Seniors hoping to get some extra money for college don’t have time to ease back into school as the application window for the Frisco Education Foundation scholarships is now open.
Scholarships are awarded for academic achievement, financial need, community involvement, and other criteria created by donors. The application consists of two teacher recommendations, a community recognition letter, and an optional essay. But before students blow off the optional essay, FEF president Michael Simmons has some advice.
“You’ve worked hard. Everybody works hard,” Simmons said. “So I would definitely spend time on the essays, even if they say optional, fill them out. It doesn’t hurt you and it can only improve your situation.”
One student who doesn’t plan on skipping the optional essay is senior Ryan Shapiro.
“You want to put actual thought into what you’re writing about because these essays won’t hurt your app or like what your application looks like,” Shapiro said. “They only make them better. So if you’re going to do the application, which is strongly recommended, then you should write the essays and put actual thought into them while you’re writing.”
The application window closes on Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. Simmons encourages seniors to start early
“One key advice I would say is start early, you know, tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon when you get home from school, begin right away and even start thinking of what teachers you want to approach,” he said. “And don’t wait until the last moment.”
