By By: Tori Wilson
Staff Writer
‘How do you write an essay for a scholarship?’ is one of the most common questions asked when applying for scholarships. With deadlines approaching, scholarship season is in full swing here at IU South Bend.
The IU South Bend and IU Foundation Online Scholarship Application does require an essay and so do most others. Tabitha Kingsbury, the assistant of financial aid and scholarships, suggests including career goals, what inspired ones to go into a major or field, how one serves the community and how one is involved on campus in scholarship essays.
“The scholarship essay is an opportunity for the selection committee to learn more about you. Importantly, students should also address what the scholarship would mean to them,” Kingsbury said.
If students wish to include any financial hardships with the committee, the Scholarship Application is a great way to provide this kind of information too.
The Scholarship Application contains over 200 scholarship opportunities from IU South Bend and IU Foundations. Students can fill out an application and be added to groups of applications they qualify for. Students do not need to meet every criterion to qualify.
Scholarships can help any student with educational costs. Scholarships don’t need to be paid back and they help minimize the number of loans a student may need to help pay for school. The number of students that apply to the scholarship varies on the application year. The numbers could range from tens to hundreds. It all depends on the need for aid.
Community scholarships are also an option if students don’t qualify for any school scholarships. These scholarships are that students who are involved in the community can apply for. If a student is unsure of where to start, apply to the IU OSA. The scholarship application can be found here: https://students.iusb.edu/scholarships/OSA.html. However, the deadline to apply was March 1.
Students should take note that many other scholarship opportunities through IU are due at a later date and are still available to apply for once the OSA is completed.
Outside scholarships can be sent through the Daily Titan. Students can search ‘scholarship’ in their inbox and any Daily Titan postings including scholarships will show up.
“When we hear about opportunities students may be interested in, we post these to the Daily Titan,” Kingsbury said.
Students can consider their place of employment, and/or their parents’ place of employment as well. Community or professional organizations also fall under this category. Sometimes these places will offer scholarship opportunities.
Another place to find outside scholarships is FastWeb.com. Kingsbury reminds everyone to remember that it is important to never pay to submit a scholarship. Scholarship applications are free and should never require a payment.
