Summer Scholarship Challenge for High School Students

Although many students want to go to college, few have the financial resources to do so without scholarships, grants or loans. I’m completely against loans, since they have a tendency to destroy a graduate’s future. That leaves grants and scholarships, but they don’t magically appear. Someone has to apply for them.

When writing my book, Free College, I realized I didn’t complete many chapters without having a specific goal, with a time limit. Once I set this up, the chapters almost seemed to write themselves. This could be true for scholarship and grant applications too. I suggest setting up a routine for finding, filling out, and submitting college scholarship and grant forms.

To this end, I propose a challenge over the summer. For most students, this means eight weeks. For others, it may be more. Whichever is the case for you, pick the number of applications you wish to submit during this time. They will all be completed online, of course, so you don’t have to worry about offices being closed. My suggestion is a minimum of three per week, better yet, set your goal at four or five.

You’ll still have time for visiting with family and friends, watching baseball or going to the movies, and eating lots of hotdogs or pizza. Discuss your family’s travel plans with your parents in advance. Block this time out on a calendar (you can print templates online for free). Then block out your sleep schedule. You’ll do a terrible job if you’re sleep deprived.

You now know when you have free time for meeting this scholarship/grant application challenge. Use a red pen to outline the times you are allotting to find, complete and submit your applications. If you have already filed at least one, you know how much time you’ll need for each. The average student takes about an hour, after the first one.

Sure, vacations should be fun, but wouldn’t you dedicate a few hours of the 1344+ you have over your summer vacation if doing so might result in being awarded thousands of dollars for college? Go ahead and do it. I dare you.

To learn more, you'll want my new book, Free College, on Amazon (Click Here to Buy). How to avoid needing college loans; for families of Pre-K through High School students.

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