Don’t wait too long to apply for scholarships
August 13, 2012
The old saying about the early bird who catches the worm might be one you tend to ignore, but you shouldn't when it comes to scholarship applications. The college application process is a stressful time, and once you start wrapping that up, there's probably nothing you want more than a vacation from essays and short answer questions.
Take a weekend off to decompress, but not much more than that. While getting into school seems like the goal of a lifetime, once you and your family start shelling out for tuition, you'll find that you're thankful you applied for all those scholarships as early as you did.
While you're setting up your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), be sure to search online, locally and at your prospective schools for great scholarship opportunities. They might not seem like much now, but these can save you immense amounts in student loans that you'll have to pay after graduation. Even if it's just a hundred bucks to help with your textbook costs, all scholarships ask in return is an essay and that you fill out a little information. Remember that you're in competition with a number of other students, and just like that bird, you want to beat them to the prize. It's worth it.
