Turn Summer Into Scholarship Season
Summer is one of the best times to make scholarship progress.
The school year is over, deadlines aren’t piling up quite as fast, and even a small amount of time each week can help you get ahead before fall expenses arrive.
That’s why we’ve created the Red Kite Summer Scholarship Sprint, a simple 4-week plan designed to help you stay organized, build momentum, and submit stronger scholarship applications without spending hours every day.
Week 1: Build Your Scholarship List
Goal: Get organized and identify opportunities worth pursuing.
This week:
✅ Log in to Red Kite and update your profile details to improve your scholarship matches
✅ Review your scholarship matches
✅ Create personalized Lists in Red Kite to organize scholarships by category
✅ Save 10–15 scholarships you’re qualified for that fit your interests, major, background, activities, career goals, or location
Sprint Strategy: Don’t only focus on the largest awards. Smaller scholarships often have fewer applicants and can add up quickly.
Week 2: Go After Quick Wins
Goal: Build momentum and submit your first applications.
This week:
✅ Focus on scholarships with shorter applications
✅ Apply for no-essay or easy-to-apply opportunities when available
✅ Update your resume or activity list
✅ Gather common materials you’ll reuse later
Sprint Strategy: Create a “scholarship folder” with your resume, transcript, activities, awards, and volunteer experience. Having everything in one place makes future applications much faster.
Week 3: Make Your Applications Stand Out
Goal: Submit 1–2 strong scholarship applications.
This week:
✅ Choose 1–2 scholarships that require an essay or personal statement
✅ Customize your responses for each scholarship
✅ Share specific examples, experiences, and lessons learned
✅ Ask a parent, mentor, counselor, teacher, or friend to review your work
Sprint Strategy: Scholarship reviewers read hundreds of essays. Personal stories and specific examples are much more memorable than generic statements about working hard or wanting to succeed.
Instead of saying:
“I’m passionate about helping others.”
Show them:
“After tutoring younger students in math each week, I learned how much confidence can grow when someone feels supported.”
Week 4: Finish Strong & Prepare Ahead
Goal: Submit, track, and stay organized.
This week:
✅ Review and submit any remaining applications
✅ Double-check deadlines and requirements
✅ Track completed applications in your dashboard
✅ Continue saving new scholarships that match your profile
Sprint Strategy: Before wrapping up your Summer Scholarship Sprint, double-check that your cell number is current in Red Kite. If you’ve saved scholarships to your Favorites, you’ll receive SMS reminders about upcoming deadlines.
Red Kite Pro Tip: Scholarship success often comes from consistency. Students who spend 20–30 minutes a few times each week throughout the year usually accomplish more than students who wait until the last minute.
Your Summer Challenge
By the end of this sprint, aim to:
✓ Save at least 10 scholarships
✓ Submit 3–5 applications
✓ Complete 1–2 higher-effort applications
✓ Create a system you’ll continue using throughout the year
You don’t have to spend hours every day to make meaningful progress. Small, consistent steps can lead to real results.
Log in to Red Kite today and start Week 1 by building your scholarship list.
We’re cheering you on every step of the way.
