I’m a high school senior and plan to attend community college. Honestly, I haven’t researched scholarships much because I’m feeling really stressed about it. After I graduate in 2025, I’m thinking of taking a year off to work and save money. (I’m homeschooled.) I want to know if I should start applying for scholarships now or wait until next year to do it. If I start applying now, how will I know when they expire? I’ve found a few scholarship websites (like Bold.org and Fastweb.com), but I’m hesitant to register because I don’t want to get a lot of scholarships that I won’t be able to use when I start college in 2026. Any advice would really help!
Go for it. Many scholarships go unused because people don’t apply. I’ve personally won many and ended up with over 300k, plus room and board. People who are serious about scholarships usually spend 2-3 hours a week searching for them, more during breaks. If you’re in high school, check out the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, which gives up to $55k a year for undergrad. Good luck!
@Juno
Do you have advice on how to find scholarships?
Definitely start applying for scholarships.
Just apply. You have nothing to lose.
Most scholarships will state what academic year they apply to, and usually, you can only use them for that year unless the sponsor says otherwise. The best time to start applying for 2026-2027 scholarships is June 2025. Many will have deadlines between October 2025 and April 2026. Try to finish most of your applications by December 2025. This advice covers most scholarships, though some might have different deadlines. Watch out for scams!
@Patrice
Thank you! I’ll start applying next year then 