Category Archives: College Planning

Follow these tips to increase your chances of earning scholarships:

Don’t pay for scholarship searches. Use free resources such as ScholarshipQuest at EducationQuest.org with over 2,000 Nebraska-based scholarships. Free national sites include Fastaid, Scholarship Monkey, ScholarshipExperts.com, School Soup, and Scholarships.com.

Visit your guidance counselor often for information about local scholarships.

Place scholarship applications in deadline order. Local awards and college-specific applications deserve top priority because you’re more likely to earn them.

Update your activities, honors, community service or paid jobs using the Activities Resume at EducationQuest.org.

Earn the best possible ACT/SAT scores by taking the exam in the spring of your junior year and again in the fall of your senior year.

Use quality references such as a teacher, coach or counselor. Encourage them to write specific examples of your leadership skills. Give them advance notice and a specific deadline.

Tailor your essay to the scholarship.  Ask an English teacher to read your essay and offer advice on making a big impact.  Your essay will need to stand out from other applications.

Pay close attention to grammar, spelling and neatness. Ask at least two people to proofread your entire application.

December “To Do” List
Complete these tasks during December to stay on the right college planning track.

Seniors:
__ Submit college applications.
__ Estimate your FAFSA results using the College Funding Estimator at EducationQuest.org.
__ Attend the Financial Aid Program in your area.
__ Continue to apply for scholarships.

Juniors
__ Attend the Financial Aid Program in your area.
__ Search for scholarships.
__ Register by December 28 for the January 26 SAT.
__ Register by January 11 for the February 9 ACT.

College is just around the corner!!! Juniors and seniors should start preparing for college. Juniors can attend the financial aid program in their area, research schools that have their interest. Signing up for Countdown2College at education quest.org to receive monthly college planning advice, and complete the online activities Resume to record your honors and activities for future admission and scholarship applications. They can take the ACT as many times as possible –colleges use your best score. Seniors should start narrowing down their college choices, talk to admissions, visit campus’, attend a college fairs, request letters of recommendation, complete college applications, update your Activities Resume at EducationQuest.org, and apply for scholarships. Some good resources are Scholarship Quest at EducationQuest.org, the college you plan to attend, and free internet based scholarship search sites. If you have any questions about scholarships and college preparation, talk to Mr. Planansky or Mrs. Marx.