Park University students may find it difficult to make ends meet financially, however, many scholarships are available – if you know where to look.

Financial aid is provided to every student that qualifies who is either enrolled into college or potential first time college students. Loans from the government may always be there, but the difference between a loan and a scholarship is the student doesn’t have to pay back what they received in a scholarship.

Scholarships at Park University vary from academic, athletic, degree specific, minority, international women and need-based. Free money is very limited, so with most of these scholarships, work has to be done by the student.

Renee Jack, Park scholarship coordinator, said there are many requirements for these specific scholarships.

“All scholarships at Park University are competitive and there are many students applying, so I would not say they are easy to get,” she said. “The competition is different each year, so students that meet the criteria should continue to apply for scholarships.”

Financial Aid Services has been working on online endowed scholarship applications for the 2014-2015 school year which will be up and running on MyPark sometime this month, according to Jack.

Academic scholarships for incoming freshmen are awarded to those students who enter college with high cumulative GPAs from high school. For transfer students, those scholarships are awarded to students who have previously earned at least 24 transferable college credit hours from an accredited U.S. institution.

In your field of degree, there are scholarships available for students depending on their study. Athletic scholarships are very competitive. If students are talented, they must really get your name out and communicate with the coach of the particular sport you are willing to play.

Teddy McCord, junior at Park track runner and criminal justice major, stressed the importance of having a scholarship.

“Scholarships to me are extremely important,” he said. “If it wasn’t for scholarships my family and I would be stuck in the loop back at home becoming statistics.”

Tre Dixon, sophomore, also explained the benefits of having a scholarship.

“Scholarships are so beneficial to students who really want and need the money to build a better future,” he said.

For more information about what Park has to offer for students seeking scholarships, visit www.park.edu/scholarships.