Flickr user Mount Rainier National Park
Community service not only helps your community, but it helps you too. Scholarship sponsors look forward to rewarding students who are active in their communities in any capacity. Their main goal is to offer financial support to students who are active in their communities and schools. These students are more likely to come back to those same communities and continue to serve them in a larger capacity after graduation.
Even if you aren’t as active as you could be, there are ways to catch a scholarship sponsor’s attention when you apply for specific types of scholarship opportunities.
Here are some tips on how your community involvement can help you not only earn a scholarship but get some college application kudos as well.
Many Types of Community Service
Community service is not limited to serving in soup kitchens on the odd weekend. Different communities may have their own unique needs. The best way to start is by finding out what your local service needs are. This may depend upon your community’s dynamics, but almost every community is sure to need some help to help it improve, whether this is medical services, drug counseling, help for schoolchildren, or assistance and care for the elderly.
No matter what the community service need is, chances are good there is a scholarship attached to it somewhere. Find service-driven activities that you are interested in and speak with your counselor regarding scholarship and internship opportunities for college.
Make Connections with Community Leaders
Service work often leads to contact with numerous, important community leaders and members of the community who have undertaken leadership roles and responsibilities. These are the people most likely to write scholarship recommendations and try to help you with any scholarship needs you may eventually have. Community leaders want young people involved because they want them to return to these communities after college and become a part of them.
Keep a Detailed List
When you are applying for service scholarships, it is a good idea to keep a list regarding the details of the service provided. Dates, times, and what types of activities and their outcomes are welcome details that potential scholarship candidates can provide and that scholarship sponsors are looking for. This is one time when it is ok to brag a little and talk about not only what you did, but how it made you feel and how this type of service has impacted your life.
Get Others Involved
Community service doesn’t happen in a bubble. Get friends and schoolmates involved and get as many other people involved within your community that you can. Though group scholarships are rare, they are out there, and sponsors are always willing to work with groups of people who may be willing to commit to the same level of service or apply to the same school.
Community service is rewarding in many ways but getting scholarship and college kudos for your good works is just the beginning for those who dedicate their lives to serving others. Take a chance and apply for a community-service scholarship.
| Lender | Rates (APR) | Eligibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
5.34%-15.96%* Variable
3.99%-15.61%* Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CITIZENS |
 |
4.92% - 15.08% Variable
3.99% - 15.49% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT SALLIE MAE |
 |
4.50% - 17.99% Variable
3.49% - 17.99% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CREDIBLE |
 |
6.00% - 13.75% Variable
3.99% - 13.75% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT LENDKEY |
 |
5.50% - 14.56% Variable
3.69% - 14.41% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ASCENT |
 |
3.70% - 8.75% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ISL |
 |
4.99% - 16.85% Variable
3.47% - 16.49% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT EARNEST |
|
|
5.00% - 14.22% Variable
3.69% - 14.22% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ELFI |
