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The college journey can be overwhelming, but the right tips and tricks can make all the difference.

Read below for tips and tricks on how to ace your SAT, craft a standout application, and navigate the college admissions process with confidence!

1. Check your high school’s website for LOCAL (city-wide, regional, and more) scholarships

  • Often found under guidance, counselling, etc.

  • More likely to get these scholarships than huge ones on sites like ScholarshipOwl, FastWeb Scholarships, etc

3. Check for college/major specific scholarships you may be eligible for through your university

  • Often found on school’s financial aid website

  • You may not even have to apply and automatically qualify!

5. Apply even if you don’t feel you’re fully qualified! Even 1 small qualification may get you the scholarship. (example: Apply for both Democrat & Republican scholarships, or maybe you want to be a child development researcher and there are scholarships for teachers)

2. Talk to your guidance counselor/office about available scholarships that might not be on the website

4. Check with local companies about scholarships (for example, a lot of factories, mines, and other corporations have scholarships available for the children or relatives of employees, like Prairie State Generating Company, Baldwin Power Plant, etc.)

6. Grades are not everything! Having a good solid resume or great essay or test scores may outweigh another factor depending on the committee. Don’t be scared to apply based on your transcript or involvement.

7. Make sure you have a professional-looking resume! (check under our mentoring tab for tips)

8. Have at least 3 letters of recommendation ready in advance (often from supervisors, mentors, teachers, etc.)

9. Have your unofficial transcript printed

10. Print copies of all of the above

11. Buy large envelopes and stamps to mail in applications

12. Save a copy of all of your applications and essays for future reference and to re-use information

13. Have financial info on hand

15.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Always ask your guidance office, or one of our RASI mentors!

14.  You can re-use your essays for BOTH SCHOLARSHIPS & APPLICATIONS if the prompt fits or is similar, just be sure to tweak it as needed!

  • ChatGPT and other AI tools are your friend! You can use them to help you sound professional, but DON’T let the whole essay be AI generated. You can tell, and they often will come out similar to other people’s essays. The point is to STAND OUT!

16. Always have someone else read over your application/essay before you submit it.

17.  Attention to detail and following the application exactly as intended, and sounding professional with good format is important! Some scholarship committees will toss your application just for minor errors in these areas.

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