As the end of the 2022-2023 school year approaches, many seniors may be in search of scholarships. For a senior looking to get into college, scholarships are almost always necessary. The cost of school is rising continuously and someone fresh out of high school wouldn’t be able to afford tuition without the help of student loans or scholarships.

There are other options after high school that don’t include college, but it’s always a good idea to apply for scholarships anyways. Plans can change and having those scholarships to fall back on would be beneficial.

“Scholarships for college are kind of a two-fold process,” counselor Amy Reoh said. “You have scholarships that are what’s called merit-based. They come directly from the university or college and that’s based on your GPA, ACT scores, and activities you’re in. Then you have the other fold which is just private-based scholarships and those come from private businesses.”

Finding scholarships is a long and tedious process. Searching for scholarships that seniors qualify for or apply to the field they want to major in can be a difficult task.

“I would give other seniors the advice of not procrastinating and to really get out there and look for scholarships,” senior Caitlin Schuette said. “There’s something for everyone, and the more you check, the more you will find because sometimes they have somewhat small windows of time when you can apply for them.”

Knowing how to find a scholarship is essential. Without the knowledge of how to find them, there is no way for a senior to get a scholarship in the first place. One way to find scholarships would be through a simple google or Education Quest.

“Every scholarship that is advertised to us, which is about three a day, we post them on counselor updates in our scholarship link,” Reoh said. “So, any student or parent has access to that through the daily announcements.”

There are also programs that accept students and help them kickstart their future. These go hand in hand with scholarships.

“I am planning to attend UNL next year because it’s close to home but also far away enough that I feel independent from my parents,” Schuette said. “They have also offered me awesome scholarships to the point I will be close to graduating debt-free. I’ve been accepted into the UNL honors program, which is already setting me up to get ahead and be successful.”

The best way to get scholarships and get into programs is to start looking early. More time looking translates to more opportunities.

“It never hurts to try,” Senior Kate Stoltenburg said. “Even a 500-dollar scholarship gives you 500 more dollars to spend on something besides college tuition. Apply for as many as you can!”

All of the counselors are always happy to answer any questions about scholarships or other opportunities and paths for the future. There is an application deadline, so if seniors are looking to get a scholarship, they need to submit their application before February 7.