Pupil Story: Phuong Tran Nguyen

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16 Mar, 2024

Pupil Story: Phuong Tran Nguyen

By Scholarship America

Rising up in a Minneapolis suburb, Phuong Tran (PT) Nguyen cherished faculty and regarded ahead to going each single day. However as she bought older and have become a youngster her relationship with faculty modified. It turned far tougher, juggling her actions, extracurriculars, pursuits, pals, research, work and school functions.

However schooling was all the time a precedence for PT. “I acknowledge that [education] is such a pivotal piece to upward and intergenerational mobility for households that appear to be mine,” she mentioned. She selected to attend the College of North Dakota for her undergraduate diploma and earned 1000’s of {dollars} in scholarship awards that helped her pay for her schooling there.

Watch the video and/or learn on to be taught PT’s particular suggestions for getting by means of the scholarship utility course of.

Why You Ought to Apply to Scholarships

Larger schooling can oftentimes be a lot pricier than you suppose. The charges add up between tuition, room and board, and so many different hidden prices. That’s why making use of to scholarships is a superb alternative for college kids who might actually use further monetary assist. Right here’s how PT had the concept to use for scholarships:

“I bought the concept of making use of to scholarships after I was looking at FAFSA and our college’s monetary assist account. I noticed that there have been loads of tuition {dollars} that we simply couldn’t cowl out of pocket and that’s the place the concept stemmed from. If we are able to’t afford it out of pocket, let’s give it our greatest shot to use for scholarships.”

– Phuong Tran Nguyen

Pupil Tip: School is pricey. It by no means hurts to attempt to earn scholarships.

When to Apply to Scholarships

Don’t put these scholarship functions off. Learn the age and graduating class necessities for every alternative after which get to work ASAP. Right here’s what PT says about getting these scholarship functions out the door:

“I like to recommend that college students ought to apply as quickly as they’re eligible. Be sure to learn the standards on the web sites or on the portals of the scholarships you’re making use of to. Some have age restrictions and a few have relying in your particular undergraduate class, like freshman, sophomore, junior senior – you’re eligible for various issues. So all the time be sure to learn for these issues and apply as quickly as you’ll be able to.”

– Phuong Tran Nguyen

Pupil Tip: Apply as quickly as you’re eligible.

Overcoming Failures

PT is aware of the sensation of being rejected for scholarships. However she additionally is aware of the sensation of receiving many others. Right here’s her recommendation on methods to reframe disappointing information:

“I imagine that the toughest half about making use of to scholarships is to not internalize a rejection as a failure or private failure. And loads of college students wrestle with this as a result of they spend loads of effort and time they usually inform their entire life story for a committee that may have rejected that story. What it’s good to perceive is it’s not a rejection, it’s a redirection. You could not have been one of the best match candidate for that scholarship and that’s okay. You will see that a possibility that’s a greater match for you and also you’re going to be a lot happier with the subsequent alternative that comes up.”

– Phuong Tran Nguyen

Pupil Tip: Scholarship rejections will not be private failures. Consider a rejection as only a redirection.

Prioritizing Time Administration

What’s one of the best ways to maintain monitor of all of your scholarship utility to-dos and deadlines? Is it utilizing a spreadsheet of some form? Fancy mission administration software program? An old-school planner? PT went old-school along with her time administration technique:

“I used a planner and a calendar to maintain monitor of my deadlines and what alternatives I had open. Know you can squeeze time in to use for scholarships. Typically it’d simply be on a Friday evening and that’s not what individuals wish to hear, however that’s how I used to be in a position to do it. Typically I might do it on the breaks that I might get off from faculty. I might carve in time to do these items. So it’s doable, it simply takes a bit of little bit of self-discipline to determine the place and when it really works greatest in your schedule. However you’ll determine it out so long as you craft a plan that works for you.”

– Phuong Tran Nguyen