How to Find and Win Scholarships for College
U.S. News & World Report features guidance on finding scholarships for college from Jatae Daly, Director of the CollegeBound Initiative at Student Leadership Network.
By Sarah Wood
Originally published in U.S. News & World Report on March 6, 2026
Scholarships are one way to reduce the cost of college, and aren’t awarded only to high school valedictorians or students with significant financial need. Here’s what students and their families should know about the college scholarship application process.
What Do Scholarship Applications Require?
Scholarship requirements vary, but you may be asked to submit a transcript, essay, personal statement, video response and/or recommendation letter.
”The relationships that you’re building within your school community or in your community at large are really important,” says Jatae Daly, director of the CollegeBound Initiative at Student Leadership Network, a nonprofit that works to advance educational equity.
Recommendation letters are not only “for the college application process, but also for the scholarship process,” she says. “Practice those skills now and make sure that you’re creating those connections now because you’re definitely going to need it in the future.”
Before submitting an application, pay attention to whether the scholarship is a one-time award or renewable for multiple years. For renewable awards, there may be stipulations to remain eligible, such as maintaining a certain GPA or staying a member of a club or organization.
When to Start the Scholarship Search
It’s never too early to look for scholarships – students can start the process in their high school freshman or sophomore year, Daly says.
Doing so “allows them to start forward planning, which we think is so very important for them to say, ‘OK, I might be a sophomore now, but I see that these four scholarships are available to rising seniors or juniors,’” she says. “Then they can create a game plan within their family to say, ‘Here’s my Excel spreadsheet, these are the scholarships that are most interesting to me or align with my career interest.’ When they reach their senior year, it’s really about which ones (they’re) applying to and when, versus having that discovery later on in their high school.”
