Newsletter Template (08/14/2022)

your scholarship problems, solved! 🎊

August 14th, 2022

The Scholarship Collective

Welcome to the Scholarship Junkie’s weekly newsletter, the Scholarship Collective. Where you can find educational content on all things higher education. From scholarships to post-graduation woes, I got you covered every Sunday by Noon.

What is Questbridge National College Match?

Questbridge National College Match is a college admissions process for high-achieving low-income high school seniors to be admitted early to any of the company's great collegiate partnership schools. If chosen this program would cover the full cost of attendance (with no student loans) including:

  • Tuition and fees

  • Room and board

  • Books and supplies

  • Travel expenses

The program may even include a federal-work study program or summer job. Other than grades, Questbridge takes into account household circumstances like parental unemployment, medical emergencies, and more.

Aside from the possibility of completely free college, a Questbridge National College Match application automatically applies you to 48 partner schools with no application fees! Even if you do not 100% fit the criteria, apply anyway! If you are not matched with a school, but are chosen as a finalist you still may be able to get a generous financial aid package through Questbridge Regular Decision at any of those same partner schools. Guidance on the application process is outlined on the Questbridge YouTube Channel. If you're a high school senior interested in this opportunity, the application is open and due September 27th, 2022! Okay, what are you waiting for?

Community Feature: Winner’s CircleHuge congratulations to community member Jaquela S. for winning the OSHA Leap Scholarship!

    If you're a freshman in college, you're probably thinking: "work experience already??" The answer is yes!Whether you're a freshman or senior in college, you can benefit from obtaining work experience. Internships in college give you a huge advantage over other applicants. If you're curious, here's how I approached it. But this is not the only way, so let's dive in!University Career CentersUniversities directly benefit from the employment of their graduates. This is why many colleges build relationships with corporations, foundations, and organizations that may employ their students. This can make your university career center a powerful tool when looking for internships and jobs.Tips for success in using your Career Center:

    • Don't wait until you need employment to engage with your school's center (attend events and introduce yourself)

    • Familiarize yourself with what your center offers (like maybe free clothes!)

    • Ensure you're actively using any career resource provided like Handshake or free resume review

    • Pay attention to any school or college specific newsletter or emails since these may contain opportunities!

    Professional Organizations

    Professional organizations that are related to your major can be a huge help to finding job opportunities. These organizations often have online career centers or even annual conferences to connect companies to its members. I secured 2 job offers from a conference hosted by the National Association of Black Accountants.

    Websites & Job Board

    • Jopwell: Helps connect companies with Black, Latino, and Native American professionals and students

    • Hired: Helps connect companies for technology specific roles like Engineering

    • Chegg Internships: Helps connect college students with companies looking to hire interns

    The Scholarship Diaries: Ashley from UCSD

    The Scholarship Diaries is a series where students who have recently won scholarships educate other students by sharing their stories and experiences. In this edition we interview 7x scholarship winner Ashley from the University of California - San Diego. Transcript (edited for clarity):

    Sade: What is your name, academic year, and what are you studying?

    Ashley: My name is Ashley and I go to UCSD. I’m in my senior year studying biological sciences on a Pre-Med track.

    Sade: Why Pre-Med?

    Ashley: I’m from a low-income community and have had to become a caregiver with all the health issues in my immediate family. This inspired to want to help others in general which led to lots of volunteer work.

    Sade: What are some of your aspirations and how are you tackling them now?

    Ashley: My goal is to go to medical school and I’m currently doing research at my university which is a big research school. I'm involved with campus organizations like the Hispanic Club for Medicine and volunteer my time on the border sometimes doing translation for the less fortunate.

    Sade: How did your scholarship search journey start?

    Ashley: My high school had a few college-readiness programs to choose from which encouraged us to take AP classes and prepare us for college applications. The teachers in those programs were very helpful and encouraged us to apply for scholarships. Sometimes there are scholarships available for the school that are specific to that school only.

    Sade: What habits do you think have made you successful in your scholarship search?

    Ashley: I think looking for scholarships that are a part of my identity made me the most successful. Like being Hispanic, first generation, and other specific parts of my life. Those scholarships are usually lower competition.

    Sade: What advice would you give to this students who may feel like they don't have these unique identity traits (non-minority, not 1st generation etc.)?

    Ashley: These students should pull from other places of strength like merit-based, athletic scholarships, and even regular essay-based scholarships which are not confined to an identity.

    Sade: What aspect of your applications do you think made you stand out the most?

    Ashley: A combination of GPA and telling my story. I'm not the best writer but I was honest with every question. For example, the Dell Scholars application had one question that said "What obstacles will you face by going to college and how will you overcome them?" I wrote about the adjustment from being a part of a small Title I school in a small community to a large institution of over 30,000 students.

    Sade: How has winning these scholarships impacted your life?

    Ashley: Coming from a single-parent home, it relieved a significant financial burden and allowed me to take on less work and more research focused activities that will help me with my future.

    Sade: What advice can you give to someone who is struggling to secure scholarships?

    Ashley: I know this is cliche, but you can't get up after not getting a few. Make sure you're being honest. Get your story of who you are on paper; not what you think the reader wants to hear but what you actually feel.

    Sade: Is there anything else you want to share the community?

    Ashley: My advice to high school seniors - you do a lot during college application season. Stay on track, seek advice on your writing because your academics will get tougher during the year. Don't restrict yourself to big scholarships; see if your school has an alumni donation fund for top academic students or even scholarships within the PTA. Those scholarships are likely low competition.

    Thank you for sharing your story Ashley! This is awesome knowledge that I hope students can pull lessons from.

    Sade's Free Advising Chat

    Join a community of over 200 students trying to secure the bag with scholarships.

    The Scholarship Roundup

    The Scholarship Roundup is where you can find different categories of scholarships due soon each week! (categories change every week)

    For Students who like no-essay Scholarships:

     For Students majoring in STEM:

     For students who haveDACA status:

    For students who have or loveAnimals:

      For students who are Creative:

     For Students interested in Law:

    Sade Goes LIVE!

    My live schedule for TikTok will be every Sunday at 8PM (Eastern Standard Time). Need to ask a question? Submit your questions anonymously to be answered on live at the next Q&A on August 14th, 2022.

    Thank you for reading this edition of the Scholarship Collective. Submit your feedback to be entered into a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

    Enjoying the Scholarship Collective?