A scholarship is free money given to a student to pay for college. Some students win scholarships for their academic performances; others are awarded based on financial need. Whatever the case, every scholarship has requirements, which are qualifications that a student must have in order to win.
Before applying for scholarships, check all of the requirements for a scholarship to ensure you’re qualified. The more qualified you are for a scholarship, the better your chances of actually winning.
Scholarships with No Requirements
There are many scholarships with no requirements. These scholarships typically look like sweepstakes, meaning there is a short form to fill out. All that is required to enter the scholarship is a name as well as contact information. You also may be required to sign up for emails from the scholarship sponsor.
Scholarships with no requirements usually have many applicants because it takes very little time to actually complete the application. Additionally, because there are no scholarship requirements, more students are qualified to apply. These types of scholarships do not take into account academic performance, financial need or extracurricular involvement.
Scholarships with Academic Requirements
There are many scholarships with academic requirements. This means that GPA and/or test scores are the main requirement to win the scholarship. While a majority of academic scholarships require students to hold a high GPA, there are a few scholarships that award students for less-than-stellar academic performance.
When students apply to academic scholarships, they often have to show proof of their achievement in the classroom. Sometimes, this may require a transcript or test scores. Other times, students my need to include an essay in their scholarship application. The application pool for scholarships with academic requirements is smaller, partly because of those stricter requirements but also because there is more work entailed in the actual application process.
Scholarships with Financial Requirements
Given that scholarships are free money to pay for school that doesn’t have to be paid back, many students flock to scholarships with financial requirements. A majority of these scholarships require that applicants be able to demonstrate financial need. These financial scholarships can help to bridge the gap between what students can pay and what they were offered in terms of financial aid.
The application for scholarships with financial requirements will oftentimes ask students for their – as well as their parents’ – income. Sometimes, there are other requirements, like academic or extracurricular involvement.
Scholarships with Extracurricular Requirements
Students can also find scholarships with extracurricular requirements. These are scholarships awarded to students for specific organizations of which they are a part. Extracurricular activities range from athletic teams to academic organizations to school clubs.
Scholarships with extracurricular requirements require proof that students are involved in that particular organization. Oftentimes, a letter of recommendation or essay is required. Students can ask coaches, mentors or sponsors for a letter of recommendation.
Students that find scholarships with extracurricular requirements for which they qualify should absolutely apply. The pool of other applicants is usually smaller given the niche of the athletic team, club or organization. These scholarships usually take a little bit more to apply to as well.
Scholarships with Other Requirements
Finally, there are scholarships with other requirements that fall into a more miscellaneous category. These scholarships are awarded for things like last name, citizenship status or place of employment. The requirements for these types of scholarships vary greatly.
Sometimes, the applications for scholarships with other requirements denote that students only have to fill out a form, while others need an essay or letter of recommendation. Those that have an easy scholarship application process will likely have a larger application pool, unless it’s a very niche scholarship. Like the above scholarships, those that require more work will have less applicants, making the chances of winning a scholarship greater.
Requirements for a Scholarship After You Win
Not only are there requirements for scholarships before you apply, but there are also requirements for scholarships after you win. Students must maintain a certain standing in order to continue to be eligible for a scholarship. The requirements for a scholarship after you win typically involve keeping a certain GPA, continuing to demonstrate financial need or staying involved in an extracurricular sport or organization.
Scholarships can be awarded every year that a student is in college or they can be awarded for just one year. Before applying, students should read the fine print on how much is being awarded and for how long. They should also review the requirements for a scholarship after winning to ensure that they can maintain good standing in order to keep the scholarship.
Scholarship Requirements on Fastweb
Fastweb offers a very unique approach to the scholarship search process in that our site performs the scholarship search for the students. Through the creation of a
free Fastweb profile, students can indicate their GPA, income and extracurricular involvement as well as any other character or involvement traits that may be required to apply to a certain scholarship.
We take the information provided and match students to scholarships within our database. With over 1.5 million scholarships, our database is full of awards for students that meet a variety of scholarship requirements. What’s more, our process allows students to conduct their scholarship more quickly and efficiently, making them more successful in the scholarship search as a whole.
