Tuition waivers or scholarships are financial assistance incentives intended to help students pay for an undergraduate or graduate degree. A scholarship is only just a one-time test. Other school scholarships are annual and provide money per semester or school year for the students. These grants are special from student loans because they don’t have to be paid back.

Students will earn the money in their name directly as verification. In other instances, the money is donated to the school for the student. The student would then pay the school in those cases for the difference on any money owed for tuition , fees, room , and board. If the scholarships and other forms of financial aid are adequate to cover the direct costs of education, the applicant may be refunded the excess money.

About Bold.org

Bold.org is a Scholarship website established in 2019. The platform’s concept is simple: corporations, charities, and even individuals can build a personalized scholarship, internship, or student grant opportunity. Such programs could be targeted at helping a range of high-potential individuals with a wide array of interests, talents, and backgrounds.

The kind of Scholarship in Bold.org

Bold.org scholarships tend to be very precise, which is a very positive thing for students. There are scholarships for students who love reading, Native American youth scholarships and scholarships for students who want to have a major in philosophy.

Like several other sources of scholarships, the programs aim to help a wide variety of education levels from high school students to medical students! Below are some of the best scholarships we profiled at Bold.org:

1. Minority Women in STEM Bi-Annual Scholarship
2. One Move Ahead Chess Scholarship
3. High School Social Leaders Scholarship
4. The “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
5. Bold.org No-Essay Community Scholarship
6. Recent Immigrant Scholarship
7. Elevate Women in Technology Scholarship

How do I get signed up?

You can get signed up for free on the Bold.org website. Signing up is easy should only take five minutes or so.

My Profile in Bold.org

New college students want to know how to get scholarships to pay for tuition. The good news is there are thousands of fantastic scholarships out there and you just need to apply.

Here are a few simple tips to help you find scholarships which can reduce the cost of college.

1. Start early.

There’s no need to wait until application slots opens. Start researching your options early. Getting a head start gives you more time to investigate which scholarships value your time and energy. Once you know the best options, there is plenty of room for you to complete the applications that other students might have skipped. Some scholarships in high school are available for freshmen and sophomores, so knock those applications out of the way as soon as possible! 

Tip: Many scholarships have limited appropriations. That means the sooner you submit, the more likely you will be recompensed before the budget runs out. Moving on with a move is even more of a explanation. Learn more on How You Can Apply for Stipends (Year Round).

2. Use a scholarship matching tool.

The days of paper requests are gone. Now you can quickly search  thousands of available scholarships online through huge databases. You can find those through filters and keywords that suit your skills, perspectives, history or special interests. Focus on the scholarships you’re a good match for and rule out the ones where you don’t meet all the requirements. Don’t get overwhelmed by all the options. Just take your time narrowing down the scholarships that make sense.

Here’s a list of sites you can use for your search:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s free scholarship search tool
• Scholly
• Cappex
• Unigo
• Fastweb
• Scholarships.com

3. Be focused.

Be specific with your goal. One of the most assured way of securing a scholarship especially for Graduate students is getting a supervisor. You have to make sure that your research goal is clear and specific. Also, this your research goal must be in tandem with that of your potential supervisor. Not having a research objective is a red flag. Anyone reviewing your application in 10 seconds can be able to decode whether you’re a focused individual by checking your research goals and that of the supervisor.

4. Lean on your advisor.

A great sounding board for finding the right scholarships is your high school counselor or college adviser. Although you might not be applying in their office, they will help you decide which scholarships to apply for are best. Sometimes, advisors take the time to review your submissions and help you develop your essays and requests. You can also learn a lot by checking out past scholarship winners and how they approached their submission.

Ask your guidance counselor which scholarships are the most popular and which are more tailored to your background. You can also work together to find specific scholarships from the schools you want to apply to. Talking with an expert will help you focus your search so that it serves your needs more efficiently.

5. Tap into your network.

Spread the word to your employer, coaches, friends, and members of your community that you’re looking for scholarships. Ask your parents to check with their friends and HR departments at work about scholarships for family members.

There are usually a lot of locally offered scholarships which are not particularly well advertised. These can often be found in the local paper or in the library through your high school counselor. Check with local foundations, community organizations, and local businesses directly to see if they also offer any scholarships.

6. Polish your online presence.

When applying for scholarships (or jobs or colleges), you might be Googled by the person reviewing your application. Make sure that they get the right sort of performance. Many students tend to privatize their social media, but you should know that colleges also have ways of seeing what you share. Refreshing your LinkedIn profile, social media pages and personal website is a smart idea.

If you don’t have a personal website or portfolio, now is the time to make one. Sites like Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly offer free, easy-to-use website builders. It’s never too early to invest in a domain name and website you control. Getting your name out there and highlighting your strengths and interests is a great way to make yourself known and available.

7. Look beyond your grades.

You don’t need a 4.0 GPA to apply for the scholarships. In fact, some scholarships do not even take into consideration the grades. Aside from your GPA, it ‘s important to find a way to make your apps stand out from the crowd. Once you begin filling out the paperwork, consider what makes you exceptionally eligible and worthy of the scholarship.

What special talents or skills do you offer? Perhaps you can demonstrate your perseverance in the face of adversity as a first-generation student. Maybe your leadership skills on the basketball court are what make you unique. Find an area where you excel or that means a lot to you and focus on that. Your passion will shine through when it comes time to describe your extracurricular activities in your scholarship applications.

8. Collect letters of recommendation.

Applications for a scholarship and college usually require a few letters of recommendation from teachers and community leaders who know you best. They can include your boss, teachers, coaches, high school counselors, or other adults who may bear witness to your talents , abilities, and motivation.

Since you’re asking for a significant favor, it’s best to provide as much relevant information as possible to the letter-writer. You might even want to provide a Word template for them to use as they write your recommendation. Here are some other things you can provide:

• Overview of the scholarship (if it’s for a specific application)
• Your key strengths as related to the requirements AND your relationship to the reviewer. (Example: If you’re applying for a leadership scholarship, you might ask your Honor Society advisor to address your successful reelection as president.)
• A copy of your resume
• Any other plans for the future, like which colleges you’re applying to and what major you will pursue

After you collect your letters of recommendation, make sure you thank your reviewers for taking the time to help you.

9. Apply to Big and Small Schools/Scholarships.

There is no such thing like a big or small school/scholarship. Earning enough scholarship money to pay for college will likely come from many different sources. You’ll need to apply to lots of scholarships to cover all your bases. Don’t overlook those with smaller awards. Winning $1,000 here and there will add up quickly. Plus, the more you apply to, the better your odds of winning.

Make applying to scholarships your new habit. Set a goal to apply to one or two each month, starting sophomore year so you’re ahead of the curve. There are scholarships available for high school students, undergrads, and graduate students, and some scholarships allow you to enter multiple times. For example, you can enter to win our College Ave $1,000 scholarship sweepstakes once a month. To have a good shot at the numbers game of applying to scholarships, make sure you keep your numbers up!

10. Write a great essay.

Many students shy away from scholarships that require essays, but a well-written essay can be your ticket to standing out from the crowd. If you don’t have great writing skills, consider working with your advisor or attending a writing workshop to help you develop a memorable essay, which is also great practice for college applications.

Tip: You may be able to reuse portions of your essay for more than one scholarship application. Just be careful to follow the scholarship rules, including essay word count. The most important thing to remember is to answer the question that’s being asked. Don’t reuse another essay because it’s well written. Make sure you understand the prompt and can show your comprehension and writing skills simultaneously.

11. Practice your interview skills.

Some scholarships require an in-person interview. Being a good interviewee takes time, so practice answering questions about your background, interests, achievements, and aspirations. Remember that the more comfortable you are chatting with the interviewer and answering questions, the better the interview will go. Don’t be nervous; your interviewer wants to get a real feel for who you are and what makes you a good fit. Now’s your chance to show them.

To earn scholarships, you need to give yourself enough time to research your options, complete thoughtful applications, and lean on people at school and in your community for support. With just a little bit of work, you’ll save thousands of dollars on your education and start college on the right foot.

Google has been adding a lot of performance and machine learning capabilities to its email service, leading up to Gmail ‘s 15th birthday last year. (It may have also sought to compensate for the loss of its Inbox email feature, but this is an case for another day.) Additions included a way for Gmail to write subject lines for you and schedule an email to be sent later.

Navigating some of Gmail ‘s functionality can be a little frustrating. In this tutorial we will concentrate on Gmail ‘s Smart Reply and Smart Compose auto-completion tools, which are designed to save time.

Allowing a machine help you write emails and subject lines may make you feel a little weird, but if you’re willing to at least try it out for yourself, here are the ways to automate your Gmail responses.

Enabling Smart Reply and Smart Compose

To allow Gmail to generate responses and email text, you first have to opt in from your Settings menu. If you are a regular Gmail user (instead of G Suite enterprise edition), here’s what to do:

On desktop

• Click on the gear icon on the upper right side and find the Settings page.
• Scroll down to the separate Smart Reply and Smart Compose options and choose “On” for either or both to enable the automated suggestions.
• You can also choose to allow Gmail’s machine learning to personalize the suggestions based on the way you write your emails by choosing “Smart Compose personalization.” For example, if you greet your colleagues with “Hi, team” versus “Hello, everyone,” it will automatically drop in whatever you use most often.

If you use G Suite, you may notice that the option to toggle on Smart Compose is not available. Your G Suite admin must enable this for the organization, so contact the person in charge if you’d like to test this out at work.

On the Android or iOS app

• Tap the hamburger icon on the upper-left side to open the side drawer. Scroll down to Settings.
• Select the Gmail account you want to address
• Tap the checkbox on Smart Reply and / or Smart Compose to toggle the mode on

Once the settings are turned on, your Gmail is set up to suggest replies and help auto-finish sentences based on your writing style.

What it looks like

Basically, you just start typing, and Gmail will begin suggesting words that might fit the sentence you’re writing.

Be aware that it won’t always come on for every email you write. Because Gmail needs context, you’ll likely find Smart Compose chiming in when you’re responding to an email or if you’re starting emails with some generic statements like “Nice to meet you” or “Hope you’re well.” If Gmail has a suggestion, an opaque set of text will appear next to what you’re typing.

On the desktop version of Gmail, you can press Tab to accept the suggestion. On the mobile app, if a suggested word or phrase appears, swipe right to add it to the email.

Smart Compose can also suggest email subjects. Leave the subject line blank, and start writing your email. Once you go back to fill out the subject line, Gmail will offer a suggestion that you can accept by pressing Tab on the desktop app or swipe right on mobile.

Smart Reply for canned responses

Smart Reply works a little faster than Smart Compose. Instead of suggesting words or short phrases for you, Gmail will offer three responses that might suit the email you’ve received. For example, if you’ve gotten an email reminding you of an appointment, Smart Reply may suggest responses like “Confirmed,” “Thanks,” or “I can’t make it.”

If you are in an email conversation with several people, be aware that responding with a Smart Reply will CC everyone on that email. You’ll have to manually remove the people you don’t want in that response, so it’s best to only choose Smart Reply for emails you mean to send to everyone in the thread.

Should you actually use it?

Choosing to let a machine write your emails may feel impersonal, but it’s not designed to write the whole email for you. Smart Compose and Smart Reply work best when you use them to add filler sentences or quickly respond to yes or no emails. Plus, Gmail has gotten a lot better at suggesting responses that will make sense 90 percent of the time. (In my experience, the responses tend to veer toward affirmative answers, so they may not work best if you’re less prone to agreeing to everything.)