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SUNDAY SCARIES; SCHOLARSHIP SCARIES
- Ella Stineman
- Apr 1
- 6 min read
As the 2025-2026 school year nears the end in less than a month, many feelings are reaching the surface, especially for students that are completing their senior year of high school. Senior year alone is a period of huge adjustment as students start to prepare for their future. Preparing for the future after high school looks different for every student, and there are many ways to approach it. Job shadows or internships are a great option for students to get a better feel for a potential future career. Another common practice students do to prepare for their future beyond high school is applying for scholarships. With that being said, let's explore all things related to scholarships.
The 2026 senior class at Clear Creek Amana High School has approximately 198 students.
Out of a sample of 17 current seniors, only 67 percent claim to have applied for at least one scholarship.
Now there are many reasons why students don’t apply for scholarships such as stress, lack of motivation, etc.
Before diving into why people don’t want to or choose not to apply for scholarships it is important to understand why individuals should highly consider applying for scholarships. Clear Creek Amana High school counselor Dawn Shannahan stated that “Applying increases your chances of reducing student debt and can also build professional skills.” When an individual applies for a scholarship there is a high possibility that they can earn a good amount of “free money” that helps them lower their student debt, which in turn allows them to save more money for their future. Who doesn’t just love to save money? No one in this economy… In addition, professional skills are a set of tools that can be carried throughout a person's whole life and are very useful for future situations many people will find themselves in, such as filling out an application for a job. The overarching idea is that it doesn’t hurt to apply for scholarships, in the end it can be quite beneficial to one’s future financial and employment success. Now that the benefits of applying for scholarships have been covered, let's discuss the reasons as to why some students may not apply for scholarships.
Stress, lack of motivation, no need for additional money, and not going to college are some of the many reasons as to why students don’t apply for scholarships.
A statistic from a sample of 17 seniors shows that roughly 71 percent of them feel little to very stressed applying for scholarships while the other 29 percent feel no amount of stress. Stress is a valid and major barrier to applying for scholarships.
When scholarships continue coming in and piling up in addition to the existing piles of school work, it becomes very overwhelming, eventually becoming very difficult to prioritize in what order to complete said tasks. In more extreme cases it becomes paralyzing and no work is done. With being paralyzed many students also come to the natural occurrence of also having a lack of motivation to apply for scholarships. Following this, there are some individuals who are afforded the privilege of not being burdened with being unable to afford the costs of college. While these students can technically still apply to scholarships, they may not see a reason to do so as money for education is not something that they necessarily need. Lastly, many students skip higher education such as college or a trade school and go straight to joining the workforce. Education is not for everyone and if an individual can succeed in life without college that is their choice to make.
“Omg did you know that _____ can’t apply to scholarships because…” – This is what we call a misconception, a myth, a whatever you want to refer to it as because no matter what the reality is they are never 100 percent true. So with that being said, let's debunk some common misconceptions and myths about scholarships. Number one: “The only scholarship applicants that get said scholarships are straight-A students or generally students with higher grades.” That is simply not true for most cases. Shannahan explains that there are many scholarships that “focus on leadership, community service, talents, background, and/or career interests.” In a world that currently fixates on grades, in my opinion a bit too much, it is fair to make the assumption that lower grades would be a deal breaker. With that being said, if you feel like your grades are a barrier to you receiving scholarships, focus your time and energy on scholarships that are geared more towards community service, leadership, etc. Okay let's move on to myth/misconception number two which is: “Scholarships are too competitive, therefore there is never going to be a chance of receiving them.” While this is true for some scholarships, this statement doesn’t apply for all scholarships. Shannahan goes on to say that “many scholarships have surprisingly few applicants.” So just shoot your shot and you may make some scores that you never thought that you would make! Number three: “I’m not a super strong writer or I don’t know what to write about in essays for scholarships so I don’t think it is worth it to apply.” My advice is that it never hurts to reach out to an English teacher at our high school as they are a group of people that specialize in helping students with their writing. All you have to do is reach out to them and if they are willing to help, talk with them to find a time that works for both of you. CLT or student support are great built in times that the school provides to get help and assistance from teachers. Let's say this is something that you aren't able to or don't feel comfortable doing.
Shannahan recommends to “set a timer and write for an hour.” When writing during this hour "don't worry about making it perfect—just get your thoughts down.” After you finish writing “if you feel even somewhat good about what you’ve written …” submit that application. Lastly there is myth/misconception number four which is: “I’m not going to be attending college therefore I can’t/don’t have to apply for scholarships.” BZZZZZT– That was the wrong buzzer if you were wondering. There are many students that don’t go down the traditional path of attending college. With that being said, this doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no scholarships that aren’t connected to colleges.
Ultimately, don’t listen to non-professionals when it comes to information regarding applying for scholarships and stop making excuses for not filling out scholarships, granted you are someone that needs them. With that being said, if you do need help with applying for scholarships, reaching out to and asking for help from people such as our own high school counselors is one of your best and most powerful tools to be successful.
The majority of students don’t start applying for scholarships till their senior year of high school, but is that the best time to start applying? High school counselor Meghan Carlo says that “Ideally, students should start exploring scholarships during their junior year of high school...” so that by their senior year of high school students can start applying “more seriously.” With that being said, it should be noted that there are actually some scholarships students can apply for in middle school. Isn’t that just crazy?! But it is safe to say for the average student it is best advised to start junior year of high school. So no need to worry about finding a way to time travel back in time.
Finding scholarships to apply for can be quite a challenge, especially if you are in your senior year with no idea where to even look. Carlo suggests students take a look at the following places: Xello (Specifically for CCAHS students, that’s you!), Local organizations (community foundations, employers, banks, clubs, etc.), college financial aid websites, and trusted scholarship search engines (Fastweb, Scholarships.com, College Board, etc.). An example of a community foundation is the Clear Creek Amana School District Foundation which can be found at their site: ccaschoolsfoundation.org. Out of 19 seniors at Clear Creek Amana High School, 50 percent of said students fill out scholarships provided by the Clear Creek Amana School District Foundation. Majority of the scholarships from this foundation apply for all students, making it a great place for CCAHS students to take advantage of the scholarships it offers.
There has been a lot of helpful scholarship advice from our high school counselors, but how about we hear what some current Clear Creek Amana High School seniors have to say. Senior Brett Lepire simply said to “Just be yourself when doing it (applying for scholarships).” I feel as though a lot of students find themself getting stuck on being perfect when applying to scholarships. The important thing to remember is to just give your best version of you. When you stay true to who you are, in the end it could help you stick out among the other applicants. In addition to this, senior Mackenzie Burnett suggests that students should “take [their] time reading and understanding what the scholarship is for and what the requirements are before you apply.” At times it feels silly to double check that you are eligible for a scholarship or a good candidate, but the truth is that it can save you a lot of time in the long run.
Overall it is important to remember to stay organized, apply to as many scholarships as you are able to, ask for help, but most importantly of all Carlo says that the most important thing is to “believe that your experiences and story matter, and make you unique…”
