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When it comes to scholarships, you want to keep the prospective applicant pool in mind. A generic, catch-all scholarship will likely have plenty of applicants. Scholarships specific to certain fields or skills will have fewer. Similarly, the easier an application is to complete, the more people who will apply to it. So a scholarship that has extra components will have less competition.
A work-heavy scholarship obviously takes more work…
Remember that work-heavy applications do take more time to do well. You’ll have to set time aside to get all the components together, and the earlier you can do this, the better off you’ll be. This is especially true should a longer essay or letters of recommendation be required. The number of components for a scholarship can deter other students who are looking for easier routes.
…but is also worth it!
One way to look at these scholarships is that the judges or committees going over applications are looking to know more about you as a whole person. Your character plays an important part. You are not just a series of numbers based on your GPA or your test scores. It makes for a much more interesting application. It also means that if you don’t have the best grades or scores, you can make a compelling argument with your essays and letters of recommendation.
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| 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 |
