Scholarships Opportunities Save Students Money and Time

Most students know that many universities can provide great in-house scholarship opportunities for students who choose to attend their institution, but often don’t realize that there are lots of other opportunities to obtain scholarships as well! Applying for scholarships may seem intimidating, but it’s actually easier than one might think, and this intimidation often could lead to students not applying for scholarships. 

When asked how to receive a scholarship, Mrs. Astle explained that there are various categories to qualify for. “The first and foremost is academics, but many others also exist.” Academic scholarships are typically based on your ACT scores, GPA, and rigor of class schedule combined. There are also scholarships for more specific things such as music or sports.  The application process for most include an essay and student profile for information about things like extracurriculars, service hours, and more. Another form of scholarships are those based on financial need, or that require financial need as a qualifying standard to be eligible for the scholarship. There are even scholarships available for things like Wendy’s, Coca-Cola, and making your prom dress out of duct tape!

Mrs. Astle, a counselor at Alta High, noted that “If you get your application into Utah schools by the priority deadline, you are automatically put into the scholarship application pool.” She added that typically the most generous scholarships come from the universities themselves. 

For students that are interested in applying to these and other scholarships, Mrs. Astle said that the Alta counseling website is a great resource, with a comprehensive list of scholarships by month of the year available to view. “Scholarships are very important, and all students should consider these opportunities and try to apply as soon as they can to as many as they are eligible for. It really just allows you to reduce limitations that you have for yourself and your future in terms of finance.” 

Step2TheU is another popular scholarship opportunity. When asked about the benefits of doing Step2TheU, Astle simply responded, “Step2TheU saves you thousands of dollars and time.” If you are part of this program, you start attending the University of Utah through concurrent enrollment during your junior year of high school and complete your general education courses before graduating high school. If you do complete your generals while you are still in high school, it saves you approximately two years depending on your class load. Since Step2TheU requires you to complete your generals on top of your high school curriculum, it takes a lot of dedication and not everyone is fit for it.