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The college scholarship search can be both exciting and overwhelming for students, their families, and counselors. For many students, scholarships may be the key to making college more affordable, reducing borrowing, and setting themselves up for future success. However, scholarships often require a significant amount of time and effort from students and those supporting them. Here are a few strategies that school counselors, college access professionals, and others can use to help their students navigate the scholarship process, reduce stress, and make the journey easier for everyone involved. Let’s explore some of our top recommendations.

Set Clear Expectations

The scholarship search and application process can start as early as junior year (sometimes even earlier), and students should continue applying throughout their senior year. Most scholarships require students to apply the year before they can receive the funds. Additionally, most scholarships have set deadlines, essay requirements, and request references and transcripts. Limiting the search to scholarships without these requirements can significantly reduce the number of opportunities available. By setting clear expectations about timing and scholarship requirements, you can help students avoid missing deadlines and become more competitive applicants.

Build a Scholarship Toolkit

While you may assist students with scholarship applications every year, high school seniors and their families might be going through the process for the first time. Creating a scholarship toolkit to help them prepare for the general process can make a big difference. Depending on the types of scholarships available in your area, the toolkit can include guidance on building a scholarship resume, essay prompts for the most common scholarships your students apply for, and instructions for requesting transcripts and downloading a FAFSA submission summary. Share uAspire's scholarship toolkit or use it as inspiration to create your own.

Recommend Specific Scholarships and Search Engines

There are countless scholarship search engines and even more scholarship opportunities available, which can be overwhelming for students trying to know where to begin. Creating a list of local community scholarships and several recommended scholarship platforms can give students the confidence to start their scholarship search. One idea is to highlight one scholarship each month that you recommend your students apply for. Some of the scholarship search engines we recommend include Big Future, Fastweb, and Appily.

Create a Process for Students to Seek Support

Scholarship applications can demand a lot from everyone involved, including essays, transcripts, financial information, reference letters, and more. Having an entire class of students asking for support with these different items can be overwhelming. Establishing a clear process for when and how students can seek support can help manage these demands. Setting clear expectations around when items need to be requested and how students can access your help will minimize last-minute requests. Regular proactive outreach to remind students how to access support can also be helpful.

Share Scholarship Challenges

Winning a scholarship can be a game-changer, but students need to be aware of potential challenges. Here are three key challenges to consider:

• Scholarship Displacement: Scholarship displacement occurs when a college reduces the financial aid initially offered because the student receives a private scholarship. This could mean a reduction in institutional grants, scholarships, loans, or work-study, which may limit the scholarship's ability to cover remaining costs. Raising awareness about scholarship displacement can motivate students to inform their colleges of outside scholarships as soon as possible to prevent last-minute shifts in financial aid. It also gives them time to work with the scholarship provider to try to minimize displacement.
• One-Time Scholarships: Many scholarships are non-renewable, meaning they are limited to one year. For these scholarships, it’s important to help students consider costs beyond the first year and ensure that their college decision won’t become unaffordable without the scholarship.
• Renewal Requirements: Renewable scholarships often have specific requirements, such as maintaining a minimum GPA or participating in community activities, that students must fulfill to continue receiving the scholarship. Ensuring students understand these renewal requirements can help set appropriate expectations and prevent surprises later on.

Sharing these challenges you've seen other students encounter can help new applicants learn from your experience and avoid similar pitfalls.

Celebrate Scholarship Winners

Winning a scholarship is a fantastic accomplishment! Celebrating scholarship winners is not just about recognizing students' hard work; it also helps make the scholarship process more tangible for other students. It sends a message that scholarships are achievable and motivates future seniors to apply. Sharing success stories can help build a community expectation around applying for scholarships and make the school community more excited about supporting students as they apply.

Applying for college scholarships is a critical step toward making college more affordable for students and their families. Winning a scholarship can significantly impact a student’s college trajectory by making previously unaffordable options accessible or by reducing their loan debt. By creating a plan to support students throughout the scholarship journey, you can help reduce the burden on yourself, your fellow teachers and counselors, and the school community while increasing the odds that your students are competitive scholarship applicants.