Westerville North has been active in providing students with resources on how to apply for specific scholarships. Erica Beebe, one of the four main school counselors at North, has sent and received information about scholarship opportunities for seniors over the past few months through mail and email.
Scholarships have long been a popular form of financial aid, and many seniors have recently taken a keen interest in them before finishing high school and pursuing higher education such as college. Scholarships are financial support given to students based on prior or current academic achievement or other specific requirements. However, rising tuition costs have become a major concern for students pursuing undergraduate degrees, which are often necessary for certain career paths.
College Board has noted a general increase of about $18,510 in the cost of private nonprofit schooling at four-year colleges from 1995 to 2024. Scholarships are frequently used to help bridge the gap between FAFSA aid and the costs of college, as tuition prices can be unaffordable for many families. The amount of scholarship money awarded varies depending on the organization administering the scholarship.
Community scholarships in Westerville were open December 9-January 10. Beebe sent several emails to students weekly and made announcements about the scholarships. The community scholarship list includes more than 40 scholarships, each with different specifications and requirements for aid, ranging from Parent Teacher Administration (PTA) scholarships to those funded by local Westerville restaurants.
Natan Tsegay (25) spoke about the scholarships at a recent Hope Squad meeting. “Having more scholarships that pertain to [me]…” Tsegay described a possible filter for such scholarships that could pertain to one’s major instead of sifting through complicated forums that may not pertain to fields they would be interested in.
“I would say that [the scholarships] are probably more broad than last year. Because of the [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] FAFSA trouble last year, we couldn’t show financial need as much, because it wasn’t there in time,” Beebe said of the scholarships. She also emphasized the importance of submitting applications quickly, as procrastination has often led to scholarships being awarded to students at Westerville South or Westerville Central High School.
Still, there is significant potential for students to secure scholarship money as winter progresses and college decisions and scholarships are finalized in the spring. Beebe has already sent more than 20 emails and plans to continue updating students on available opportunities as the school year progresses.
More scholarship sites as well are being forwarded to students with sites like ScholarshipOwl and Bold.org being quite reliable, but Beebe said, “I always caution students to look for scams. So if it’s asking you for credit card information to pay for something, you shouldn’t have to pay for anything.”