Scholarships A.K.A. Evil

Welcome to my first blog post. Perhaps some of you were puzzled by the title. Scholarships are good, right? Free money? WRONG. You have never been more wrong in your entire life. Scholarships are not fun. I will proceed to tell you why. 

1. Let's talk about me. Every scholarship or college application wants you to talk about yourself. It sounds fun at first, but after a while, you wish you had never existed. Are there NO other subjects about which you want to read? I'm tired of telling people what I want to do, who I think I am, why I deserve their money.

2. Get Involved. Then, they ask you about your extracurricular activities. (p.s. the "they" I keep referring to is the general group of people that give out scholarships.) ANYWAYS, It makes sense to ask about your activities, but then they start asking about how many hours a week and how many weeks you participate in an activity. Was I supposed to keep track of that? This would have been great to know THREE YEARS AGO. 


3. There are so many. This is a blessing and a curse. You have a wide selection to choose from, but which one do you choose? I never know which ones I am most likely to get. And I know nothing about my competition.

4. You're never good enough. Okay, that's kind of harsh. But sometimes that's how I feel. I've been denied by two scholarships thus far. I didn't fit their criteria. Now, I thought I was a pretty candidate. I maintained a high GPA throughout high school and I was involved in a variety of activities. But I didn't fit the criteria. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? Should I have my philanthropic organization by now? I guess I didn't get the memo. (I actually haven't been getting a lot of memos. Or scholarship money.)


But I guess they are a necessary evil. School costs an arm and a leg and kidney and an ear, and unless you stuff your pillows and comforters with money, you need to find money somewhere. So, because you need them, I'll give you some tips to survive their clutches.

1. Use cappex.com. Make yourself an account, fill out a profile, and they will match you with a BRAZILIAN scholarships
. 
2. Do the local ones. If you are going to do any scholarships, do the ones for your county, city, and township. There is a smaller pool of applicants, so you're more likely to win them. Usually your guidance counselor can hook you up with these. 

3. Go for the specific scholarships. Find scholarships that fit you like a glove, like the one for left-handed brunettes under average height from a family of nine who want to study a language in college. (Not a real scholarship, but you get the point.)

So, good luck! And may the odds be ever in your favor- unless I'm competing for the same one.