As the registration deadlines approach for college, many seniors are left thinking, “How am I going to pay for all of this? The scholarship binder in the counseling office has many different opportunities to earn money for next fall. Here are some of the opportunities available to departing seniors:

1. The “I can Make History” Essay contest, worth up to $3,000. In celebration of Black History month, Kroger is hosting an essay contest with a choice of themes: “name an African American past or present that you admire and describe how that person impacted or continues to impact history”, or “How do you feel young people today can make an impact on history?”. Students can submit art, music, or poetry to fit these themes. A full list of rules and guidelines are available in the counseling office, but keep in mind that the deadline for this contest is Feb. 29.
2. The John F. & Edith L. Wilsterman Scholarship Trust, worth up to $5,000 a year (for 4 years). This scholarship is open to all students in Genesee county, and places emphasis on students who may have struggled in high school, or faced other setbacks. The deadline for this scholarship is April 15, and while information is available in the counseling office, the easiest way to learn about this scholarship is at their website.
3. Many clubs and organizations offer opportunities for students with specific interests or talents. For example, “My Preparedness Story: Staying Healthy and Resilient Video Challenge” is a scholarship available online from challenge.gov, worth up to $2,000. The goal of this contest is to create a video that tells how you protect your friends, family, and community from health disasters that happen every day. The video should be 60 seconds long and closed-captioned. The deadline for this scholarship is March 28th.

The counseling office has many resources for scholarships, but to find an expanded list of scholarship opportunities, online scholarship databases like fastweb.com could be useful for finding college-specific scholarships, essay contests, and talent scholarships, ranging from math competitions to LGBT leadership essays. Seniors looking for scholarships might also want to update their EDP if they have not filled it out completely. Many selection committees look at EDPs -`during the selection process. While filling out essays and applying for scholarships may be more paperwork than applying for college, earning money for college can be worth the effort.