SANDPOINT — Finding and applying for scholarships can be a grueling process for high school students.

Sandpoint High School students, however, will have a network to help with the process through the school's new Scholarship Club with Kendall Stratton, SHS college and career mentor.

"It's a time for students to bring any materials regarding scholarships in; if they want essays to be edited or looked over, brainstorming ideas, things like that," Stratton said. "If you have any questions, or if you don't have any questions and you have the process down, it provides a time to set aside for students every week to just sit down and do a scholarship for an hour."

Stratton said in high school, she and her mom went through numerous scholarships. It takes a lot of time and effort to find the ones you are eligible for, she said, so she was talking to Jeralyn Mire, SHS postsecondary counselor, and threw out the idea of a doing a scholarship club. Stratton administered a survey to seniors to see if they would be interested in attending a scholarship club every week or two and the majority said yes. As a result, the club will be held every Monday after school.

SHS senior Kaitlan Ward said when she first heard about the club, she thought it was a "great" idea.

"To have this time set aside where you can come bounce ideas off of someone who has been there, and they can help us find what is best for us," Ward said. "To have someone there to walk you through it and tell you it is going to be OK, it's like a support system for me to know that there is someone there to help me through it."

SHS senior Logan Sanborn agreed with Ward and said she doesn't necessarily have the time to sit down with her parents to "figure it all out" by themselves.

"So it's definitely super nice to have the opportunity to sit down with peers and counselors who have been through it and know exactly the steps to put you in the right direction," Sanborn said.

Having peers in the club to assist with constructive criticism can be helpful, Stratton said, and peer edits are "sometimes the best ones."

"It's a great way to connect with your class, too," Stratton said. "They are all going through the same thing right now."

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.