how do i get scholarships?

One of my favorite approaches is to look for opportunities locally. Your county, your local grocery store, your electric company—literally, I applied to one for mine—might offer scholarships. These also tend to get less applicants. Ask your guidance counselor, or really any community organizer, if they know of any. You can also ask what previous students from your highschool have applied to.

Unfortunately, digging through scholarship websites is still a solid approach, assuming you go in with the right mindset. Cast a wide net! There is a scholarship for everyone. Most scholarships that students receive are relatively small, less than a couple hundred dollars, but these can still make a dent in your tuition! (However, be wary, some schools will take independent scholarships out of your aid package, so its worth doing some additional research there too). I recommend also checking out fastweb and the College Board, if you haven't done so already.

Collgevine has some helpful resources here: https://blog.collegevine.com/category/college-admission/scholarships/

You can find scholarships by state, major and interest area, among others!

Just like you, I use many of the scholarship websites, but the one I've found most useful is Raise Me ( https://www.raise.me/i/halcul ) because you get scholarships for entering grades, extracurriculars, work experiences, test scores, and art and media. Not all schools are on Raise Me offering scholarships, but you can still keep track of schools that you like. I'm also a white female from a financially stable household and this site has already worked very well for me. Hope this helps.

I'm kinda in the exact same boat you are in (but I'm a junior)! I've also been struggling to find scholarships on bold.org, niche.com, etc. But I know this, depending on the state you live in, state universities and colleges may offer grants, which are often need-based but they can be awarded for merit, athletic, and other talents. For example, I live in New York, so we have SUNY schools that have several monetary grants and scholarships for high GPA, SAT/ACT scores, extracurriculars, etc. When applying to a college you need to check whether you need to specifically apply or they automatically check for you and you need to do it early to increase your chances. You can also find stats like how many applicants get merits/scholarships and how large of one.

Also, in regards to the 'large drawing ones,' apply for more local scholarships. When you apply to scholarships on the national (and even global) scholarship drawings, the chances of you winning are slim to none. Try to apply to ones that specific, like your gender, nursing, and/or region. But don't get bummed down if you don't win any, they are super competitive. I think you'll have a better chance if you apply for scholarships that are affiliated with a college.

I hope this was able to help you in some way! Good luck with senior year and college applications!!