How To Get A Scholarship When Your Grades Suck

Each year, roughly $46 billion in scholarship money is awarded to students across the U.S. And even if your GPA is low, that certainly doesn’t mean you’re out of the running. Felecia Hatcher, author of “The C-Student’s Guide to Scholarships: A creative guide for finding scholarships when your grades suck and your parents are broke,” recently sat down with Yahoo Finance to explain that there is money out there for the taking, regardless of your grades. You just have to know where to look.
Play the scholarship “lotto”

Hatcher recounts the story of her high school guidance counselor advising her not to even consider college because of her low GPA. But Hatcher did not let that stop her from applying for financial aid. Out of 300 scholarship applications submitted, she won $130,000 in scholarships and grants by focusing on local scholarships in her community. She urges students to apply for as many scholarships as possible. “It’s almost kind of like the lotto. The more you play, the better your chances of winning.”
Go for “no” or “low” GPA scholarships

Hatcher says that 60-65% of scholarships and grants either require less than a 3.5 GPA, or don’t ask for a GPA requirement at all. “Students would actually be surprised at the sheer number of scholarship opportunities that don’t ask for a GPA requirement. A lot of them are mostly geared toward extra-curricular activity.”

Every year, generally $46 billion in grant cash is granted to understudies over the U.S. What's more, regardless of whether your GPA is low, that positively doesn't mean you're out of the running. Felecia Hatcher, creator of "The C-Student's Guide to Scholarships: An innovative guide for discovering grants when your evaluations suck and your folks are penniless," as of late sat down with Yahoo Finance to clarify that there is cash out ready for whoever gets there first, paying little respect to your evaluations. You simply need to realize where to look.

Play the grant "lotto" 

Hatcher describes the tale of her secondary school direction instructor encouraging her not to considerably consider school in light of her low GPA. Be that as it may, Hatcher did not let that prevent her from applying for monetary guide. Out of 300 grant applications submitted, she won $130,000 in grants and gives by concentrating on neighborhood grants in her locale. She encourages understudies to apply for however many grants as could reasonably be expected. "It's practically sort of like the lotto. The more you play, the better your odds of winning."

Go for "no" or "low" GPA grants 

Hatcher says that 60-65% of grants and gives either require not exactly a 3.5 GPA, or don't request a GPA necessity by any stretch of the imagination. "Understudies would really be amazed at the sheer number of grant openings that don't request a GPA prerequisite. A great deal of them are generally designed for additional curricular movement."

Tap your folks' system 

Hatcher likewise makes reference to that the procedure starts with requesting that your folks tap their system of family, companions and partners. They may be engaged with grant panels and they additionally may be great contender for thinking of you proposal letters. She noticed that she got a grant dependent on her mom's calling. "My mother is an instructor thus one of the grants that I got was a Classroom Teachers' Association that I got on the grounds that she was an instructor," she says.

Pre-bundle your application materials 

The procedure can be overwhelming, yet Hatcher recommends bundling up application materials so understudies can convey a high volume of utilizations with to a lesser degree a period duty. She says "you may need to modify a couple of sentences, however you don't need to take a seat for a considerable length of time and revamp a totally different paper. So you can rapidly send things off, rather than believing that you have to begin sans preparation each time you have another application."

Utilize online life 

Secondary school understudies are via web-based networking media a great deal so they should make it work for them where grants are concerned. "You can look for grants through hashtags. You can look for grants in the catchphrase segment on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram," she says.

Grasp disappointment 

Also, a great life exercise for any youngster: use inability to drive yourself forward. "You will get a dismissal letter, and that is totally alright," says Hatcher. "However, you can't let that prevent you from pushing ahead."