Robert Farrington: “Scholarships are the most under-rated tool when it comes to getting money to pay for school … here are my top five secrets for landing scholarships to help you pay for college.” 1) “A few years ago, Fastweb shared that $2.9 billion in grant money went unclaimed simply because people didn’t apply for the FAFSA … When you think about scholarship math in probability and expected value, applying to a lot of scholarships suddenly makes sense.” 2) “On average, about 20% of all applications get disqualified for not following the scholarship application instructions … On the flip side, this really increases the odds for those that do follow the instructions.”
3) “Instead of waiting to the last minute, apply for scholarships early. Even better, plan out a scholarship application calendar and treat it like homework. This will allow you to space out your scholarship applications and hopefully prevent you from missing a deadline.” 4) “When you apply for the scholarship, let others know you applied for it. Show your enthusiasm. Be excited for the organization, the mission, and the opportunity … scholarships are also a form of advertising for the organization. As an entrant in a scholarship, you can help them amplify their message – and this can help get you noticed as well. If the organizer not only sees your scholarship entry, but then they also see your enthusiasm online, it could give you the edge you need to win.”
5) “If you apply to just 20 scholarships, you can have a real chance of getting a substantial amount of money to pay for college.”
