Golden Apple: Brainerd High School Offers Up To $20,000 in Scholarships To Students

Brainerd High School is starting the new year by preparing seniors who are furthering their education to start thinking about ways to finance their college career.

“Every senior is invited to a senior class meeting where we go over the scholarships and the application process. It’s critical all of them that are planning on going to college should be applying, because the criteria for awarding a scholarship can vary from an academic award meaning they have really great grades, or it might mean that their parents or their guardian belongs to a credit union,” said Brainerd High School Principal Andrea Rusk.

“So when you set up a fund with the Brainerd Public Schools Foundation, you get to choose your own criteria, so if you have something really important to you like someone who plays basketball, or someone with a strong love for the arts or music, you can choose your own criteria, and that is what the software will auto select,” said Brainerd Public Schools Foundation Executive Director Jessica Gangl. “So if you said, ‘I did those things,’ then the computer will auto match you, but there are some very specific criterias, and then there are some that are really vague that say ‘a deserving student,’ so there really is a wide range of opportunity.”

“We are working really hard to make sure our students and parents know that there are opportunities available and that they should apply, because only about half of our senior class right now is actually taking the time out to fill out the application. So it’s free money and we would really like to see a lot more of the Brainerd High School seniors applying,” said Gangl.

Scholarships start at $250 and go up $20,000. Brainerd High School seniors are encouraged stop by the Student Success Center for more information.