University Scholarships for Adults

I’m sure you’re all aware of scholarships, but what many aren’t aware of is that they aren’t specifically for “traditional” students. In fact, did you know that there are more than 50 scholarship awards that have a minimum age restriction of 30 years old? How about more than 230 for those aged 25 or older? Additionally, there are more than 1,800 awards that have no age restrictions at all! As you can see, university scholarships aren’t just for the kids!

So, how do you apply for these scholarships? Head over to Fastweb and get started! Fastweb is a completely free service that matches students to the scholarships they are eligible for. They have been around for more than 15 years, and their database includes 1.5 million scholarships that total over $3.4 billion! They will match you up with scholarships based on your educational goals, activities, and interests. For example, they have showed me several dozen scholarships based on the sole fact that I’m a business major! Just so you know – I receive no financial gain by sending you to Fastweb. I just truly believe in their service, and I know that they will be able to help you find more money for school.

If you’ve already researched university scholarships, then you know that virtually all of them require you to write an essay in order to apply. These often center around your own life experiences, your future goals, and past challenges that you’ve overcome. This is a subject that I will be writing more about in the future, but for the time being, here’s a few tips to get you started.

• Does the essay prompt have several parts, suggesting a certain structure or order? If so, stick to that as an outline – it’ll make your essay more coherent.
• Make the introduction inviting. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Hook the reader’s attention at the very beginning, and they will pay more attention throughout.
• Do a quick Internet search for sample university scholarship essays. There are plenty out there to help you with some ideas.
• Don’t go crazy with the thesaurus. Replacing “I work at” with “I’m employed at” is one thing, but filling your essay with words most people have to look up in a dictionary doesn’t make you look smart. Anyone reading your essay will see right through it.
• Lastly, have at least two other people besides yourself proofread it. Even if there are no misspellings or grammatical errors, sometimes sentences can be structured in such a way that they sound great in your head, but they just don’t read correctly. Having a fresh pair of eyes will help you catch any errors such as these.

As I said before, I’ll delve into this topic at greater length at a later time. In the mean time, head on over to Fastweb and take a look at all of the university scholarships you are eligible for, and start applying. It’s never too soon! For more information on paying for college, click the link at the top of this page and check out the other options available to you!