---
title: The Right Way to Think About College Scholarship Applications
description: Author Kristina Ellis explains why they're not a pain. They're a great part-time job.
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published: '2016-11-02T18:44:22.000Z'
modified: '2016-11-02T18:44:22.000Z'
section: Education
tags:
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  - college scholarships
  - fincon
  - Money
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word_count: 111
canonical: https://money.com/college-scholarship-applications-tips-advice/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
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![9235bb5f-4000-4b1d-a243-6a6356d37c27](https://img.money.com/2016/11/9235bb5f-4000-4b1d-a243-6a6356d37c27.png)

[Kristina Ellis](http://www.kristinaellis.com/), author of [*Confessions of a Scholarship Winner*](https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Scholarship-Winner-Secrets-College/dp/1617951579/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&keywords=Kristina%20Ellis&qid=1468312433&ref_=mp_s_a_1_1&sr=1-1), wants high school students (and college students as well) to think about applying for scholarships as the best paying part-time job they'll ever have.

If you put the time and effort in to filling out a scholarship application and you win even a little bit of money, you end up getting a lot of money in return for very little time.

Ellis also reminds students that scholarships are awarded for things other than being a straight-A student or star athlete. She suggests starting with college scholarship databases. These databases ask for basic information about the student, and then filter the results down.

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