Scholarships

Medical Student Wins Scholarship Era Sweepstakes, Offers Tips

Learn how to stay motivated when applying for scholarships with advice from a recent scholarship winner. 

Shawna Newman

July 16, 2024

Jayden's story makes this scholarship win shimmer! 
Fastweb's $1,500 Scholarship Era Sweepstakes is not only a way to win money to pay for college, graduate school, or trade school, but it's an opportunity that helps Fastweb users form their own scholarship application routine. It's no secret that you must put in the work to be good at or to win anything. Winning scholarships is rarely a stroke of good luck. Persistence is vital when it comes to winning scholarships. You will not win all of them, but you will only win if you apply; don't give up after a few losses. Creating achievable scholarship application habits and staying dedicated to your goals is essential. We're proud to announce the Scholarship Era Sweepstakes winner (AKA: Scholarship Mastermind) and share her scholarship advice with other students living in their very own Scholarship Era...
Jayden Henneman is a first-year graduate student at Indiana University's School of Medicine. Congratulations, Jayden! Why did you apply for this scholarship? Jayden: Everyone says medical school is a huge challenge by itself, even without taking into account the financial burdens it comes with. In the summer before school starts, I wanted to do everything I could to earn money toward school to reduce the stress I would experience once school starts and allow myself to fully focus on my studies. I also wanted to reduce the financial burden on myself and my incredibly supportive family. How did you stay motivated to apply for the Scholarship Success Sweepstakes? Jayden: I applied almost every single day for the 30-day period. When you're involved in your family's finances and work a job, you realize just how huge $1,500 is and how much time and effort it takes to make through your or your family's daily hard work. It just feels like in honor of their efforts and my own, I needed to do every little extra thing I could on the off chance that one of my endeavors might bear fruit for us.
What scholarship advice do you have for students? Jayden: Even though there are so many scholarships out there, it often feels discouraging because there are likewise just so many applicants. Find scholarships that you're excited about or that don't feel like a burden to apply to, that energize you and keep you motivated to keep trying. A friend of mine told me that life is a marathon, not a sprint, and I feel that that really applies to the scholarship search as well. Why should students use Fastweb? Jayden: Fastweb is an incredibly helpful platform. I've tried many websites, but Fastweb is the most well-organized and allows you to manually remove scholarships that don't match your eligibility. It sounds simple, but it is a HUGE asset in staying organized and keeping track of which ones you want to go for (and most sites don't have that feature).
If you enjoy Fastweb's scholarship sweepstakes, you'll be excited to hear we'll drop our next sweepstakes in just a few weeks. Check back and keep your eye on your email for all the details! In the meantime, consider applying for Fastweb’s $1,000 Invite-a-Friend Sweepstakes. Check out more classic advice from these Fastweb users: AKA scholarship winners! Previous winners have shared helpful tips that can help students win scholarships: "An easy bookmark of the scholarship page to my browser further encouraged me to log into Fastweb every day, since I remembered how accessible and easy submitting an entry was." Gillian Tran, Fastweb's $2,024 Scholarship Success Sweepstakes Winner: May 2024 "Keep applying, pay attention to deadlines and CHECK YOUR EMAIL! Apply. Apply. Apply. You literally have nothing to lose. The answer is always no if you don't apply. Sometimes, it is yes when you do!" Bryan Whorton, Fastweb's $1,000 Scholarship Success Sweepstakes Winner: June 2023 "Keep searching for scholarships and keep applying. There is something out there for everyone." Natalia Nieves, Fastweb's $1,000 National Scholarship Month Sweepstakes Winner: November 2022 "The best-underrated advice is to keep track of how many scholarships you enter. I have a spreadsheet with one column for deadlines, another for the link, and ones that give the requirements (word count for an essay, letter of recommendation, etc.) This helps me know which deadlines are coming up compared to the effort required for entry." Jasmin Little, Fastweb's $1,000 Scholarship Goal Crusher Sweepstakes Winner: June 2022 "Apply, apply, apply! A scholarship you don't apply for is like throwing away money. Spending just a little bit of time on a scholarship will save you hours of working for that money in the future." Bianca C., Fastweb's $1,000 Own Your Scholarship Journey Sweepstakes Winner: November 2021 "I recommend applying to at least four scholarships per month, one for each week. Four may not seem like a lot, but that is four more than you would have had compared to if you started searching closer to the end of the month and applied last minute!" Therese Loise Dy, $1,000 Scholarship Success Sweepstakes Winner: August 2021

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Shawna Newman

Managing Editor, Contributing Writer

Shawna Newman is the Managing Editor and a writer at Fastweb. She has over 10 years of experience in higher education. Her direct work with college admissions teams, financial aid officers, college deans, ...