Let’s face it, college can be expensive.
But don’t panic. There are thousands of scholarships out there, from Oregon State University-sponsored awards to country-wide opportunities, all designed to help students thrive in their education.
To help students make the most of these opportunities, Christina Peltier, director of scholarships at OSU, shared some advice on finding and applying to scholarships, both on campus and beyond.
For most internal and external scholarships, the personal essay plays a key role in the application process, it’s where students have the chance to share their story beyond just their grades.
Peltier’s biggest piece of advice when it comes to writing these essays:
“Be yourself.”
Authenticity goes a long way. Scholarship committees want to hear about real passions, goals, and experiences from students, this helps an application feel more personal.
A great way for students to receive additional help on their essays is to utilize the OSU Writing Center or visit the Scholarship Office directly.
The Writing Center offers one-on-one sessions where writing consultants can help students brainstorm ideas and polish their essays.
Meanwhile, the Scholarship Office can provide guidance on what scholarship committees are looking for and offer feedback to students.
OSU offers a range of scholarships, including merit-based, need-based, and major-specific.
The OSU Scholar Dollars platform is a great resource to help students simplify the application process.
While university-based scholarships are great, Peltier encourages students to explore external scholarships offered by community organizations or national foundations.
“Using internet searches is your best bet,” Peltier said when it comes to those external scholarships.
She also advises students to look beyond traditional need-and merit-based scholarships, reminding them not to dismiss smaller awards,
“Really being open minded to look at hobby or interest based ones or even smaller dollar scholarships. So when I talk about smaller dollars, like that $100 scholarship, because those are generally all stackable.”
Scams are also an important thing students need to be aware of when looking for scholarships outside of OSU.
Scams can look like an external scholarship asking for students’ Social Security Numbers, or even for money to apply.
If students are unsure if a scholarship is a scam, they can send the information over to the Scholarship office and they will review and vet it out.
“Our office is here to help support students,” Peltier said.
She is aware that the application process can be a big time commitment but encourages students to take any time they have to apply to both eternal and external scholarships.
