How do I get a Community Service Scholarship?
In order to get a community service scholarship, it will be necessary to complete the required hours of community service based on the specifications of the scholarship, and then complete the scholarship application correctly and on time. A community service scholarship is most often offered to high school students entering their first year of college, though it may be possible to find scholarships for continuing undergraduate education as well. The best way to learn about potential scholarship opportunities is to visit your guidance counselor for information, or search online for local or national scholarships offered to those who offer a great deal of service to their local communities.
The community service scholarship will typically specify the number of community service hours that must be completed in order to qualify; this must be volunteer hours and not required for any other reason. The type of community service may not matter, or it may be specified defined by the scholarship. For example, if an environmental nonprofit group is offering a community service scholarship, the type of volunteering required may need to be related to some sort of environmental service. Students who wish to pursue a specific scholarship should research this information as early as possible to ensure that they can complete the number of hours required at a particular organization or number of organizations.
The next step to receiving a community service scholarship is filling out the application. Be sure to fill it out neatly and correctly, supplying all the required information. Some applications will require a letter of recommendation, for example, or a personal essay. The essay might be on the topic of the ways in which volunteering has affected your life, or how you plan to continue your community service once you are in college or in your career following your education. This will allow the scholarship committee to see what type of person you are as well as what type of student, if the scholarship is based on grades at all; some are not based on grades, but most scholarships will specify a minimum GPA.
It is important to hand the community service scholarship application in by the due date in order to qualify. Some scholarship committees may also want to meet with applicants, depending on the amount of the scholarship; for instance, some scholarships will cover the entire cost of college for all four years, and will be much more difficult to get. It never hurts to apply for a number of different scholarships just in case.
