For most students, four years of high school points to one thing and one thing only; college acceptance. But what comes next? For many seniors it is figuring out how to pay for their ‘perfect school’. The budgeting process can be just as stressful as application, but this emotional strain on students can reduced by applying early-on in high school, or even in as early as middle school, for scholarships.

“Students should start looking in 9th grade for scholarships, but they will have the most scholarships available [to them] their senior year,” Career Center Specialist Robin Roth said.

Some students are pessimistic about their chances of receiving scholarships and do not put forth the effort of applying, yet with so many similarly-minded students and such a multitude of scholarships available to them, students have, in reality, a greater chance for achievement.

“I am planning on getting a scholarship for college but I don’t want to worry about it now, since I’m just a sophomore,” sophomore Nardos Assefa said.

According to bankrate.com, almost half of the parents that were surveyed said that they could not afford to financially support their children throughout college. Some kids feel that they have a responsibility to take it upon themselves to find scholarships and lessen the economical burden on their parents.

“I think that getting a scholarship will help out my parents financially a lot,” Assefa said.

The PTSA is awarding four different scholarships to AHS students: the Technical Degree Scholarship, the John V. Ponton ESOL-to-College Scholarship, the Visual and Performing Arts Scholarships and the Leadership and School Spirit Scholarship.

“The PTSA scholarships are terrific, [and] since they’re local, the number of people applying for them [is] low so chances of winning are high. The more local [a student is to the foundation providing the scholarship], the better the chances of [him/her] winning,” Roth said.

Scholarship websites have academic profiles that are capable of generating, or matching up, students’ academic profiles with specific categorial scholarships. This modern method prevents the most common error students make when searching for scholarships; applying ineligibly.

“Look [in] many different places [for scholarships], like the Internet, Family Connections, parents, employers, and your community” Roth said.

Sites like scholarship.com enable students who range from minorities, to dedicated athletes, to math-lovers, in finding the appropriate scholarship.