As many seniors are getting college acceptances back and the application season is coming to a close, the question still remains of how they will pay for their education.
The deadlines for the Wichita Falls Area Community Foundation (WFACF) and the WFISD Foundation portals are coming soon on Feb. 1 and April 4.
Memorial College and Career clerk Sarahy Gonzalez recommends students finish the WFACF portal first before starting the WFISD one.
Her advice for earning scholarships includes not waiting until the last minute to start working on applications and always adding a resume.
“Use different recommenders, don’t use the same ones,” Gonzalez said. “Apply even if you don’t meet all the criteria because maybe no one else will do it and you’ll get the scholarship.”
All the scholarships on the district’s list have been checked for legitimacy, and Gonzalez recommends students use that as a primary resource. However, if they wish to search for scholarships on their own, Gonzalez provided some major red flags to look out for.
“Don’t do it if they ask for your debit card,” Gonzalez said. “That’s a big no-no. Don’t pay for anything. The ones that have a lot of ads on the website. I wouldn’t trust them. All the scholarships on the district page, they’re legit.”
While applying for scholarships can be tedious, it is worth the work. There is so much money out there if students are willing to put in some time and effort to earn it.
Last year, the WFISD foundation awarded $92,000 in scholarships to 46 seniors. This year, they plan to give out at least 68 scholarships amounting to at least $70,000 or more. They have several new scholarships they are awarding for the first time.
The WFACF awarded over $600,000 in one-time and renewable scholarships to students across Wichita, Archer, Clay, Wilbarger and Young counties. This year they expect to award about $650,000 in scholarships due to new funds that have opened and others that have increased their award amount.
