Taking out student loans and getting wrapped up in debt right out of high school is not the ideal college experience that soon-to-be graduates want to think about. That’s why scholarships can be an immense help to many when it comes to financial aid.

“I say apply to as many [scholarships] as possible. You never have to pay for a scholarship. If it sounds like it’s a good one for you, go for it. Volunteering, grade point average and diploma type [are important], but it depends on the scholarship. Some are academic based, interest-based or community service-based. It doesn’t hurt to apply to as many as you feel comfortable doing,” Mrs. Robin May, Guidance, said.

The Guidance Office is a great place to start when looking into scholarships, whether it’s talking to a counselor or getting paperwork about new scholarships. Since the world has become increasingly computerized, information can always be found through online resources like Naviance, student emails, Twitter and Fastweb.

“[New scholarships] start coming in weekly. If you go onto Naviance, you can see that the list has grown; there are hundreds to look into. It’s a little slow when school starts; we may have a list of ten or fifteen. Once September hits, sometimes they [come in] daily. There’s a lot [of scholarships] out there,” Mrs. May said.

The application for the Lake Central Dollars for Scholars scholarship can be found on the lakecentral.dollarsforscholars.org website and is open until Feb. 15 to all students. Students raise money which goes back towards students. Along with other requirements, the Dollars for Scholars scholarship calls for two essays.

“Some scholarships do require essays. The Lilly Scholarship was a need-based scholarship that required high academics and activities. It’s over now, [but] the committees had to go through hundreds of essays and pick twenty. Those who were chosen had to go through interviews, then only one person was chosen,” Mrs.May said.

The Indiana A.E.O.P. Scholarship, the Knights of Pythias Scholarship, the Indiana University Freshman Scholarship, the Iowa State University Scholarship, the Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship, the Tri Kappa Scholarships and the Professional Athletes Foundation Student Scholarship are still available for students to apply to during the month of February.