THE $COOP ON $CHOLAR$HIP$

By Dave LeBarron
Board of Directors Member

One of the important pieces of preparing for education after high school is identifying and applying for scholarships to help with the cost.  A scholarship can be awarded for many reasons – academic ability, athletic talent, interests, demographics, career goals, etc. 

For example, Hart District seniors planning to pursue a career in education may apply for the Backer Family Scholarship. This local scholarship is managed by the SCV Education Foundation and its information can be found on the Foundation’s website. Applications are now open for the Backer Family Scholarship and are due by April 1, 2022.

There are thousands of scholarships, like the Backer Family Scholarship, available and many scholarships go unawarded because students do not apply.  It is important to start the search early and the following recommendations should help keep your efforts focused on the goal.

Recommendations

* Watch the attached video.  It is a good orientation on the entire process

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58aWdt0GFpw

* Visit and talk with someone in your school’s counseling office.  It can be the counseling assistant or,           even better, your counselor

* Pay attention to the presentations that your schools’ counselors will make on preparing for education after high school

* Visit these scholarship databases for ideas

> National Focus: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JvpT92Gay9Mj6XifK7qlMk2d1ay-LeXxQ7SyLyzLl8I/edit#gid=2140654332

> Local Focus: https://scvsf.org/

* Use the following scholarship search engines

> Scholarships.com: http://www.scholarships.com

> Career One Stop: https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx?mc_cid=057d692882&mc_eid=fb87f33025