There is constant nagging from parents, stress about money, and cluelessness about where to find scholarships. Although, the Elkhorn Public Schools Foundation has 60 convinient scholarships available on their website for Elkhorn seniors.
Mady Pfeil, a senior planning on majoring in preschool education, feels like time is running out to apply for scholarships.
“My schedule the next few months is very, very busy, so I’m trying to get as much done while I still have time,” Pfeil said.
The deadline to apply for the Foundation scholarships is Feburary 1st. All scholarships require short essays, except for the ACHIEVE scholarship.
Students are guaranteed to win the ACHIEVE scholarship if they meet certain requirements on AP classes, service hours, AP Exams taken, extracurricular activities, and postsecondary education.
“There’s no competition to it, and a lot of our students meet those requirements,” Counselor Meg Starman said. “So that is the most common scholarship.”
To begin, students must go to The Elkhorn Foundation website, click on the scholarships tab, then they can apply.
There is a wide range of scholarships available. Some are community funded, while others are funded through Elkhorn schools. There are scholarships students can apply for simply because they went to an Elkhorn elementary or middle school, on the other hand, more specific scholarships can depend on what a students major will be in college.
The Elkhorn Foundation scholarships are very well-liked because students can access them easily, they are only for Elkhorn students, and students know the scholarships are genuine.
“The applicant pool [for Elkhorn Foundation scholarships] is smaller, so there is a better chance of getting one of those scholarships,” Starman said.
On the contrary, Dane Troia, a senior planning on going to University of Nebraska- Lincoln, thinks scholarships from colleges are better than the Elkhorn Foundation scholarships because they offer more money and are easier to apply for.
Pfeil has applied for six foundation scholarships, and found it worthwhile to take the time to write the essays, although it took a few hours.
“The thing is, a bunch of essay questions for the foundation scholarships are the same,” Pfeil said. “So, you can literally copy and paste a whole essay.”
Troia agrees that applying for the scholarships is worth the time and effort. Although, it took him about an hour every day for a week to apply for nine scholarships.
“No matter how big or small it is, every little bit of money helps,” Troia said.
Starman shared some advice for students for when they are writing their essays, “Be specific and personal to you, let them know your story.”
