The worst thing about all of the myths surrounding college scholarships is that they stop students from believing that they have a chance of receiving aid, and frequently prevent them from applying for scholarship opportunities.
First some facts on college scholarships:
"Billions of unclaimed scholarships" aren't out there. Some scholarships may have eligibility requirements so narrow or are promoted so ineffectively that they do not receive applicants, but it is nowhere near the billions you hear about. Generally these claims come from scholarship scammers trying to lure students and parents with promises of big monetary rewards.
Less than 5 percent of scholarship dollars come from outside organizations. Most scholarship money (80 percent to 85 percent) comes directly from colleges and universities.
Take it to the bank
Now let's debunk some scholarship myths:
The only people that receive scholarships are the top scholars and athletes:
FALSE. There are a variety of scholarship opportunities, and more and more are being based on specific academic interests (majors), special talents, leadership abilities or community service. Some do require a minimum GPA, but it is typically a 2.5 (B-/C+) average and that includes most high school graduates.
Most scholarship awards are small and not really worth the time and effort to apply:
FALSE. This depends on your definition of small. If you receive two or three $1,000 renewable scholarships, that would bring in $8,000 to $12,000. Not bad. Now think about the possibility of winning seven or eight of these scholarships, and you'll quickly see an impressive return on your investment.
Scholarships are only for minorities or those with great financial need:
FALSE. No doubt lots of scholarship dollars are for high-achieving disadvantaged or minority students, but thousands of merit-based scholarships don't take either of those factors into consideration.
The competition is just too tough.
PARTLY TRUE. Unfortunately, so many applicants don't follow instructions, don't meet the eligibility requirements and fail to meet deadlines, that if you do follow-through on each of those items, you have dramatically improved your chances. Start your search locally with churches, synagogues and fraternal organizations that are eager to have a connection with their scholarship recipients.
You need to wait until you are accepted to apply for scholarships.
FALSE. Scholarships that are not tied to a college or university are referred to as "portable" money that you can take with you to any college, so you don't need to wait to be accepted anywhere to apply for those.
Check deadlines, a few of the most high profile scholarships have fall deadlines, but most have applications that are due sometime between January and March. Ideally, you should begin your scholarship search in your junior year and home in on the scholarships where you feel you have the best chance of success.
