Navigating Scholarship Season

Ian Mathews, Reporter

Scholarship season is here. For students planning to attend college next fall, this time can be filled with stress, procrastination, and oftentimes – confusion. So how should students navigate scholarship season?

North High provides students with the College and Career Center (CCC), which allows students to draft a vision for their postsecondary education. Head of the CCC, Mr. Breathett, states “My goal in the CCC is to expose students to as many opportunities as possible. I understand that not everyone wants to go to college, but I want my students to have career opportunities and be successful in life. And for those students going to college, I want to prepare them as best as possible for college by opening them up to different scholarship and post-secondary educational opportunities.”

There are a lot of ways for students at North to find easily accessible scholarships. North High’s webpage has an updated list of scholarship opportunities for a variety of different students. However, the most important resource for our students to use is not our website – it’s our staff.

Mr. Breathett states “I want students to feel free to come and talk to me. I’ve been given a lot of useful information that I want to spread to all of our students. I’ve been trained to help students formulate a plan that is unique and works for them. All they have to do is come talk to me.”

Although the CCC can be a great resource for students looking to pursue postsecondary education, GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate programs) also serves to provide students with college preparedness. “GEAR UP is to help students get information and be equipped throughout college with the correct information. Students get an opportunity to network with important people and gain exposure to colleges.

Applying to as many scholarships as possible can be a useful method to conquering the snowball of debt that current students face. But how big is this debt exactly?

According to Moody’s, a credible business and financial services company, student loan debt is now over $1.6 trillion in the United States. That’s more than double over the last decade, and triple the amount in 2006.

Education is now only second to mortgages in the highest form of debt that Americans face.

The student debt in the United States highlights the need for college preparedness and scholarships. This is why it is important for students to work hard at applying for scholarships.