As your children prepare for college, you also need to prepare for their financial needs. Paying for a college tuition fee can be costly because you’ll consider not only the tuition fee itself but other things like accommodation, books, and additional related costs.
But, here’s the good thing: there are many scholarships available in every educational institution. If your child maximizes these benefits and is successful with the scholarship application, it will be a big help to you and your child. Additionally, applying for a scholarship has a lot of benefits aside from the monetary amount.
Now, as parents, our job is to assist them in applying for a scholarship. Applying for these things might be worthwhile, but it can be challenging for our kids. In this article, let’s discuss how we, parents, can help their children apply for a scholarship.
In This Article
1. Encourage Your Child To Apply
In every university or country, scholarships have processes and applications. It may require a lot of time and effort, but it has a lot of benefits to your child. The monetary, tuition fee waivers, and other educational discounts that your child can have are some of the first benefits of the scholarships that your child can receive.
If your child has a scholarship, he’ll be more focused on his studies. Because of his scholarship, he won’t be required to get part-time jobs at night to support his studies. Yes, getting a job will train you to be more flexible, but it can distract you from entirely focusing on your studies. By having a scholarship, you’ll get more time studying and a good-paying job after your college. Also, if your child has a scholarship, he’ll be motivated because he’s required to achieve or maintain a grade.
So how do you encourage them to apply for a scholarship? By being with them. If we walk through with them during their admission to their chosen university, let’s also help them find a scholarship. It’s also nice to show them the benefits of having a scholarship, other than the monetary benefits.
2. Help Them Find a Scholarship
If your child decides to apply for a scholarship, the next thing that your child will do is find them. Nowadays, there are many scholarships offered in a university or country, but the question is, what is the right award for my child, and where should I find one? Your child can research his options online or gather some information from his chosen university.
As a parent, you can also maximize your networks. If you’re a working parent or have other relatives with kids in college, you can ask them about scholarships. Don’t underestimate your network, and you can find some relevant information about scholarships funded by different resources. You can also ask your kid’s high school teacher or guidance counselor to provide some tips and a list in applying for a scholarship.
Make sure to start your scholarship search early, and kindly make a list of your chosen scholarships. By doing so, you’ll know your options, and you can quickly rule out the scholarships that you’re not qualified for. If you’re wondering how early you should search, you can start inquiring before your child enters senior high school. In that way, you can decide and prepare early. Also, if you are interested in fully funded scholarship programs, please check out the link mentioned above.
3. Have a timetable to organize
Since all scholarships have application and processing dates, you need to consider the given dates before applying. We want to be early birds in applying for a scholarship because it can be a factor in getting an award. As your child is soon to be college student, he might be busy in all aspects of preparation, so your guidance and assistance are a big help to them.
If you’re eyeing a specific scholarship, gather all the relevant information about it, especially the application and deadlines. In plotting your timeline, make sure to include the processing dates on certain documents, such as your high school transcripts, recommendation letters, and other papers. Knowing the processing dates of each document you need to apply makes it easier to organize your application.
4. Double Check Your Kid’s Documents
The next thing that you’re going to do during the scholarship application of your child is to be a proofreader. Here, the goal is to double-check their application forms, attached documents, and essays. Look out for misspelled names, grammatical errors, and other things that may affect your kid’s application. You can also make a list of the documents to be attached, notarized, or photocopied.
Since we want our kids to submit quality scholarship applications, kindly make sure that his application is well-presented. Being on time and complete can give an excellent impression to the scholarship committee. Some scholarships have an essay as a requirement. Usually, they need to write some paragraphs discussing a particular topic. For these essays, you can double-check your kid’s essay and give him honest feedback about his writing.
You can create a list of the documents needed, and after your child completes them, you can now start double-checking. Remember, please let your child complete all the requirements by himself and do not answer any forms. Your job is to assist them and proofread their application.
5. Prepare For an Interview
Some scholarships have interviews as a final step in applying or when they’re shortlisted. An interview aims to know the candidate personally and why he is the best fit for the award. Usually, prestigious scholarships require interviews to assess your child’s character.
Since most of the scholarships funded by foundations, private companies, and universities have specific qualities that they’re looking for an awardee, kindly research with your child and read through with them. For example, if you’re applying for a scholarship foundation, they might ask your child about community involvement.
Usually, scholarship committees will notify your child if he has an interview. Afterward, you can research the institution’s background with your child, and you can create some questions that your child can ponder and answer. Teach your child to give the utmost respect to the scholarship committee. By preparing for an interview, your child knows what to expect by preparing for an interview, and he won’t be blanked during the interview itself.
