The end of the semester marks the opportunity for students to apply to new scholarships and grants. Resources are available for Sun Devils looking for extra money to buy books and supplies, study abroad or pay off tuition for upcoming semesters.
Scholarship Universe is an application platform offered to all admitted students, intended to maximize students' opportunities for awards.
The website matches students to both internal and external scholarships and grants. Internal scholarships are granted through ASU directly, and external scholarships are those sourced outside of the University.
Vendela Galasinao, a junior studying health sciences, said the process of applying for scholarships can be overwhelming and time consuming.
"If someone is really driven to actually do the research to really look into the scholarships they need, I think it's deemed beneficial," Galasinao said.
When students create a profile on the application platform, they will be asked to answer questions that will be used to find awards tailored to their specific background and circumstances.
On the students' dashboard, scholarship matches are displayed in a four-category funnel – open and future matches, applied, in review and awarded scholarships.
On the scholarship tab, students will find their matches along with partial matches. Each match has a description of the award and the deadline.
Galasinao said she begins her search for scholarships half a semester early. If she is applying for a fall scholarship, her search begins in the middle of spring.
Amy Best, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, said awards on Scholarship Universe tend to show up closer to the beginning of the term.
"Utilizing Scholarship Universe very early in the process is typically not as effective for students, so we will typically recommend: wait until it gets a little bit closer," Best said.
Individual schools and programs offer degree-specific scholarships; for example, Best said the law school uniquely gives out awards to students through their application process.
Outside of degree-specific programs, the ASU Global Education Office offers scholarships for students interested in studying abroad.
Study abroad options are available to all students regardless of academic or career path. The GEO offers students over 300 programs and 65 countries to choose from for their global studies.
Students can be considered for five different scholarships within their chosen study abroad program. The scholarships include the Go Global Grant, Merit Scholarship, Access Scholarship, International Student Scholarship and the Your World, Your Choice Scholarship.
The award amount for these scholarships is $2,000. GEO marketing manager Lindsay Lohr wrote in a statement that essays are not required for these applications. Students can mark their interest in being considered for the awards in their program application and be automatically entered.
"Utilizing all of the available tools and resources that you have is really important," Best said. "Really thinking about each opportunity ... it's all going to be part of the way that you're going to try to finance your education."
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Senna James and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at dbell39@asu.edu and follow @dhemibell on X.
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Dhemi Bell is a reporter on the community and culture desk and is in her second semester at The State Press.
