Special Series Spotlight: Scholarship Stories
Scholarships are about as numerous as students themselves, and that’s why we’ve been curating a series of personal stories about the scholarship experience: searching, applying, deciding and of course… winning.
What we learned is that oftentimes, scholarship recipients didn’t think they’d win — for a number of reasons! Financially, extra-curricular-wise or simply because they felt they were too average. And many of them were happy to have been wrong. As one writer put it: My parents believed in me, but with all the other people applying, I did not think that I was going to win any.
Here are some highlights from the BetterGrads “College 101 Blog” Scholarship Stories special series:
Study Abroad Awards
Be persistent in seeking out the right resources, explore how you can enhance your learning internationally, and start turning your dreams into reality. I promise: you will be glad you did.
Sam Lim
Fulbright Scholar
Berlin, Germany
A Little Time Can Go A Long Way
You never stop having to apply for things, whether it’s more scholarships down the road for graduate school or the sometimes-endless search for gainful employment during and after school. Why not learn now how to best present your accolades and merits now?
Annemarie Moody
ASU Sun Devil Scholarship, Phoenix Press Club Scholarship, Sarada Robbins Scholarship and Joe W. Milner ScholarshipAsk And You May Receive
Everyone knew that I could do it, but I had to have faith in myself. Now, nearing the end of my first year of college, I am so glad that my parents pushed me.
Michael Roppolo
Bene Emeritus Sal Marasa Memorial Scholarship Award; Haverstraw Elks Lodge #887 Award; Rambling Raider Newspaper Award; English Advanced Placement Award; Social Studies Department Award, etc.Keep Applying, Even After You’re Already In College
I honestly didn’t think I would end up getting the scholarship. Weren’t there tons of middle-class students who had more compelling stories than me?
Donna Reish
Associated Student Government Scholarship
Be Yourself
What I encourage students to do is to write essays about activities that matter to them. If experiences aren’t important to the writer, then they shouldn’t be written about.
Arie Ganey
Board of Trustees Scholarship
Thanks to all of our guest writers and staff who contributed to this series, and congratulations to all scholarship recipients! And for those who have applied for scholarships but have yet to receive a check, we encourage you to keep with it until the right award comes your way.
