Why is boasting about a best friend SO much easier than writing about yourself? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what a personal statement essay requires you to do–whether it’s for your college admissions application, or for a scholarship application to pay for college. Here’s our guide, to ensure you’re well-equipped to write a killer personal statement!
Looking for colleges to attend is the fun part. What’s not fun? The big price tag that comes along with picking a college. We’re here to show you financial aid options that can help in financing college tuition, so that you can focus on your studies, sports, and extracurriculars.
Would you purchase anything on Amazon before reading the reviews? We rely heavily on other people’s opinions to form our opinions or to back up our existing thoughts.
In the same way, colleges want to know what other people think about you, so a letter of recommendation (LOR) boosts your personal and academic validity.
Applying for college is exhausting enough. You don’t need to add “sifting through countless scholarship forms to apply for scholarships” to your long to-do-list. We’re here to show you just how easy it is to use Going Merry to get scholarships for college.
A couple weeks ago, we were invited by NACAC (the National Association of College Admission Counseling) to deliver an online demo of our platform.
So Going Merry co-founder and CEO Charlie Maynard led high school counselors through how the platform works and how it benefits counselors:
“If there’s a common app for college applications, why isn’t there one for scholarships?” That was my question as I started to search for scholarships for a second time, this time for graduate school. A quick look on the leading scholarship sites suggested there was $24 billion awarded every year. In fact, they even “matched” me with 53 scholarships offering more than $200,000.
But all they did was list the scholarships. To actually apply, I had to click 53 links to be redirected to 53 different sites. I had to re-enter the same information 53 times, as I started each application from scratch; and I had to wait for 53 e-mails to see if I had been successful. Worse, and predictably, the easiest of the 53 were scams. I still don’t know what they did with the data I entered.
Back when I was a student applying to scholarships using those dreaded scholarship search engines, I noticed that scholarship applications often asked for the same information (name, email, class year, SAT score, etc.)–and sometimes even had the same essay prompt! So I’d dutifully, and monotonously, type in my personal information over and over again, and copy and paste the exact same 500-word essay across application platforms.
Never again!
You might already know that, with Going Merry, you never have to fill out those scholarship application forms again. But did you know that, in some instances, we’ve even simplified that essay copy & pasting?
Over 5000 high school counselors use Going Merry to recommend college scholarships to their students, as well as to monitor their students’ applications processes.
We sat down with one of them–Shannon Harrison, KIPP Bay Area’s Director of College Counseling–to find out how Going Merry has helped both students and guidance counselors at KIPP.
This post was originally published on September 21, 2019 and updated on October 8, 2019.
We know you’ve got questions about the FAFSA and financial aid. When are the deadlines? How do I submit an application? Where do I even start?? Don’t worry; we’ve got the answers to guide you through your journey in financing college tuition!
At Going Merry, we’ve got plenty of well-known scholarship opportunities for your scholarship search, including sponsorships sponsored by brand names you know and love. Check out these 20 corporate scholarships you need to know about –, the Coca-Cola Scholarship, Taco Bell Scholarship, GoPro Scholarship, Motorola Scholarship, and more!
More than 5000 high school counselors across the U.S. use Going Merry. Recently, we reached out to some of the most successful counselors–ones who’ve helped many scholarship student winners. We asked them for their top tips.
How can Going Merry help your students win more scholarships and save you time?
Well, here’s what our successful counselors said. (We added GIFS. You’re welcome.)
Where we came from
For two years, we’ve built a platform to allow students, counselors, and parents an easy way to find scholarships they’re eligible for, filter through the noise, and apply to their favorites—all right from our platform. Now, over 200,000 students across 10,000 high schools use Going Merry.
But external, independent scholarships are only one part of the financial equation. Universities themselves also offer financial aid packages.
More and more scholarships (like this Motorola Milestone one) allow you to submit short videos instead of personal essays. Check out the winning entry from Violetta Spinazzola, about her best friend Jess:
With about 3,500 students, counselors at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, California were overwhelmed by their scholarship program. On top of their usual responsibilities, counselors at AHS were attempting to manage over 25 scholarships, totaling more than $25,000, which was a time consuming and complex process.
Thinking about how to afford college? Scholarships are a common form of support for education and many small local scholarships go unclaimed each year. At Going Merry we bring local and statewide scholarships to you and let you fill out your applications all in one place! Make sure to take full advantage of scholarships your community has available to you.
Check out the list below of Washington specific scholarships for you to explore!
The US supports education on all levels of community, stretching from national initiatives down to your neighborhood programs. Scholarships range from nationwide offerings to state, county, or even school specific scholarships. At Going Merry, we bring local and statewide scholarships to you and let you fill out your applications all in one place!
Check out the list below for some Pennsylvania specific scholarships for you to explore!
Thinking about how to afford college? Scholarships are a common form of support for education and many small local scholarships go unclaimed each year. At Going Merry, we bring local and statewide scholarships to you and let you fill out your applications all in one place!
Check out the list below of scholarships for Arizona you could apply to!
New York is home to Cornell University, Columbia University, and many great SUNY and CUNY institutions. New York also hosts scholarship programs specifically made for residents in the Empire State. Take full advantage of scholarships your community has available to you as many small local scholarships go unclaimed each year. At Going Merry we bring local and statewide scholarships to you and let you fill out your applications all in one place!
Check out the list below of New York specific scholarships for you to explore!
Ready to find scholarships that are a match for you?