Worth of Scholarships

In my experience, no, they are not "worth it". Yes, it is only a second of your time, but it takes time to find scholarships. I spent a whole year applying to no-essay scholarships and got nothing. Millions of students are applying to these. Find essays that require something from you AND narrower specifics, like the major or a hobby you have. Instead of sticking to certain websites, look up scholarships for (fill in the blank). You can use the scholarship website links that pop up but be sure to keep scrolling down where so smaller private scholarships may be hiding. These will naturally have less applicants. Less competition, the better. And don't shy away from small scholarships. They do add up later! Also, writing essays is super important as it will prepare you for college admission essays. Lmk if you would like recommendations for scholarship websites that I have found helpful (just to be honest, I haven't won any scholarships yet but I know I am getting closer. It is very common not to get anything for the first 10-20 essay scholarships you enter. Just don't give up and practice, practice, practice!)

They're not necessarily "not worth it" but I would strongly recommend you do some essay scholarships. You have a higher chance of getting those, and they're usually worth more.

That depends on what you mean by "worth it". Applying for a mix of scholarships, including both non-essay and essay-based ones, can increase your chances of receiving financial aid. Also, if you're short on time or applying to many scholarships, non-essay scholarships often require less time and effort to apply for compared to essay-based ones.