With the pressure of college sign ups, FAFSA completions, and decisions on majors, seniors have been pushed to begin the process of the next step in life. For many, this next step requires heavy financial aid, and even more so, scholarships to help pay for the many expenses to come.

If college is the decided course, there are several extra expenses to be considered. According to Wells Fargo, these payments are looked at as the four major wallet breakers. The first is room and board. This will basically consist of dorm or apartment payments, gas, electricity, water, the internet, etc. summing up to a whopping $10,138! The second will be of books and supplies. As expected, this will be costs of textbooks, traditional school supplies, and any lab and computer fees, adding up to about $1,298. The third added expense topic will be of personal payments and transportation. Meaning, any clothing, laundry payments, toiletries, haircuts, entertainment, etc. totalling to $3,215. The final addition of payments will be seen in any miscellaneous costs. Much of which could be monthly phone bills, health expenses not covered by insurance, office visits, treatments, and prescriptions.

All of these expenses add to about $14,651 most of which are necessary to be successful in college or to make a living. This product in itself can be devastating to families, regardless of whether future students currently are maintaining a minimum wage job or simply living of their parents income. It is for this reason that filling out the FAFSA for financial aid, and completing any and all scholarships is so vital. Luckily, Pitman High School provides any and all available scholarship information on its home page for anyone to check on and sign up for, as well as financial aid workshops and college application work days.

Presently, the website contains ten separate opportunities for financial assistance, each of which provides specific qualifications needed for students to be accepted into receiving grants. The first listed scholarship opportunity is the “ACT Student College and Career Readiness Championship Program.” This opportunity requires high school students with any experienced hardships or turmoil write about their experience. They also must have an ACT score of at least 22 or have an average 3.0 gpa. Additionally, if any applicants are first- generation college students, they will have ultimate priority over final decisions. The deadline priority is December 31, 2017.

The next available scholarship option is the “Farmland Working Group Scholarship.” This opportunity allows for any graduates within the Stanislaus and Merced Counties eligibility to apply for a given $500 scholarship, with the deadline being February 16, 2017. Meaning any student within this counties can receive a scholarship as long as forms are admitted before February, and the graduates are within either County.

Additionally, the following option is the “HSC Home Warranty Scholarship.” The information enforces that seniors that answer what their passions are and their reasons for college with a creative video could be awarded $2,000. The final deadline is December 1, 2017.

Another opportunity is the “Sixth Scholars Program,” in which five high school seniors out of the possible 500 that can apply, will be permitted $5,000 to go to college costs. All applicants must have a gpa of a 3.7- 4.0 scale.The final deadline to apply is November 30, 2017.

The fifth listed opportunity is the “2018 Rotary All-Star Football/Scholarship.” The group promises at least 34 students a $1,000 scholarship to be used at any four year university. All applicants will be judged on essays and achievements made throughout high school and overall must have a gpa of 3.5. The deadline to apply is April 18, 2018.

The “B. Davis Scholarship” allows for a possibility of $1,000 to all juniors and seniors that write an essay of about 1,000 words describing the three characteristics of leadership that are most admired and how these characteristics helped to mold the applicant into who they are now. The deadline to apply is May 22, 2018.

The seventh opportunity is the “Stylemann Young Professionals Award.” In order to be considered for this opportunity, students must create a 1,000-1,500 word essay about “How Fashion Industry Changed E-Commerce And Its Impact On Us.” Individuals will then write about how the changes of fashion affects then either positively, negatively or neither. The deadline for this scholarship is November 20, 2017.

Proceeding this option is the “James Alan Cox Foundation for Student Journalists.” It is required to be accepted, students must submit still photographs that illustrate a story or an artistic theme of the individual’s choice. Only sophomores or older may be admitted and must have taken at least one photography class. Five winners will be chosen to win five digital cameras. The deadline to sign up is November 15, 2017.

The “Maryknoll Student Essay Contest” is exactly as it sounds, applicants are required to cite examples of violence and describe the actions they would take to promote or create peace. This contest is open for any students from grades 6-12, with a deadline at November 10, 2017.

The final listed scholarship is the “Robert Miller Scholarship.” It entails that students that wish to be accepted must be graduating seniors with the goal of majoring in Viticulture or Enology at either Alan Hancock Community College, or Cal Poly. The deadline to apply is March 16, 2017.

With either the ten options listed on Pitman’s website or the hundreds of other options online, there are a variety of scholarships to choose and apply for. With college pressure building up, and stresses of FAFSA deadlines, along with the costs of books, food, utilities, and many others the importance of applying to as many scholarships as possible has never been more vital.