| Why Scholarships |
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Once the academic year has started, most college students stop thinking about how to pay for college and begin to focus on their coursework and making the most of being at college. Unfortunately delaying your search for college funding may cost you dearly because the some application deadlines for scholarships for the following academic year are as early as November. If you do a quick search at your university, you'll probably find 10% of the national scholarship deadlines are in November alone. This is not a comprehensive list and doesn't include university scholarships or those offered by other institutions or individuals, which could be several hundred scholarships with deadlines in November alone. If you then add to your list those expiring in December and you can see that it's to your benefit to start looking for and applying for scholarships today. That's not the only reason to start searching for college scholarships now. Don't forget you'll also need time to complete the application forms and providing the necessary information. Applications may require you to write an essay, get transcripts, test scores, letters of recommendation or other documentation. All these processes take time: transcripts and test scores may need to be requested and posted out to you; writing a decent essay takes time and is likely to need revisions; and letters of recommendation need to be written by professors who may already have a full schedule and limited time. Try to give yourself at least 6 weeks to complete the process in order to complete all the requirements of the application, and allow at least a week in the post before the deadline. A rush job is not the best way to apply for scholarships. The earlier you start looking, the more scholarships you may be eligable for and the more time you'll have to put together the best application you can! The longer you put it off, the less money you may get for college funding next year.
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