Scholarship Renewal & Why You Need to Know About It

Let’s say you applied for a scholarship. You poured your heart and soul into the application, wrote a fantastic essay and you won! The money was sent to your school, and a big chunk of your tuition was covered by it. So much, in fact, that you can’t afford college without that scholarship. And while being covered in this way for one year of your education is great, what will you do for the other three years?

That’s where scholarship renewal comes into play. You see, some scholarships are renewable, meaning you can have them renewed each year you are in college. So, you win the scholarship once and you’re covered for the entirety of your college career. However, not all scholarships are renewable and not all renew automatically.

So you don’t lose out on free money, keep reading to learn how to make the most of your scholarships and to navigate the renewal process.

Is My Scholarship Renewable?

It is important for you to understand upfront that not all scholarships can be renewed. It’s as simple as that. Some of them are just one off awards and you should be happy for the free money while it lasts. However, others are more focused on helping you complete your entire education rather than just one year’s worth. Be sure to read the application guidelines and to inquire about whether or not it is renewable.

Am I Eligible?

In order to qualify for renewal, some scholarships require that you provide progress reports of some sort to indicate that you have been maintaining the terms of the scholarship. So, if you want to get the scholarship again next year, you will have needed to abide by the requirements that you originally upheld in order to win the scholarship.

While not all scholarship renewals will require all of these terms, these are some of the common aspects expected of students wishing to renew.

Maintaining a certain GPA.
Taking a certain number of classes.
Taking classes for your degree.
Continuing your education within a certain major.
Using the scholarship money for allowable expenses.
Participating in a certain activity or sport for which you won the scholarship.
Pursuing your education at a certain institution.

Again, these are just some of the qualifying factors for a scholarship renewal, Your scholarship may have any combination of these or others not listed, so make sure you read the fine print.

Do I Need to Apply Again?

If your scholarship is renewable, you will more than likely need to reapply. While the majority of scholarships are for first year students, there are still plenty out there for second, third and even fourth year students. Make sure you read the application in detail to see if you can continue to renew the scholarship as you progress through your college career. So, if you can, try to reapply to the same scholarships you already won each year. If you continue to meet the qualifications, you will more than likely win again and again.

So many people spend their time applying to scholarships only during and before their first year of college. After that, it’s as though financing is no longer an issue. However, if anything, financing is even more of an issue as you progress through college and approach the beginning of your career. Instead of relying on loans and being in debt as you begin your life after college, why not put in the extra effort and try to get that tuition paid for by scholarships and grants? When you graduate debt-free, you’ll be thankful for the extra work you put in.