hi mindy!! i was just scrolling through your page and wanted to ask on tips for searching for scholarships/preparing for my senior year of high-school? i've been stressing a bit because of my grades and want to at least get a bit of a boost before my senior year starts! any help you can provide is greatly appreciated!!
โงใปใ: scholarship hunting & senior year prep: :ใปใโง:ใปใโง
hey lovely! โจ
thank you so much for your ask! i remember that pre-senior summer anxiety so well, that weird mix of excitement and complete terror about the future. first of all, take a deep breath. you're already ahead of the game by thinking about this now instead of scrambling in october (like i did, classic me behavior).
โ.เณเฟ:๏ฝฅ scholarship hunting secrets ๏ฝฅ:เฟเณ.โ
let's talk about finding free money first, because who doesn't love that?
๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ: the absolute best scholarships are often the small local ones! check with your:
community foundation
parents' employers
local businesses
religious organizations (if applicable)
civic groups (rotary, kiwanis, elks lodge) these typically have way fewer applicants than national scholarships!
๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฆ: make a master document with:
your activities/leadership positions
community service hours (with specific impact numbers!)
awards/honors
special circumstances or hardships
career goals having this ready makes applications so much faster!
๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ข ๐ด๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ: create a spreadsheet tracking:
scholarship name
amount
deadline
requirements
status (applied/pending/rejected/awarded)
essay prompts (many can be recycled with tweaks!)
๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ด:
fastweb.com
scholarships.com
goingmerry.com (my personal fave, it aggregates and lets you apply to multiple at once)
your school counselor's list (they often know about local ones not listed online)
๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด: there are scholarships for duck tape prom dresses, being left-handed, having the last name zolpโฆ seriously. the more specific and unusual, the less competition!
๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด: those USD 250-500 scholarships add up and often have way fewer applicants.
โ.เณเฟ:๏ฝฅ grade rescue mission ๏ฝฅ:เฟเณ.โ
about those grades... i've been there too! here's what helped me:
๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ: before senior year starts, email them asking if there are:
summer assignments you can get ahead on
extra credit opportunities
specific areas to focus on for improvement teachers love proactive students and are more likely to help you!
๐ด๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ: many schools offer summer courses to replace bad grades. check if yours does!
๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด: if you know what you're taking, watch youtube videos on the subjects now. even 15 minutes a day gives you a huge advantage.
๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ด๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ: senior year is chaotic with applications, so create a sustainable study routine now before the chaos hits. i have soo many posts about studying + routines for studying.
โ.เณเฟ:๏ฝฅ senior year prep checklist ๏ฝฅ:เฟเณ.โ
๐ค๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต:
2-3 reach schools
3-4 match schools
2 safety schools research their specific requirements now so nothing surprises you!
๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ด:
register for fall sat/act dates now (they fill up fast!)
use free resources like khan academy for test prep
consider whether test-optional schools might be a good fit
๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ:
approach teachers before senior year starts
provide them with a "brag sheet" of your accomplishments
give at least 3-4 weeks notice (minimum!)
๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ:
the common app essay prompts are already available
jot down meaningful experiences/challenges/growth moments
draft a skeleton outline before school starts
๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต:
focus on depth over breadth
highlight leadership and impact
consider what story your activities tell about you
โ.เณเฟ:๏ฝฅ hidden senior year wisdom ๏ฝฅ:เฟเณ.โ
๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด:
complete the fafsa as early as possible (opens october 1st)
use the net price calculator on college websites
consider applying to schools known for generous aid
look into tuition exchange programs if your parents work at a university
๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ด๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ:
identify an adult who can proofread applications
find a senior-year accountability buddy
join application-focused discord servers or groups
schedule regular check-ins with your counselor
๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง-๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ:
senior year can be overwhelming
create a simple routine that helps you decompress
schedule application-free weekends
remember that your worth isn't tied to acceptance letters
โ.เณเฟ:๏ฝฅ my personal tips ๏ฝฅ:เฟเณ.โ
keep a "wins" journal where you document every tiny achievement or proud moment, perfect for scholarship essays and fighting imposter syndrome
create email templates for reaching out to schools, teachers, and scholarship committees
set calendar alerts for deadlines 1 week and 3 days before they're due
find your application soundtrack (mine was taylor swift's folklore, don't judge me)
reward yourself after completing applications (i used face masks and boba tea as motivation)
remember that this is just one chapter in your story. i know it feels like everything depends on this year, but i promise you'll find your path even if it looks different than you expected.
sending you all the good vibes for senior year! you've got this!
xoxo, mindy ๐ค
p.s. if you have specific questions about certain scholarships or schools, feel free to send another ask! i love helping with this stuff.
