The Search for Scholarships
By: Caroline Whyte
According to scholarshippy.com, “Each year, more than 1.7 million private scholarships and fellowships are awarded, with a total value of more than $7.4 billion. About 1 in 8 students Bachelor’s degree programs have won scholarships, an average of $4,200.” Scholarships can free students from a huge financial burden that can cause a lot of stress. To reduce the confusion and stress that comes with searching for scholarships, a few scholarships for high school students in Florida have been broken down so seniors, or any high school student planning ahead, can get the information they need to know before the new school year arrives.
The Bright Futures Scholarship is the most well-known scholarship to Florida students. The above infographic depicts the requirements necessary to earn either level of the Bright Futures scholarship. Also, you must be a Florida resident. For the 2021-2022 school year, the application for Florida Financial Aid must be submitted no later than August 31, after you graduate. The money amounts students can receive depend on which level of the scholarship is earned, but students can receive up to $212.71 per credit hour with the Florida Academic Scholar Award and $159. 53 per credit hour with the Florida Medallion Scholars Award. Mia Sartori, a 10th grader at Nease High School, stated, “Volunteering at a variety of places, like fun runs and food drives, are an easy way to gain a lot of community service hours in a short period of time.” This scholarship can only be applied to Florida colleges. For more information on Bright Futures, you can visit SAPBFMAIN – Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs (floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org).
The Coca- Cola Scholarship is a merit-based grant. Only 150 students are awarded the scholarship annually. On the other hand, it provides an amazing $20,000 that could significantly benefit a student financially. Coca- Cola recognizes students who are great leaders and help serve their community. Unfortunately, the deadline for applications has passed for the 2021-2022 school year, but if you are a junior and are interested, applications reopen in August. In order to be eligible, you must maintain a GPA of a 3.0 or higher as well as plan on attending a college in the United States. One restriction of this scholarship is you can’t have a relative that has been an employee or owner for Coca- Cola. There are no required essays but to start your application process you must fill out and submit the Google Form to Coca- Cola Scholars Foundation online. To learn more about the application process and requirements, you can visit Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation – Empowering Visionary Leaders (www.coca-colascholarsfoundation.org).
The Smart Owl Scholarship is a monthly scholarship and gives applicants a shot at $7,000 each month. Some of the requirements include that you must be a United States resident, 16 years old or older, and complete a Scholarship Owl profile. The upcoming deadline is February 28, 2022, but there are many other times to apply in the following months. One student is awarded the scholarship each month. There are about 1,500 applicants. Although students have to compete with many others, it is relatively easy to apply for and could possibly put $7,000 towards college costs. You can visit Smart Owl Scholarship (scholarshipowl.com) to apply or learn more about the scholarship.
For Nease High School specifically, many Nease students apply for scholarships before the end of senior year. Malia Davidson, a current junior at Nease High School, stated, “I have been preparing to earn the Bright Future scholarship by getting involved in the community and gaining a lot of service hours.” Guidance counselors can help provide information on great scholarships that fit with students’ specific circumstances and interests. The guidance counselors at Nease High School can provide a lot of information on what to expect going into college freshman year as well as how to plan out scholarship applications. Also, Ms. Millian has books listing a variety of scholarships in the media center that are accessible to students. She has also dedicated a whole page of the website titled, “So you’re heading off to college!” on the Nease media center website explaining everything you need to know about financial aid and assistance. If you are interested in finding more information on the wide variety of scholarships available, scholarships360.org is also a great place to find scholarships that fit your exact aspirations.
