Scholarship Season

As the Class of 2019 settles into senior season, an increasing number of seniors with their sights set on four-year schools face an additional pressure beyond the extensive application process: scholarships.

As many seniors are already aware, four-year colleges and universities, especially out of state, are not only difficult to get accepted to but also usually come with a hefty price tag. Out-of-state tuition alone can be upwards of $30,000, and other expenses add to the many financial obligations students will face once they graduate.

To help alleviate some of the financial stress of seeking higher education, many institutions and organizations, both locally and nationwide, offer scholarships as awards for outstanding or distinguished work during high school. Students are awarded scholarships based on academic merit, athletics, community involvement, and other achievements or skills that schools look for in students that they feel translate into active and contributing members of society.

Ms. Jauregui, a counselor and the head of the Redwood Scholarship Program, sat down with the Gigantea to outline the basis of the program and how students should approach applying for scholarships.

“Basically, we have one application that comes together to provide opportunities for students to submit one application to apply for multiple scholarships,” says Jauregui. Money often comes from sponsors or Redwood Alumni with a lasting connection through the school, and students can submit an application to potentially receive a “hefty sum” of this money to help them pay for college.

Regarding what she feels students should most be aware of, Jauregui emphasized the importance of the Google Classroom students can join to stay updated on scholarship opportunities. “That’s where I’ll post information about the scholarships,” explains Jauregui.

With an online application, Jauregui feels the process will be more accessible to students and allow for parents who want to stay informed help their kids through the process as well.

Mahak Rajwani, ’19, is in the middle of her application process and appreciates the ease Redwood’s scholarship system has created for students seeking financial help. “Redwood is super helpful with the [scholarship] application process,” Rajwani says. “Ms. Jauregui always sends out a bunch of links, and scholarship websites and talking to teachers have been really helpful as well.”

Rajwani continues that the most difficult factor of the scholarship application process thus far has been finding scholarships that are applicable to her profile as a student. “It’s difficult finding ones that fit you,” Rajwani says.

Makenna Haskill, ’19, expressed some frustration with the application process; “A lot of them aren’t geared towards what I want to apply to,” Haskill says. Haskill feels many applications leave little room for students to accurately reflect their accomplishments.

Jauregui explains that students who struggle with this search instead for scholarships that are merit-based; “For example,” she says, “a student last year who was not financially-need based earned several large scholarships and they were all merit-based.”

Additionally, students should emphasize volunteer work and other aspects of giving back to the community. “A lot of sponsors and outside scholarships like to see volunteer work,” Jauregui explains. “You have to give more of yourself to others and to your community, and a lot of it…has been lacking in that aspect.”

Jauregui closed with some advice to seniors to increase their chances of receiving scholarships. “When you write your personal statement, make sure you clearly state your goals and aspirations,” she says, “because if the comittee doesn’t know you, they’re learning about you on paper.”

Furthermore, students listing activities they’ve been involved in should “give a description of the activity or how it’s impacted you. Don’t just list, you know, ‘volunteered at church twice a week.’ We want a little bit more information; how many hours did you devote to it? What did you do?” Jauregui ends with.

Students with additional questions can contact Ms. Jauregui’s office. To join the Remind and receive notifications about available scholarships, students can text @19Bluecrew to 810-10.