Where To Find Those Scholarship Gems — Promoting Elevating Athletes
The last blog I wrote, gave you some ideas on what types of scholarships are out there, and which sports programs offer them. I hope that by now you are beginning to realise that, even though your athlete may not qualify for a full-ride scholarship, there are still thousands of part scholarships that can certainly ensure your athlete still receives a free ride. You just need to look in all the right places. This blog will give some great pointers on where to find those juicy hidden scholarships.
Where To Start Your Search For The Perfect Scholarship
There are so many different places to start your search for the perfect scholarship. Great research is definitely the key here. It does take time. Not all scholarships you come across are going to be suitable for your athlete. It will be a process of elimination. It is important, however, that you keep the lines of communication open with your athlete, and you focus only on those scholarships that resonate with your athlete. Where do you start looking for those juicy hidden scholarship gems, you ask. Here are a few ideas to get you started
- Independent sporting companies
- Sports brand companies
- Unigo (amazing online resource and offer scholarships)
- Third-party websites
- Independent company scholarships
- Corporations
- Foundation scholarships
- Memorial and legacy clubs
- scholarships.com
- Sporting clubs
- Sporting institutes
- Services leagues club
- Newspaper and media companies
- Online competition and sweepstakes
- Companies and service-based online businesses
- Local government
- Local library
- Chamber of Commerce
- non-profit organisations
- discover.com (another awesome online search tool for scholarships)
Search High And Search Low
You now have a few ideas on where to start your search for those hidden scholarship gems. It is quite clear that there is no shortage of places to research. This list is not exhausted. There are a lot of other places you can search too. The only way I can put it is to search high and search low. Pick up every scholarship you come across and check it out. Remember, your athlete doesn’t just have to apply for sports scholarships. They can absolutely apply for academic scholarships also.
An academic scholarship can be much easier to hold on to than a sports scholarship. An injury and illness can very easily have your scholarship revoked. An academic scholarship is easy to keep as long as you toe the line, and your athlete keeps up their grade point averages.
Research is Key
This may start to sound quite repetitive, and good! That is what will help build into your athlete's college and scholarship success. Research is key! Once again, research is key! It takes time and can be somewhat tedious if you are not a researcher. But I guarantee you that your athlete will thank you for it for years to come. Research, apply early and apply often. Those are the three key takeaways I would like you to remember. Start now, and don’t stop. It will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why pay thousands to billion-dollar colleges? Don’t risk your house, your family, or your health. Be smart today, and it will pay off tomorrow.
A Final Note
Hopefully, now you have a good starting point to begin your scholarship research. With that, I will leave you with a final note. When looking at where to find scholarships, ask your athlete's high school guidance councillor for suggestions. Chances are, they already know your athlete quite well, and would have a good idea what scholarships would resonate and align with your athlete's needs.
It can also be a good idea to talk to the financial aid department at the universities and colleges. They can give really valuable ideas on what scholarships are available. Also, make sure you are always on the lookout for local opportunities. Your athlete being an elite, possibly already has good local exposure, and local scholarship opportunities often have fewer applicants.
There are more than seven million high school athletes, and only 1–2% of those are offered full-ride scholarships. Given this statistic, you may start to realise just how important it is to apply for as many as possible. Apply early, and apply often. If you would like some advice, tips, tools, and strategies on how to effectively search for scholarships, jump on a free 30-minute consultation call, and we can get you set up with an action plan to begin implementing right away. You can schedule your call here https://peainternational.com/free-consultation-call/
If you would like to become a member of our amazing community of like-minded sporting parents and athletes, join my private Facebook group Promoting Elevating Athletes. Over there I host twice-weekly live shows. We have a Friday Night Lights segment jam-packed with sporting highs, lows, and scores. You can pick yourself up some live bonuses, prizes, and giveaways. Come on over today and join in the fun. Gain all the tools and resources needed to help your elite athlete achieve the college dream. http://www.facebook.com/PEAinternational.
Originally published at https://peainternational.com on November 24, 2019.
