When you hear the words “spring break,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably “Party!” Even if you’re not planning a trip, you’re surely looking forward to taking a rest from your busy days.
But don’t relax too much over spring break. Enjoy yourself, but spend your time wisely by investigating college scholarship opportunities. Finding some extra funds for school will reduce your stress when you head back to class!
Make a list of your unique qualities, background, experiences, and abilities
First, keep in mind that many scholarships are awarded to certain types of people. This is a matter of prejudice but of certain organizations wanting to help specific individuals or groups. So before you start looking for scholarships, consider opportunities for your:
- Nationality
- Native language
- Race
- Religion
- Gender
- Age
- IQ
- GPA
- Year in school
- Major
- Financial situation
- Political party
- Special interests
- Any other unique identifiers
Start googling scholarship opportunities
If you aren’t sure where to begin, just sit down and start searching for scholarships on the Internet. Check the requirements and see which ones you qualify for. Note that some scholarships may ask only for an essay, while others present several hoops for you to jump through.
As is usually the case, the more effort you put in, the more you are likely to gain. Determine how much time and energy you have to devote to scholarship applications, and filter out the ones that don’t suit your needs.
Request letters of recommendation ahead of time
Many scholarship applications require a letter of recommendation. Get a leg up on the process by talking to your adviser or professors before the break. This shows consideration for them, as they surely want to enjoy their time off too. Make things easy by providing details up front and following up after an agreed length of time.
Grab that calendar
While it might be tempting to put your planner away for a week, part of growing up is never putting it away again! If you plan to apply for scholarships over break and even beyond, you’ll want to schedule everything you need to do as well as some free time. Remind yourself to research scholarship opportunities, follow up with references, write essays, fill out applications, and anything else.
Keep track of scholarship deadlines
There are so many scholarships available in the spring that you might easily become overwhelmed with opportunities. Prioritize your applications by focusing on the scholarships with the earliest deadlines. Even if that scholarship with the May deadline is a lot less work, it’s in your best interest to finish the March application first. Training yourself to do the more urgent and difficult stuff first is a valuable life skill!
Plan a lucrative spring break
If you’re up for it, trade Ft. Lauderdale for Ft. Knox. Well, not literally, but you can spend your time wisely on activities that may affect your future. If you have the energy and the determination, you might use your break to:
- Participate in a volunteer activity
- Take an educational vacation
- Begin learning a new language
- Enroll in a brief online class
Through such activities, you might be able to meet a scholarship qualification that you otherwise wouldn’t have. Even if you don’t win that scholarship, it never hurts to add a new skill or experience to your resume.
Before the new millennium, finding scholarships was a time-consuming and tedious process. The Internet makes it easy not only to find scholarships but also for benefactors to make them available. On the flip side, modern students have much more competition. You’ll still have to put in a fair amount of work to win your award, but it’s worth it. You’ll be proud of yourself and your success.
