It’s no secret at this point that there are a TON of scholarships out there for you to apply for. However, the big question on the topic of applying for scholarships that I receive often from students is “where and how should I be focusing my time and efforts?” 

To answer this question, I first recommend that students take the time to identify what their goals are in applying for scholarships in the first place. After that, I go on to explain that there are a few different categories of scholarships that students need to be aware of before digging right in. They are: 

Full-Ride Scholarships – These scholarships generally cover most, if not all, of a student’s tuition. They tend to be high in amount and also high in requirements and effort. 

No-Essay Scholarships – On the contrary, no-essay scholarships are those that are super easy, no-brainer scholarships for students to apply for because they do not require an essay or, generally, many terms of eligibility. These scholarships tend to be for a smaller amount of money, although they aren’t always. Additionally, because these scholarships have few requirements, they tend to get more applicants than other scholarships with greater eligibility terms. 

When it comes to the types of scholarships you should be applying for, part of any solid strategy is to not put all of your eggs into one basket. Therefore, you should make sure to apply for the easy, no-essay scholarships each month or quarter that they are running, to give yourself the best chance at winning some money.  

“Sweet Spot” Scholarships – Lastly, we have the “sweet spot” scholarships. These are generally the most common. While they can vary in terms of competitiveness, these types of scholarships usually can be considered mid-range (unless they get a TON of applicants and give out very few awards). 

These tend to be a bit more specific in terms of who is eligible to apply; for example, they may say that you must be attending a four-year college or university, with at least a 3.0 GPA, and have a major in any area related to science. While these terms make it so not everyone is eligible to apply, they also make it so enough people are eligible so the scholarship will receive applicants.