Welcome back to Authentic Faith’s summer series! This next topic is something that attracts a pretty specific group of people, but it has been a pretty big part of my senior year of high school, and it is a beautiful part of my story. The idea of getting scholarships sounds amazing; I mean, free money! However, the process was tedious and really exhausting, but it proved to be very fruitful, and God was able to show me His goodness through it. I am excited to share with you the Lord’s provision, and also give some helpful tips that I learned, if any of you are about to be entering this realm.
Why bother?
For me, college was always something that I knew I wanted to pursue. I am a natural learner, and I want to become an expert in a topic that I am passionate about so that I can have a job I love and provide for myself and my future family. However, college isn’t cheap. I know, shocker. However, this didn’t feel like a problem to me for most of my life. Since I was an academically gifted child from age five, I was constantly told by all the adults around me that I was going to be able to go to any college I wanted for free when I grew up. As great as that sounds, I realized during high school that this wasn’t realistic. Yes, I like school, and I pick up subjects pretty quickly, but I’m no Einstein. I ended up not taking as many “challenging” classes my senior year, because by then I had learned that there are other things in life that are important to me, and it wasn’t worth it anymore spending hours every single night trying to get a good grade in a class that I didn’t even like.
After I came to the realization that I wasn’t going to get a full ride without any effort, God cleared the path for me to attend the college that I will be going to in the fall. I am extremely excited to start, and am so grateful that the Lord brought me to where He wanted me to be, but the truth is, it’s a lot of money. This was one of the major problems that held me back from committing for a while, because I was raised in a financially responsible household. My parents are passionate about taking care of the money they earn, and not being wasteful and being in debt to other people. Because of this, I have adopted their mindset that nothing is worth being in that much debt over. At this time, which was mid-fall, I remember praying to God to clear the path for what He wanted for me. I really wanted to go to this school, and I felt like it was where the Lord wanted me to go, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go on my own.
For a while, it felt like a very lofty prayer. I mean, I was asking God for thousands of dollars, and I was only working a few hours a week at a low-paying job! This forced me to trust God, and I had to come to terms with the fact that He was going to do one of two things: provide money for me to go where I wanted to go, or close the door I wanted and point me somewhere else. If I’m being honest, this prayer terrified me. I didn’t want to go anywhere else, but I knew that this decision wasn’t up to me. It took months of prayer for me to reach my decision, and this time really taught me how to trust God with things that really scare me.
This January, I had a beautiful opportunity presented to me. I was invited to a pretty prestigious event at the college, and the only people that could go were those with high grades and ACT scores. This event was a competition, and two people that performed the best that day would be given full tuition for all four years. All I had to do was write a great essay and nail a live interview. Easy, right? Wrong. That was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life.
This event not only had me doing something that I wasn’t used to or comfortable with, but it could totally change the next four years of my life, maybe even my whole life! For about a month leading up to it, I was a nervous wreck. I fought some new anxieties, and had to find peace in the fact that God would be good regardless.
When the day came, I almost didn’t make it into the building, I was so nervous. However, it went amazing! I felt confident in my writing, and I felt the interview went really smoothly, and was very natural. I loved conversing with the people that were interviewing me, and even got to meet the professor for my major. This made me feel extremely confident, and I was sure that God was going to give me this. I couldn’t wait to get the news that I had received it, so you can imagine my shock when I got an email that told me I wasn’t picked. That day was awful; all I could say was “I was so sure I had it” in between sobs. Not only was it a lot of money that I didn’t receive, but it was hard for me to understand that something I was so sure was right for me wasn’t what the Father had planned for me.
The process
So, I decided to go crazy applying for scholarships. The entire process took seven months, and I can’t believe that this is something that I accomplished. Before I go into crazy details, though, I want to preface that this isn’t something that I did on my own. I have some amazing supportive family that gave me resources and examples that showed me that this crazy dream was actually possible (you know who you are: thank you so much!). This helped me, not only because it showed me what scholarships to look out for, but because I saw proof of someone in my life that was able to graduate college without any debt. In addition, my mom was there every step of the way. She was constantly researching scholarships for me, proofreading every single essay and application that I created, and giving me the coffee and treats that were definitely necessary in order to do this all. In addition, she was patient with me as I struggled to get into a rhythm with scholarships among my already busy life. Thank you, Mom, for supporting me and being there for me, even when you had other things going on.
This process began with the spreadsheet of all spreadsheets: it had dozens upon dozens of different scholarships, including details, links, prize amounts, and deadlines. This became my home base, and really helped keep me organized. I could tell which ones still needed done, and which ones were due soon. From there, it was the tedious process of filling out applications and writing essays. Some applications were quick, but most were long, and a lot of them had me write multiple essays. Most essays I had to write were about myself, college and career plans, my achievements, and why I needed financial help. However, I experienced some that were more random. Some companies want you to write about a topic that is specific to their business, so that you learn more about their product/area of expertise. In addition, some organizations want to spread awareness about certain important figures, situations, or ideas, so be prepared for those.
Honestly, I was not fully prepared for how long this was going to take. I worked on this during study halls, classes, and at many coffee shops. I will say, though, this showed me how much God can truly provide. I spent lots of time in prayer, asking the Lord to provide if this is what He had planned for me. And true to His word, He provided. Interestingly enough, most of the money that I received didn’t come from the scholarships I applied for, although I did get some. Lots of it came from merit scholarships I didn’t expect, organizations and individuals I had never heard of, and grants that I wasn’t aware of. In addition to all this, wonderful job opportunities popped up, and I was able to find ways to make money while also working towards my future career that I am passionate about. Even though I didn’t find provision where I was looking for it, God clearly opened the door, and allowed me to commit to this college that I wanted to go to.
This is why I love writing about my own life, because it allows me to show you all how the Lord can provide in ways we never think about. A year ago, I honestly never would have believed God would have done all of this, but the way He did almost made it look easy. For me to see money come from unexpected sources was mind boggling, and the fact that it all came from these places was proof that it was never something that I could have achieved on my own. I do believe, though, that God provided because I was working hard to do something that He showed me He wanted for my life. If this college isn’t where the Lord would have wanted me to go, He wouldn’t have provided, even if I did a thousand scholarship applications.
So, here is your reminder that God is much bigger than we think He is. Like, so much bigger. And there is no mountain so big that He can’t move. Praise the Lord!
Tips
I’m saving this for the end, because this only goes out to a small group of people. If you are preparing to start saving up for college, or you know someone that is, here’s some things that I learned along the way that will hopefully help you. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me through the website or through my social media, because I would love to help!
Do your research! There are countless scholarships out there, it just depends on where you look. Most companies and organizations have some, and there are so many local ones too! Make sure when doing essays, that you research who is in charge of this scholarship. Talk about topics that are important to them, and if you are talking about a specific person, group, or idea, make sure you understand it on a deeper level, and not just reciting facts.
Don’t neglect academics. The majority of my funds came from merit scholarships, and many other scholarships will ask for transcripts and ACT/SAT scores. While this isn’t always a deciding factor, it definitely helps!
References are crucial. Ask for references months before your first scholarship is due, and make sure there is a variety. Ask multiple teachers, coaches, pastors, and employers to write you one; there’s no such thing as too many! When submitting references, make sure the ones you submit are the most relevant. Ones focusing on academics will want some from teachers, while scholarships about community service might value pastors or community leaders.
Don’t neglect small ones. Even if its only a hundred dollars, doing the small ones adds up quickly!
Look professional. Always use a pen if applications are handwritten, and make sure to send physical applications in a manila envelope. I personally used a cover page on each of mine, addressing each individual company/person, and it made it feel much more purposeful and intentional (Google has good templates, and they only need to be a few sentences long!).
Don’t be modest. I’m glad you don’t want to be boastful, but remember that these people want those that are qualified! If you perfectly fit the description for the person they want to award the scholarship to, don’t hesitate to write down your experience and talents. It will help you!
Get used to rejection. Some scholarships can have thousands of applicants, so it is unrealistic to expect to get every one you apply to. Don’t let rejections stop you from continuing!
The Lord will provide! This is scary, because a lot of the time His provision doesn’t look like the plan we had in our minds, but I can promise you that it is better! Spend time in prayer, and ask God to help you trust Him.
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Thank you again for coming back to the blog, because it means so much to me! I am not concerned about reaching a million different people, because I know that it is not about how many hearts you touch, but how you touch those hearts. However, I would encourage you to share posts with those you know, if you feel like it would be helpful and encouraging! The Lord did not give me this platform to hide behind, because I cannot share the hope that is in me if no one is there to listen! Thank you again for being my biggest supporters <3
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