Numbers parents and students sometimes need to hear out loud.
At $20/hour at a summer job (which is generous), $1,000 is 50 hours. A 5-hour scholarship application that wins a $1,000 award is the equivalent of $200/hour. Even with a 1-in-5 hit rate, that's $40/hour on average — better than nearly any teen job.
Eight $500 awards is $4,000. Ten $1,500 awards is $15,000 — a year of in-state tuition. The Desk's dashboard shows your cumulative award total prominently for this reason.
At some schools, outside awards reduce institutional grants first instead of stacking. Ask the financial aid office how outside awards are treated before you spend a season chasing one. Public state schools usually stack; some private schools displace.
A $2,500 renewable scholarship is $10,000 over four years. A $5,000 one-time award is $5,000. Sort by total potential value, not headline number.
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