholarships is too complicated”
The college application process is overwhelming. Stay on top of the stress by creating a spreadsheet with all the different scholarships you find and what they require for you to apply. Also, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for each one—many scholarships are going to ask similar questions over and over, so save your work to repurpose your responses across applications.
Keep in mind that many schools’ scholarships have earlier deadlines than the official application deadline, so it’s important to start researching early and stay organized. When in doubt, reach out to the school’s financial aid office.
