Going to college is fun and exciting, but paying for it is not. There are various opportunities out there to keep your piggy bank from being empty. One opportunity would be scholarships.

Students get the chance to get help for paying college costs.

“It is a gift that they get so the expenses[of college] are not so high,” said senior Karen Devendorf.

In the guidance office, there are applications to various scholarships that seniors can apply to. One general scholarship that every senior going to college should apply for, would be the local scholarship.

“If a senior student applies for the local scholarship, which is one application, they are eligible for over 40 different scholarships under that one form,” said guidance counselor Sue Leadholm.

Some scholarships are for students who will be going to college for a certain degree. For example, if you were to go to college to major in arts, there are scholarships made just for art.

“We also have outside scholarships which aren’t part of the local scholarship, but are different state and community scholarships,” said Leadholm, “[They are] posted on the bulletin board outside the guidance office.”

After high school, senior LaCrystal Newell is going to a technical college for early childhood development. She said that she will not apply for scholarships, but will get help from financial aid.

“It’s[financial aid] easier,” said Newell, “Since I’m just going to a tech, I don’t need scholarships. Financial aid should cover it.”

Although financial aid is a great way to help pay for college, right now is the time to apply for scholarships. Only a small amount of seniors have been participating in applying for scholarships so far.

“I would have to say that probably a third of the senior class is active in the sense of looking at the board and asking about the scholarships,” said Leadholm, “I think that all students definitely should apply. Especially to the local scholarship because the more narrow the pool is, the better opportunity that the student will get selected.”

Scholarship deadlines are almost due, but before turning in your completed work, look it over to make sure you’ve completed everything it asks you to do.

“One thing to remember about scholarships is that many organizations do get quite a few applications so you need to follow their directions to a T,” said Leadholm, “Otherwise they’ll automatically throw out your scholarship.”