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What is the Point of Applying for Small...

What is the Point of Applying for Small Scholarships?

by Jingwei Chen
Jobs People Do | JobsPeopleDo.com

Small scholarships are ones that have a small payout or are good for only one year or one semester. Students tend to overlook these and aim for the ones attached to a bigger number or a more prestigious name or institution. This is not a good strategy. This article is not to try to persuade you to only apply for small scholarships—rather, I urge you to also apply for them. Here are three major reasons:

Small amounts add up

Say you apply for five scholarships, each worth $500. The best-case scenario is you win all five, giving you $2,500. While this may not cover your full tuition, this is still a significant amount of money! Think about it: at minimum wage (or your current job wage, if higher), how many months will you need to work to earn that amount of money? These small amounts add up, and every little bit counts

Fewer requirements to apply

Small scholarships are in general less competitive, and because of this, they are likely to have a small list of application requirements. What student doesn’t want fewer hoops to jump through for financial aid? Maybe you just need to submit a 500-word essay or complete an application form. All in all, it means your application may be completed in one afternoon.

More entries on your resume

Regardless of the prestige or amount, a scholarship is still a scholarship. A small scholarship can still go on your resume and at the end of the day, it is still something to be proud of. It’s better that you have scholarships to list.

The ideal strategy for students scrambling for financial aid is to apply for each and every scholarship and bursary you possibly can. However, those applications need to be carefully written, so given time constraints and a no-doubt busy student schedule, it’s easy to overlook the small scholarships. I suggest that for every major scholarship application you submit, work on one or two small scholarships. Good luck!

References:

  1. http://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/4A8488BA/Why-You-Should-Also-Apply-for-Small-Scholarships/
  2. https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-get-scholarships/

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