To be eligible for a community service scholarship, you must first complete the required hours of community service according to the scholarship’s requirements, and then complete the scholarship application correctly and on time. The majority of community service scholarships are awarded to high school students entering their first year of college, though scholarships for continuing undergraduate education may be available as well. The best way to find out about potential scholarship opportunities is to speak with your guidance counselor or look online for local or national scholarships available to those who volunteer in their communities.
The number of community service hours that must be completed in order to qualify for the community service scholarship will usually be specified; these hours must be volunteer hours and not required for any other reason. The type of community service may or may not be important, depending on the scholarship. If an environmental nonprofit organization is offering a community service scholarship, for example, the type of volunteering required may need to be related to some kind of environmental service. Students who want to apply for a specific scholarship should do their research as soon as possible to ensure that they will be able to complete the required number of hours at a specific organization or a number of organizations.
Filling out an application for a community service scholarship is the next step. Fill it out neatly and accurately, including all of the required information. A letter of recommendation or a personal essay may be required for some applications. The essay could be about how volunteering has influenced your life or how you plan to continue your community service once you’ve graduated from high school or begin your career. If the scholarship is based on grades, this will allow the scholarship committee to see what kind of person you are as well as what kind of student you are; some scholarships are not based on grades, but most scholarships will specify a minimum GPA.
To be considered for a community service scholarship, you must submit your application the deadline. Depending on the amount of the scholarship, some scholarship committees may want to meet with applicants; for example, some scholarships will cover the entire cost of college for all four years and will be much more difficult to obtain. It’s never a bad idea to apply for a variety of scholarships just in case.