is applying/competing for scholarship worth it

[stragan]

sorry i am just really dumb and my brain is scrambled eggs right now because of there's alot of personal shit going on but help a guy out here

1. if I am in college, can I still apply for scholarships and apply it to that year? for example lets say i am in Fall 2011 and I pay tuition monthly. Can I apply for scholarship, have them send it to my bank, and then pay for the next month during the same Fall 2011?

2. What IS scholarship money anyway? Do they give like receipts that I can give to my college or do they just send me cash? I've heard of people "squandering their scholarship buying cigarettes", so I am assuming that scholarships are sent in spendable money form? I am so confused lol how do scholarship people know that I am not some druggie pretending to pay for college so I can get money to buy booze

3. what's the likelihood of getting any money out of applying for scholarship anyway? like, i go on certain websites that list scholarships and i am like.... "lol what's the chance of me getting accepted for this scholarship"

For example, there's a scholarship that says they award $500 to three people who write good essays.
Does that mean that if I am not one of those 3 people, I get nothing? Or if I did not write a $500 worth essay, would they still give me some sort of money? All these scholarships I find online never state this sort of thing.

I am sure all of you went out seeking scholarships before. What's your experience and how do these "scholarships" work anyway?

I have been wanting to apply, but due to other things in life happening, i had the "if i cant write an essay good enough for $500 right now, i might as well not waste my time trying" mentality

right now my monthly tuition for college is like thousand a month and I am pissing my pants over this so I sort of need to apply. Is it worth it? Or would I likely not get anything because there's like tons of other kids applying for scholarship?

Btw this is what scholarship pages sort of look like:

[stragan]

wow come on nobody has anything?

[Meloncov]

Most scholarships (not counting scholarships given by the school you're attending, or by the government) have hundreds, if not thousands, of entrants for each award given. To win one, you generally need some combination of a near perfect academic record, extremely good writing skills, a seriously disadvantaged background, and luck. Based on the quality of the prose in your posts, I wouldn't recommend entering writing contest based scholarships. There are a few art contest scholarships out there you might have a chance at.

[stragan]

Most scholarships (not counting scholarships given by the school you're attending, or by the government) have hundreds, if not thousands, of entrants for each award given. To win one, you generally need some combination of a near perfect academic record, extremely good writing skills, a seriously disadvantaged background, and luck. Based on the quality of the prose in your posts, I wouldn't recommend entering writing contest based scholarships. There are a few art contest scholarships out there you might have a chance at.

so if i apply, its usually all or nothing? is it worth it then?

[Meloncov]

Yes, it's all or nothing, and no, it's likely not worth the time to apply, unless you find one you think you'd be a perfect match for.

[stragan]

Yes, it's all or nothing, and no, it's likely not worth the time to apply, unless you find one you think you'd be a perfect match for.

lol perfect match? how perfect?
i see there are some things i can try tho. i MIGHT win.

i bet most students think the same thoughts i do and never try. maybe i'll have less competition fgk fg kd fg