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Scholarship Do's and Don'ts
Top 10 Scholarship Do's
Scholarship judges may spend just a few precious minutes or even
seconds reviewing your scholarship application. With such a finite
amount of time to make a lasting impression on these important
decision makers, it's crucial that you make the most of this
opportunity. If not, your application may be on the fast track to
the circular file. To help, here are the Top 10 Scholarship Do's
that you must know to increase your chances of winning.
1. Get friendly with your own neighborhood .
Your community is one of the biggest sources of scholarships. Find
out about these kinds of awards by contacting your local chamber of
commerce and by reading your community newspaper.
2. Choose quality over quantity . You'll need to prioritize
which scholarships to apply for. Instead of trying to apply to as
many scholarships as possible, try to apply to the scholarships that
best fit your strengths, interests and qualifications.
3. Understand the purpose of the scholarship . Scholarships
may be designed to encourage students to enter a specific career
field, to reward students who contribute to their communities or to
help underserved students enter higher education. Use this
information to guide how you write your scholarship application.
4. Follow the directions . Make sure you take the time to
ensure every “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed. Include all
the information and forms requested, and answer every question.
5. Write an essay that demonstrates why you should win . The
scholarship application gives the scholarship judges a sense of who
you are and what's important to you. Think about what skills and
qualities the scholarship judges seek and then describe how you
match them.
6. Get feedback from editors . You can't write a strong
scholarship essay in a vacuum, and editors are the best people to
help. Friends, teachers and even parents can make great editors
7. Proofread . No matter how strong of an applicant you are,
it would be difficult for a scholarship judge to overlook spelling
or grammatical errors. Proofread your application and essays
carefully, and have your editors do the same.
8. Practice for interviews . Ask a friend or parent to do a
mock interview with you to prepare for the real thing.
9. Ask your parents for help . Mom and Dad are capable of
doing more than writing the tuition check. They can help you find
scholarships, keep track of deadlines and give you feedback on your
applications and essays.
10. Brag a little about yourself . You need to let your best
self shine through in your scholarship applications – don't be
bashful about discussing your accomplishments.
Top 10 Scholarship Don'ts
Scholarship judges may spend just a few precious minutes or even
seconds reviewing your scholarship application. With such a finite
amount of time to make a lasting impression on these important
decision makers, it's crucial that you make the most of this
opportunity. If not, your application may be on the fast track to
the circular file. To help, here are the Top 10 Scholarship Don'ts
that you must know to increase your chances of winning.
1. Don't overlook your college financial aid officer or guidance
counselor . Helping students pay for college is their job, and
you should take advantage of the knowledge they've accumulated.
2. Don't ignore the Internet . Fire up the computer, and use
free web-based scholarship searches like ours to find more
scholarships.
3. Don't ignore small awards . When there are scholarships
worth tens of thousands of rupees, you might think you shouldn't
bother with the “small potato” awards. The truth is that a
Rs.1,000 scholarship is Rs.1,000 less that you will need to come up
with for college.
4. Don't think that you have to be an academic or athletic
superstar to win . There are scholarships based on leadership,
art, music, theatre, community service and more.
5. Don't be a victim of a scholarship scam . Never pay for a
scholarship search, to apply for a scholarship or for a listing of
awards. You can find scholarships on your own for free, and applying
for a scholarship should always be free.
6. Don't use the shotgun approach . Remember that all
organizations that award scholarships have different selection
criteria. This means that the same application won't work for all of
them.
7. Don't forget to answer the question in your essay .
There's a reason why the scholarship organizations provide the essay
questions. They want to know your answer. An essay can be very well
written, but if it doesn't answer the question asked, then it's not
going to win.
8. Don't wait until the last minute . You may think that you
do your best work on the day before the deadline at 3 a.m. , but if
you review your work you'll probably see that you don't. Take the
pressure off, and allow yourself more time to complete an
application.
9. Don't turn in an application that is incomplete .
Scholarship organizations receive far more applicants than they can
support. Don't give them a reason to take you out of the running for
not having a complete application.
10. Don't think that it's impossible for you to win . Every
student who has won a scholarship has thought this. And guess what?
They won, and you can, too!
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