Scholarships are essential for any high schooler who plans on going to college or a university. A scholarship pays a portion of college fees based on a certain ability or award that a person has won.

“College is super expensive these days, so scholarships help make college affordable,” counselor Amy Murphy said.

West High School and the Davenport Community School district offers many awards and scholarships for high schoolers.

“Most scholarships are given, most scholarships are applied for so students really have to look at what’s out there,” Murphy said.

A student could get a scholarship for just about anything. The Davenport West High website lists the many scholarships and the corresponding colleges that offer these scholarships. It is recommended that all students give this portion of the website a thorough look  to decide what they are eligible for.

“There might be a newspaper scholarship, cheerleading scholarship or a future teachers scholarship,” Murphy said.

If a student has a job, it is possible that their company offers scholarships for their employees. HyVee is one of these companies.

There are many websites that will offer scholarships based off certain criteria. Submit an essay to zinc.com to earn a possible $1000 dollars for school.

Some may think that $1000 dollars is not a lot to a college student who could up on average,$30,000 dollars, but that is $1000 dollars that came from writing an essay, not money from working a month or money borrowed from the government that needs to be paid back with interest on top.

There is always the possibility to receive a scholarship for athletic ability. Many seniors have already received scholarship(s) for their preferred college or have already signed. Juniors and sophomores will receive their scholarships if eligible by senior year.

“We have them (scholarships) listed on the website and we announce them,” Murphy said.

 Seniors should apply for as many scholarships as possible by Dec. 1. The FAFSA should also be filled out in the fall to best save as much money as possible for his/her preferred college.