Student Shares How She Got A $300k Full-Ride Law School Scholarship By Simply Asking One Question
She did tons of work, but in the end it came down to simply asking for help.
@jaydapeets / TikTok A student is going viral after revealing how she got a scholarship by just asking a simple question.
There's no question that getting into a good college nowadays is hyper-competitive, but once you get in it can be even harder to obtain the scholarships you need to pay for it if you don't want to end up saddled with student debt.
But student and TikToker Jayda Peets' mom had a bright idea for getting that coveted scholarship money, and it was deceptively simple.
The student shared how she got a scholarship to law school that paid nearly $300,000 in expenses simply by asking for it.
In her TikTok, Peets revealed that her mom "told me to literally just call the dean of my law school and ask for a full-ride scholarship... and she actually said yes."
Now, there's a bit more to how Jayda Peets, a law student at The College of William and Mary, got her hands on her full-ride to law school than just picking up the phone and saying, "Can I have some money please?" But, as she revealed on TikTok, in the end it nearly was that simple, and it taught her a valuable lesson.
When it came time to figure out how to get a scholarship, Peets worked very hard to develop a rapport with university officials long before she was accepted.
In a follow-up TikTok, Peets explained exactly how it all went down. "I am a strong believer in 'your interview starts way before your interview,' especially wanting into something as prestigious as law school," Peets said.
For her, that involved putting in a lot of work while she was still an undergrad at Howard University, including several visits to The College of William and Mary to get face time with university officials. "If you aren't able to do that in person," she added, "you can just Google the admission council or the board online and email whoever you can and ask for a meet and greet virtually."
Peets was also able to leverage her activities at Howard to create other opportunities to see and be seen at her chosen school. For instance, as part of her position on Howard's student Senate, she organized a trip to William and Mary for Howard students to learn about the law school and the legal field.
"This led to me speaking to various members of admissions and the dean multiple times throughout the week because we were planning an event together, so they were able to see my work ethic before hand and just get my personality, and I wasn't just a name on a paper."
But that only got her so far in the process — ultimately, her scholarship came down to her simply taking a university official up on her offer to help.
The scholarship Peets was eyeing was specifically for students at HBCUs, or Historically Black Colleges and Universities, like Howard. After being alerted to it by a professor, she made sure to mention it on her visits to William and Mary, especially while speaking to the Dean of the law school.
Because she'd developed a rapport with the Dean, she called Peets personally to inform her of her acceptance to the law school, and at at the end of the conversation told Peets to "call me if you ever need anything."
Then she waited and waited and didn't hear about the HBCU scholarship. Heartbroken, she called her mom for advice, who told her to call the Dean and ask for help — after all, she'd said to call if Peets needed anything, right? That call ended up changing everything.
The Dean was non-committal on the phone, but when she called back minutes later, it was a done deal. "She called and said, 'Congrats. This call just saved you about $300,000... Congrats. You just got the scholarship.'"
People on TikTok applauded Peets for advocating for herself and actually taking up the offer for help she was given.
"Similar things have happened to me. Be brave and ask for what you need," one person commented. "People can’t read minds so you must vocalize your needs!"
Peets, of course heartily agreed, especially since she initially had no intention of calling the Dean for help. As she put it, "People say that all the time, but don't actually mean to call them if you ever need something, especially if they're in a high position." But, as another TikToker said, "the worst they can do is say no!"
In a reply TikTok, Peets agreed, but put a different spin on it. She said that in situations like this, "No actually doesn't mean no. No means you're either asking the wrong person or the wrong question. And I will die on that hill!"
She went on to urge students wondering how to get a scholarship — or older people navigating their careers, for that matter — to not accept "no" as the end of things. "Simply being bold in life and not letting one no deter you can get you so far in life."
She urged people to be persistent and keep asking different people for help. "Keep going and you could get closer to your goal than you might have ever imagined.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.