As a senior, applying to colleges is something that happens at the beginning of the year and can be an event that places a lot of stress on a student’s shoulders. After the application process for colleges is complete, a whole new application process begins with scholarships.

Students fill out scholarship applications with the hopes of cutting the cost of college down. Besides the financial aid a student can get from the university, scholarships are a huge help to a lot of students.

“It [scholarships] helps support college educations and the more you apply the more of a chance you have to earn a scholarship”, said guidance counselor Ms. Tanya Brown-Johnson.

To begin with, scholarships are sums of money that the recipient does not have to be paid back. A student can earn an unlimited amount of scholarships through various resources. There are websites such as scholarships.com and fastweb.com, but something that is unique for students at Washington Township High School is that students can find various scholarships through their Naviance accounts.

“Everything is right at your fingertips. You [students] grew up with technology and it’s easy to tap into a lot of information”, Brown-Johnson said.

There are many scholarships available through the Naviance account pertaining to students that specifically live in Washington Township. There are scholarships through each elementary school and middle school that students can apply for Also, there is a WTHS PTO scholarship that all students at the high school can apply to. Besides the school scholarships, there are Parks & Rec scholarships for people who have participated in these various programs and local memorial and business scholarships are available for students through their Naviance account.

“At the beginning of senior year you want to start looking at what’s available”, Brown-Johnson said.

The scholarship list in naviance is updated throughout the school year, with many scholarships added each time. Students can also be updated on scholarships through Brown-Johnson’s remind 101 by texting @tbrownj to 08080.

It is also advertised to many students to fill out the general scholarships application in their Naviance accounts for an easy and quick opportunity to win more scholarship money.

There are general scholarships, all the local scholarships, elementary and middle schools and local businesses who are supportive of you moving onto second educatory education”, said Brown-Johnson.

Besides the scholarship opportunities that are available in every student’s Naviance account, there are also scholarships awarded through colleges.

“College scholarships have big opportunities as well”, Brown-Johnson said.

One of the key aspects to be awarded scholarships through college is by filling out the FAFSA. This year students could start filling out the FAFSA as early as October 1 which has changed from January 1.

“A big change this year is the early application for FAFSA”, said Brown-Johnson.

Scholarships give students big opportunities to get money for college. They are a big part of the whole college process and can make a huge difference in paying for college.