There’s something almost magical about hunting for scholarships. When you find scholarship listings and start adding up the numbers, it evokes the feeling of winning the lottery: $10,000 for writing an Isaac Newton essay or $2,500 for listing community service projects. It’s all very alluring, but don’t let the potential sums distract you from the realities of gaining scholarships. Playing the scholarship game requires a plan, a bit of self-knowledge, and a firm grasp of reality.