Scholarship Application Advice: From someone who’s seen a lot of scholarship applications!

Honestly, nothing bugs me more than sloppy scholarship or award applications. Considering that the organization or donor is willing to hand you hundreds or thousands of dollars in free money you need to have enough regard for yourself and the committee to put forth your best effort, so here’s my super honest advice for students about submitting scholarship applications.

1.     Make sure your application is typed and in a legible font. Applications that are handwritten or in illegible fonts WILL stand out, and then they are usually shredded without any further consideration. If you are turning the application in on paper and not electronically, make sure that the application is neat and not creased or wrinkled. If the application must be submitted electronically, follow the submission instructions, or if there are no specific instructions, submit it as a PDF, with your name and the scholarship’s name included as part of the PDF’s name.

 2.     Make sure your application is complete, and follow the instructions to the letter. If it specifies that an official transcript be attached, then attach an official transcript. Not a copy, not an unofficial transcript, not a screen shot of one from your phone, but an official transcript.

 3.     Submit the application on time. I’m sure that everyone has legitimate excuses for why they miss deadlines, but as a scholarship administrator I’m more concerned with scoring the already huge stack of applications that were submitted on time.

 4.     Proofread your application, then have a professor, tutor, or a trusted friend proofread it, then proofread it again. Remember, we want to give you free money; the least you can do is proof your work.

 5.     Tell your story. Usually, the selection committee only has about 3-10 application pages to figure out who you are and why we should give you the award. Tell your story honestly and as thoroughly as possible. Don’t dismiss activities as unimportant because you think they’re not grand enough to impress us. We are just as impressed by students who volunteer to read to preschoolers as we are by those who write research grants.

I have scored numerous scholarships over the past two decades and I can tell you that the students who get scholarships are the ones who submit clean, completed applications, before the deadline, and who take the time to have their applications reviewed for errors. Students who put forth the extra 10% of effort to submit well-prepared applications are usually the ones who win the awards, and the best thing is, once you’ve completed a few scholarship applications, they get easier and easier to submit.

Students need to look at scholarship applications from the selection committee’s perspective. The committee is usually comprised of volunteers who are already extremely busy and each person on it only has a few sheets of paper in your application to decide whether or not to give you a $1,000.00 or more, so make a good impression!

 After you receive the scholarship send at brief thank you note or letter thanking the committee and giving us an update on how the scholarship will help you attain your educational goals. We do remember these letters and we may even score another one of your applications or remember you when we serve on another committee.