This is one of the reasons it’s good to start researching scholarships in your Junior year of high school. It gives you time to focus on meeting the requirements of the scholarship. That might mean bringing your GPA up (a high GPA is quite important for many scholarships). It also might mean finding a way to get involved with local nonprofits and community agencies that offer financial aid resources to people who work with them. Many scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students alike have a general community service requirement built into them as well. Put a lot of time and effort into your personal essays for each of the scholarships. Make sure they’re polished. Find somebody else to give you advice on your essays and proof-read them for you.