Are you looking for scholarships to help you pay for or reduce the cost of school? It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, whether you’re returning to school in the fall or it’s winter break, now is the time to start looking and apply for scholarships, whether they are motorsports scholarships or just funding a motorsports education.
No matter where you’re going to be attending school, what age you are, or what you’ll be studying, there are scholarships out there that you can qualify for. But many of the scholarships have deadlines far in advance of the semester so that they can go through applications, decide on a winner and prepare paperwork with your college.
1. GENERAL SEARCH
The first step in getting a scholarship is doing a search on what’s out there. One of the best places to start is Fastweb, an online scholarship search tool. It’s a great way to see what kinds of scholarships are out there, and what it takes to apply for them. You can also purchase a scholarship book but you want to make sure that it’s up to date with the latest information, like The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2012: Billions of Dollars in Scholarships, Grants and Prizes.
2. IDENTIFY YOUR STANDOUT QUALITIES
Once you know what kinds of scholarships there are, from essay to application, you’ll want to narrow your search down to your strengths and anything else that makes you unique aside from wanting a motorsports education. Do you go to a church? Do your parents belong to a club or work for a large company? See if those organizations have scholarships available.
Did you grow up farming potatoes? Have you been involved in student government? Are you a skilled photographer? If you’re interested in a motorsports education, you’ve obviously shown some interest in racing. Motorsports scholarships are out there in addition to scholarships targeted towards your other interests and skills. Some include the Ricky Hendrick Scholarship, the Automotive Women’s Alliance Motorsports Scholarship and many more.
3. SEARCH BY SPECIFICS
Do a google or Fastweb search for terms with your standout points along with ‘scholarship’. There are lots of scholarships out there and, whether they offer a $500 prize or a gift card to Amazon.com, every little bit helps when it comes to paying for college.
4. APPLY
Once you identify a few scholarships that you qualify for, it’s time to get to the applications. The strategy that will work the best for most people is to pick less than 10 scholarships and give those the best application you can instead of spreading yourself thin by applying to every scholarship out there.
And the best way to apply? Start. That’s often the hardest part for most people, but it’s the most important. Draft an outline of what you’ll write or do for the scholarship. Then start filling it in slowly. You’ll have a draft of your essay or application. Then, edit it. Then have your parents read it. Then edit it more. Then have a teacher read it. Have everyone you can get look over your application. Very few applicants will do this, so it will improve your application, and chances of getting a scholarship, greatly.
5. BE DEDICATED
Set aside 15 minutes every day for your scholarship search, and make that happen. If you feel like working longer, and often you will, that’s great. If not, at least you’re creating a habit out of it.
Good luck with your scholarship search as you pursue a motorsports education, whether it is at a motorsports engineering school or otherwise!
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