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There are three main reasons why people often do not bother to apply for scholarships: One, because they think that they would not qualify. Two, they think that it is too much work to apply. And three, they do not want to bother with the numerous scholarship scams out there- especially on the internet. These are pretty significantly high barriers to overcome. If a student is going to dedicate time and energy to write a unique and persuasive essay, they need to know for certain if it is worth it or not. We will explore how to overcome each barrier below.

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The impression of a scholarship is that you need to earn it with a high level of academic achievement or athletic performance. That may be true for ones offered by schools or honors associations, but there are actually many scholarships out there which most students can qualify for. As long as you are willing to demonstrate creativity and intelligence, any of these scholarships are within your reach. Here are some things to remember:  Never let the qualifications scare you out of applying, and just because you don’t qualify for one, does not mean you do not qualify for all of them.

Though the reward may not be as large as a full ride to your college of choice, applying for many smaller-incentive scholarships could actually allow you to accumulate more money for college. Taking a look back at the scholarships offered in 2012, there have been some very easy ones to apply for. Take the “I Was Born in 1995 Scholarship” for example. All applicants had to do was submit an essay of 250 words or less and…you guessed it: be born in 1995. Then, the most creative essay received $1,995 for college. As you can see it’s worth it to take a step back during junior/senior year to look at how much you would have to save up for college. Make a list of all the possible scholarships you can earn, and go out there and apply for them. Then, make benchmarks of how many semesters you have accumulated enough money for. Taking small steps for the long journey may be your best bet, because applying for a scholarship with a large incentive is kind of like putting all your eggs in one basket.

This is the most important barrier of scholarships- when they are scams. Before you apply to anything, always do some research to see if the organization that is offering the scholarship is real and if scholarship you are thinking about applying to is legitimate. There’s no return in focusing your efforts into something that is nonexistent. Here are a few tips on how to avoid these scams: An alarm should go off in your head if you have to pay an application fee, so always make sure you are getting what you’re paying for. The next one also has to do with your wallet, but it is more obvious. If you must buy something to be considered or if the organization wants your credit card/bank account information, back out immediately. These are extremely common schemes that people try to use to steal money from students.

Hopefully, that did not further deter you from applying to scholarships! To reiterate, apply to as many scholarships as possible, because they are out there waiting to be won. Do not be afraid that you will not qualify because the action of applying already shows initiative. We hope to have brought you some valuable insight on how to apply for scholarships efficiently, and we wish you the very best in your academic careers. If you wish to apply for the Design-A-Sign Scholarship Contest, it’s not too late! The contest ends on May 24th, 2013.