The great news is that there should be plenty of scholarships available to you if you are going to school for court reporting. Scholarships should be the first place you look for help financing your studies. The best thing about them is that they are free. It should not cost you anything to apply for a scholarship. You should also take note that scholarships do not need to be paid back so they are not a loan of any type.
There should be three types of scholarships available to you. There are merit scholarships, scholarships based on need, and scholarships offered by employers and organizations. Each type of scholarship will be briefly described.
A scholarship based upon merit usually is competitive. Merit scholarships can be based upon grades, test scores, class rank, and/or extracurricular activities. This type of scholarship is also called an earned scholarship because it takes prior accomplishments (academic or talent) even to qualify to compete for the scholarship. If your grades and class rank are high enough, or if you have a special talent such as sports, music, drama, etc., then you should try to compete for as many merit scholarships as possible.
Scholarships based on need are offered by many schools. Sometimes states will provide funding for a certain number of need-based scholarships for residents of the state. Many schools have scholarships that have been funded by alumni or contributors to help students who have financial challenges in trying to obtain their education. Qualification for these types of scholarships is based solely on financial considerations with those above a certain financial level ineligible to even apply. Look into all these type scholarships that apply to your situation.
There is another category of scholarships that is many time overlooked by students, and especially court reporting students, when looking for scholarships. There are many scholarships offered by fraternal organizations and employers. A good example is the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation that sponsors scholarships for the children of current, former, and retired United States Marines. There will be scholarships offered by various court systems and even legal firms. If you happen to work in the legal field already in some capacity, your employer may even sponsor some scholarship opportunities. Finally, look into scholarships offered by large employers like Target, Walmart, and others. Some scholarships will be competitive and other based on need and sometime a combination of both when you are looking at scholarships offerings from large corporations.
The key to getting as many scholarships as possible is research, research, and then more research. After that, you must be disciplined and apply to every possible scholarship that you qualify for no matter what the basis.
|
