The time of year has passed when senior students submit their applications for scholarships. This can be a stressful yet very rewarding time for seniors. Every year the Berlin community gives local scholarships to the students they deem most deserving that goes towards helping to pay for their debt . Some students might find themselves confused and not sure what to write. School secretary Laura Sobieski has some tips for students applying.

“Follow the directions, meet the deadlines, answer all questions, write a great essay (be personable, list your skills, strengths, accomplishments and future goals),” Sobieski said.

Many students in the class of 2021  have finished and submitted their scholarship essay and are hoping to receive the money as they are relying on it to pay for college.

“I am relying more on scholarships than loans because I don’t have that much money saved up,” senior Jenna Sternitske said. 

Last year $190,000 were given away in scholarships, Sobieski says this year will come out as somewhere near the same amount of money.

“It’s unknown at this time, but I suspect it will be similar to last year and the grand total of state, local and Berlin Community Scholarship Corporation (BCSC) scholarships was $190,700,” Sobieski said.

All scholarships have different criteria to meet.

“There are several donors with the local scholarship application and each one has their own criteria. Some examples are: students entering the education field, medical field, certain schools, memorials based on family wishes, academics, sports and many more,” Sobieski said.

Although the application process can be very stressful, a way of easing that stress is being a confident writer. 

“I don’t expect to receive every scholarship I apply for, but I am pretty confident in my ability to write an application,” senior Courtny Malnory said.