As graduation nears, seniors are beginning to search for scholarship opportunities to potentially knock thousands of dollars off their college tuitions. Many students, however, are unaware of this possibility and are not taking advantage of it.

“Students apply to schools but don’t consider the cost,” College and Career Coordinator Lianne Musser said. “Although they’re happy and fortunate to get into these schools, they often find that paying for it is a rough go.”

There are a wide variety of scholarships offered through LT, from local donors to a national scale. One scholarship called the father-daughter scholarship consists of writing an essay describing one’s relationship with her father. Another very popular scholarship is the Kiwanis Club of Lagrange Timke which awards one student with $20,000.

Outside of LaGrange there are several scholarships given out on a national level. The Coca-Cola foundation scholarship has thousands of applicants every year. National scholarships often tend to be much more competitive.

Most scholarships offered through LT have about 20 applicants. Yet every year there are at least one to two scholarships with no applicants, according to Musser.

“It’s crazy to think that we have scholarships with only 15 to 20 people applying and sometimes none at all,” Musser said. “It’s very frustrating because we have a donor who wants to give money every year and then we have somebody who doesn’t take them up on it.”

Many students don’t apply because they are unaware or simply lazy, Nathan Egert ‘16 said.

In response, LT has aimed to make applying as easy as possible. Simply log onto Naviance and under the colleges tab there will be a list of scholarships.

“Applying for scholarships is a big time commitment, but it’s worth it,” Egert said. “So what if you have to spend a few weeks writing a few essays, seeing as you get thousands of dollars in college tuition paid for in return.”

Musser advises that students apply early and avoid procrastinating. Also, ask teachers for letters of recommendation early in order to provide them with a sufficient amount of time. All scholarships must be turned in no later than 8 a.m. the day they are due.

“Remember that there is a person reading the scholarship,” Musser said. “Sometimes students just want to scribble down a couple lines and think they’re going to get money.”

College is expensive and there are several costs outside of tuition that students must consider including transportation costs, setting up a dorm room, and purchasing supplies like a computer. This why students must be proactive with scholarship applications to help pay for these expenses, Musser said.