By Violeta Panayotova

Imagine that it is Tuesday and your favorite time of the week is finally here. The Weekly Newsletter! Masterly crafted, it contains all of the information you need. As you scroll down you get to the best, yet scariest part of it all. The College Corner! But what does that mean and how is this helpful are the questions that everyone is thinking of. It may seem far, far away, but college is right around the corner with it’s expensive bills and long applications. Yet, the solution to it all is simpler than ever and this magic is called the scholarship.

Unfortunately, there are more than one scholarship and it is hard to choose the right one but here are a few that TPA students Amy Pennington and Stella Lovelady are applying for:

QuestBridge Scholarship

One of the bigger scholarships out there. It is a financial scholarship which implies that they are looking for what your family’s finances are. The senior, Amy Pennington, explains that “that is the most extensive part of the application.” The program is offering two different opportunities, first the QuestBridge Match, which is a full-ride four-year scholarship to any of their partner schools, which include Brown University, Columbia University, Yale University and many more. The second choice is QuestBridge Regular decision, which still provides you with a lot of financial aid and sometimes it can be full-ride as well.

Flinn Scholarship

The scholarship that was referred to as “interesting” is another one that TPA values highly. It is focused on you as a person rather than your financial situation. It makes you think who you are and what is making you be this way. Whether you like sports or you prefer to draw, this scholarship is going to listen to you. The essay questions that you have to go through are challenging and are making you dive deeper into who you are instead of just asking what your favorite movie is. Questions like “What is your motto?” are asked and answered.

Coolidge Scholarship

Not many have heard or know much about President Calvin Coolidge, however there is a scholarship in his honor. The junior, Stella Lovelady, describes it as “a presidential scholarship and the point is to commemorate the life of President Coolidge.” She explains that it is a merit based scholarship and the judges care for what you have done rather than your financial situation.

The process she went through when applying included asking for her transcripts and letters of recommendation from different teachers. The coolest part is that the scholarship gives you the fantastic opportunity to read the biography of Calvin Coolidge and to write essays on him and what he would do. Although competitive, the scholarship is a great way to learn more about American history and show how amazing you are.

Even if this list were longer (which it is), there is nothing harder than starting the application process and going to the interviews. So, here are some tips seniors, juniors and Mrs. Moffitt give to future applicants:

Tip 1: “Apply” is Mrs. Moffitt’s first word when asked about tips. She explains that it is important to make the first step in order to see if you can do it.

Tip 2: “Mrs. Moffitt sent me the email with the information.” Because there are so many opportunities, it is hard to choose the best one. But our amazing Mrs. Moffitt has you covered. She sends out information regarding different scholarships or summer programs that may fit your situation and character best!

Tip 3: Stella Lovelady says that everyone needs to “start early” in order to have enough time to look over their application and really think about what they are writing about.

Tip 4: “Be authentic.” Although you have heard this phrase many times, Amy Pennington emphasizes the importance of this. She makes it clear that one has to be their own character instead of trying to appeal to the scholarship directors. Everyone is special in their own way, and it is important for everyone to show that they can shine in their own way.

Tip 5: “Go to bed early before the day of the interview.” Some of the interviews include hard questions such as: What is your opinion on the government shutdown? And instead of studying the last minute, Amy tells us that everyone needs to have a good night’s sleep and prepare before. She also mentions that it is extremely important to spread the workload in a span rather than just in one night.

Applying to college is hard and scary, however TPA has many resources that are there to help you succeed and shine. Rather than forgetting them it is important for us all to use them wisely!