hi good afternoon I'm from Colombia (17M) and I'm trying to study abroad, firstly for my undergraduate,I'm currently planning to apply to the MEXT scholarship (Japan) next year, but the thing is that I didn't pass this year's attempt, I was thinking in applying to the Hungarian University scholarship that is available for Colombians on many many countries, so i do my undergraduate in Hungary and the postgraduate in Japan, the thing is that I want to live in Japan and I want to make all my studies there but I think that it may be quite difficult, and if i dont pass the next attempt I think that I will try to apply for the Hungarian scholarship is it worth it? or i should try to study in my own country (but without a job because the Bogota's national university is quite difficult), and then try the mext scholarship for the posgraduate, the career i want to study is mechanical engineering focused in hydrogen combustion

I recently got my bachelors degree, last year I applied to 200 scholarships. I had a scholarship tracker excel sheet and everything. I won nothing. Now I wanna do my masters and apply for a lot of them as well but I don’t want to waste time. I used to see YouTube videos of people winning $2 million and while I know that’s in the realm of wishful thinking and takes time and dedication, I guess my question is, is something like that possible anymore?

Academic Profile

GPA

• Weighted: 4.45
• Unweighted: 3.97

SAT

• 1490 (790 Math, 700 Evidence-Based Reading & Writing)

Advanced Placement (AP) Coursework

Completed

• AP Chemistry — 4
• AP Computer Science Principles — 4
• AP World History — 5
• AP U.S. Government — 5
• AP Precalculus — 5
• AP English Language — 4

Senior Year

• AP Calculus BC
• AP Biology
• AP Computer Science A
• AP English Literature

Extracurricular Activities & Leadership

Founder & President – Investment Club (2025–Present)

• Founded and lead a student investment club focused on fundamental analysis, portfolio management, and financial literacy.
• Organize meetings, investment discussions, educational workshops, and market analysis activities.

AI & Quantitative Finance Intern (2026)

• Collaborated with mentors to develop Python-based sentiment trading models.
• Explored artificial intelligence applications in financial markets and quantitative investing.

Summer Research Intern (2026)

• Conducted interdisciplinary research focused on environmental and community challenges.
• Developed programming solutions, collected and analyzed data, and integrated hardware components into research projects.

Robotics Team – Co-Lead Programmer & Co-Lead Engineering Notebooker (2024–Present)

• Developed competition robotics software using C++.
• Maintained engineering documentation and design notebooks.
• Interpreted technical drawings and collaborated on robot design and development.

Quantum Computing Club & Independent Study (2026)

• Served as a tutor for the Quantum Computing Club.
• Attended a regional quantum computing conference.
• Completed independent coursework in quantum computing concepts and applications.

Selective Business & Entrepreneurship Summer Program (2026)

• Participated in a competitive summer program focused on finance, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.
• Collaborated on business case studies and professional development activities.

Independent Financial Modeling & Trading Research (2026)

• Designed and implemented algorithmic trading systems using Python.
• Utilized Pandas, Matplotlib, YFinance, and related data analysis tools.
• Conducted backtesting, market analysis, and quantitative research.

Senior SAT Tutor (100+ Volunteer Hours) (2025–Present)

• Provided over 100 hours of SAT Math and Reading tutoring to students worldwide.
• Mentored new tutors and supported instructional quality and student success.

Finance Internship (2026)

• Assisted with financial and market data analysis.
• Supported investment research and asset management initiatives.

Band Member (2022–Present)

• Perform in multiple youth and school orchestras.
• Participate in concerts at universities and performance venues throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
• Developed discipline, teamwork, and long-term commitment through advanced ensemble performance.

I am a rising senior. I am FGLI (-1,500 SAI, 5k AGI) with a single parent, rural-ish (live in a rural area but commute to an urban school), California resident, transgender woman, and looking to go into Civil Engineering and maybe double major in Political Science or Sociology.

I have strong academics - 3.7 cumulative GPA, 4.0 GPA excluding 9th grade and strong course rigor (AP Calc BC, Multivariable Calculus, both AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Chem). I also have a 1460 on the SAT I'm planning on retaking.

I am hoping to go to UC Berkeley or Davis but it looks like there will be about 10k not covered by financial aid each year.

Are there any scholarships I should check out? It's been kinda confusing for me to find reputable places to look.

hii everyone! I'm a stressed-out upcoming senior (class of 2027), and I have been focusing on finding scholarships. Most of the popular scholarships, like Gates, QuestBridge, and Coca-Cola, are not currently open for applications, but are upcoming. I would love to hear from any past recipients of senior scholarships. Do you have any advice on how to present your best self in these essays? Additionally, if you could share any sample questions or similar questions that you encountered during your application process. thanks so much 😺!!

Hey so I’m an incoming community college student that recently graduated high school and I never really thought about applying for scholarships since I was busy with schoolwork and making sure I was gonna graduate and then the ceremony itself. I thought most scholarships were for four year uni students so I was and am still planning on applying to the laccd scholarships that will be available. But I was wondering if there were any scholarships I could still apply to with July deadlines or August deadlines. I also plan to apply to scholarships in the fall when i’m already in commmunity college. If it helps, I live in los angeles, california. I am a mexican first gen student and i dont really know what i want to do so im undecided but leaning torwards urban design.

anybody here whose svmcm got rejected due to any reason but uploaded again in the rectification window and still not validated yet ??
please tell me. i am really very worried and confused

Hi everyone! This is my first post so bear with me. I am a rising senior and I’ve been submitting scholarship applications like it’s nobody’s business. Everyone has been getting their recommendations for this app called scholarly. The issue is, I don’t really have money for it. I just wanted to see if anyone used it and actually enjoys it so I know whether it’s worth the money or not!

Hi, I’ve never posted in here, but everyone is always talking about redit so here it goes. I am 33 F, and I was homeschooled my whole life (0/10 do not recommend).

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to go to school and get my degree. Money has always been a huge factor and I’ve ended up building my career without a degree but I’m finding myself wanting to switch career paths and I have a lot of great experience, but a degree is very important and something I still really want.

I currently live in Hawaii and have a very demanding job. I do work side hustles as a private swim instructor whenever I have time, but I don’t make enough to pay for school, just enough to survive.

I do not qualify for grants unfortunately, and I can’t bring myself to do the loan thing; everyone talks about how their student debt was a mistake.

The other option I have seen people do and have had mentioned to me to do is a go fund me. I have a hard time with that just because I don’t understand how I can justify asking everyone else for money when they probably have the same stuff they are paying for too. I know people do it, I just have such a hard time justifying asking for money when I know others need accounts like go fund me for really serious and tragic stuff. Would that be taking advantage of people? Should I just get loans?

School has been my dream since I was so little. My parents always thought it was a phase so they never supported it, but 20-30 years later, I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t a phase.

For a while I was only going after the scholarships everyone knows about. Gates, Coca Cola, the ones with $40k awards and a hundred thousand applicants. I got nowhere.

What changed things was getting specific. There's a community foundation in basically every state and most major counties that gives out scholarships every year and most students have no idea they exist. I found mine by googling my state's name plus "community foundation scholarship" and found several I actually qualified for with maybe 30-50 applicants each. The criteria were just too specific for mass applicants.

Same thing with professional associations. Every major field has them and most give out scholarships for students planning to enter that field. The awards are smaller so the big hunters ignore them, which means the competition drops significantly. I applied to four of these and won two.

The other thing worth checking is whether your parents' employers offer scholarships for dependents. A lot of large companies do and these are genuinely underused because most families don't know to look. Worth asking your parents to check their HR or benefits portal.

The pattern across all of these is that specific criteria means smaller pools. That's the whole game.

What's the most unexpected place you've found a scholarship?

Hi! I just finished my first year of college with a 3.7 gpa multiple extracurricular and good teacher/community relationships. I am completely independent since high school and when I get scholarships paid to college my college increases to cost of tuition and just takes it. I work multiple on campus jobs but need more money to get by and support myself. Are there any non scam and non sweepstakes scholarships that are good and open that pay to students directly? I go to school in a different state than where I grew up but I’m technically homeless.

Hi, everyone am currently an IIT international student in Chicago, pursuing M.A.S Cybersecurity Engineering, on medical leave and have explored options to get funding for studies for this fall but nothing seems to be working out so far. Have got one Semester and one course away from graduation. 🎓

Anyone one who also willing to act as a co-signer is also welcome.
Anyone with a good heart torched by God or have genuine heart to help Dm me ASAP.

Proverbs 21:1 “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will”. Amen!

I’m 19 and going to my sophomore year of college and I want to apply to as many scholarships as I can but is the only way to win scholarships by being exceptional in everything? Like having 100 extracurriculars, 4.0 gpa, etc. ?

I’m starting my senior year soon and I want to know if I’m even qualified to get a full ride at a decent University. I have a 4.0 unweighted and a 4.25 weighted. I’ve volunteered at my sunday school for 3 years. I teach the kindergarten classes how to read Arabic and give them Islamic studies. I’m in the NHS, I’ve taken 4 dual enrollment classes so far and I’m taking another 3 at the beginning of the next semester. (I’ve gotten a’s in all those classes and no I don’t cheat.) I took the paper ACT test at my school and my score was absolutely awful (less than 20). I got a higher score on my pre ACT test in my sophomore year on the Chromebook. I’m planning to retake it in August or September however, I’m worried my scores won’t be out in time for me to submit my college applications. I’m waiting on my AP exam score to come out. I am active in 2 community service clubs as well. I am very disappointed in my ACT score and I feel like my mom views me as somewhat of a disappointment now. She wants me to qualify for financial aid and go to a College near her and I don’t want to stay in the town that I’m in because there’s no work here. I’m planning to Major
Public Relations and minor in business administration. Do I still have any opportunities?

Hey everyone!
I applied for the Türkiye Scholarships this year, finished all the documents, got the initial acceptance, and even completed the interview. After going through all that, I realized a lot of people need a place to ask questions, share experiences, and get real advice from others who are applying too.

So I made a WhatsApp group for anyone interested in the scholarship , whether you’re applying now or planning to apply next year. We help each other out, share tips, and talk about our experiences.

If you want to join:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/DWXh7XwcAI3GMxQUdIUIHJ?s=sw&p=a&mlu=0

You’re all welcome , let’s support each other through the process.

Have you guys heard back from either of them?

Hey guys. Is anyone applying for the regions riding forward scholarship? I'm so upset, I wrote my essay days ago but I just went on a family trip so I couldn't submit it until I got back at 2am in the morning. It's due tonight and I'm trying to submit but it says that the website is down.

Is there anyway to contact the people?? Has it been down for a while? Help please!!

Financial aid season is coming up and I see the same mistakes every year. Here's what actually matters:

The biggest one: Filing late. FAFSA opens October 1st and financial aid at most schools is awarded on a rolling basis. Students who file in October get first access to limited grant money. Students who file in February get what's left. This is not a small difference -- we're talking thousands of dollars.

The asset reporting mistakes:

• Not including all household income sources
• Incorrectly reporting assets (retirement accounts are generally excluded, regular savings are not)
• Using the wrong tax year (FAFSA uses prior-prior year income, so for 2025-26 you use 2023 taxes)

The CSS Profile trap: About 250 colleges (mostly private) require a CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA. It's more detailed, asks about home equity and more asset types, and has its own deadlines that are often earlier than FAFSA deadlines. A lot of students applying to private schools miss this entirely.

What the Expected Family Contribution actually means: The EFC (now called Student Aid Index) is not what you'll pay. It's a starting point for what schools use to calculate your aid package. A school that meets 100% of demonstrated need is very different from one that meets 60% -- this is one of the most important things to compare between schools.

The verification trap: Some students get selected for verification, which means the school asks for additional documentation to confirm your FAFSA. If you ignore these requests your aid gets held. Check your student portal regularly after filing.

What's something about financial aid you wish someone had explained to you earlier?

Hi! I’m a 20 year old college student. I have plans to attend medical school. During my freshman year (Feb 2025), I fell in my dorm (standing on a chair with wheels) and suffered a TBI. I had a fractured skull and 4 bleeds. I’m fortunate enough to be okay. However, obviously still suffer through things.

I am curious if anyone knows of any scholarships I can apply for, related to a TBI. I have come across a few, however, many of the websites are not updated. Also, if anyone knows of any additional resources, I would love to hear about them!

Trying to make the best of a bad situation😭😭

Hi everyone,

I applied for the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) for the 2026 intake and was wondering if there are any other applicants from India here.

Has anyone received any updates regarding the selection process or final results?

It would be helpful if we could use this thread to share updates, timelines, and any communication we’ve received from the programme.

Looking forward to hearing from fellow applicants. Good luck to everyone!