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Scholarship Tips

What Makes a Highly Successful Scholarship Winner?

Review the following habits of scholarship winners for tips on how you can
make your scholarship quest successful.

* Successful students always remember the five P’s – Prior
preparation prevents poor performance. Prepare for the scholarship
search early. Do not wait until your senior year.

* ?Successful students do not rely on their parents to do all the work.

* Successful students vigorously avoid mistakes on their essays and
applications. They always spell-check, proofread, and allow one
other person to proofread their applications and essay for errors.

* Successful students do not ignore scholarships that may be local or
those for small amounts. Scholarship amounts, even as small as
$50, can add up.

* Successful students do not rely on only one source such as the
Internet for their scholarship search. They use many resources.
Many scholarships on the Internet or in the free scholarship
searches that you find on the World Wide Web are nationally known
and are harder to win due to greater competition. Local and regional
scholarships are not found as easily through an Internet search,
although they may be easier to win because the applicant pool is
smaller. You have to use a combination of resources to find as
many scholarships to apply for as possible.

* Successful students market themselves well. In their applications,
they highlight positive aspects about their lives, especially
community involvement.

* Successful students do not apply to one or two scholarships and
wait for the best. They apply for all scholarships they are eligible to
win. They keep applying until the total they have won exceeds what
they need to pay for the college they want to attend or until they
graduate with a degree.

* Successful students are organized. They keep track of deadlines
and materials required to complete an application.

* Successful students are well rounded. They participate in
extracurricular and community activities. They write about these
activities in scholarship and college essays in a descriptive
manner. They try to benefit others as well as themselves with the
extracurricular and community activities in which they are involved.

* Successful students understand that SAT scores and grades alone
do not win most scholarships. Scholarship programs look at many
factors such as community activities, leadership, presentation of
your application package, special or unusual talents or skills, etc.

* Successful students do not look for the easy way out. It is harder for
them to believe in a scholarship scam that promises to do all the
work for them. They understand that those things for which we work
hardest often bring the greatest rewards. Hard work in the
scholarship process as a high school student could result in an
easy college life without work later, or a loan-free life after college.

Avoid These Most Common Mistakes Made on College and Scholarship
Applications

1. Not following directions
2. Missing the deadline
3. Not typing your application or sending in a sloppy application
4. Forgetting to spell check and to proofread after you spell check
5. Not including information such as a transcript or recommendation
6. Not answering the essay question or another question asked.

Searching for scholarships

Searching for scholarships is a time consuming and, sometimes, costly experience that, with the right tools and guidance, can be relatively stress free and efficient. Knowing what sources to use, who to consult and basic strategy techniques can save a lot of unnecessary paperwork and time.

School Resources – Use Them!

Start with the easiest and most practical resource you have – your guidance counselor or advisor. Schools hire guidance counselors and advisors to help you make the transition into higher education and to assist in every manner possible when making that transition. Guidance counselors often have access to scholarship materials and applications that are available only to students at your school or are difficult to gain access to through other conventional methods. Additionally, if your school has a career center or library section devoted to college preparation, you have a good chance of finding scholarship materials as well. Look for books containing scholarships, different brochures promoting scholarships or other materials that may include such information.

If you know what colleges you’re most interested in attending, or already know where you will be attending college, then check with the financial aid office at those schools. Like high school specific scholarships, colleges frequently offer scholarships to students applying to or attending their school. Because the number of applicants for open scholarships is so large, it is always a good idea to start with scholarships available only to students at the high school you currently attend or at the college you plan on attending because the applicant pool is narrowed significantly.

Open Up Your Choices

After exhausting your resources at the respective career centers and financial aid offices, you can begin your scholarship search through the internet. The internet offers a wealth of scholarship information and opportunities, with some websites containing thousands of different scholarships. Many of these websites allow you to create a profile about yourself containing your grade point average, standardized test scores and extracurricular activities which will be compiled and then matched with scholarships meeting your profile. Some of these websites require a fee to use their services. Be sure you have used all other tools at your disposal before paying for a service that will provide you with a list of scholarships you are likely to find elsewhere for free.

Be specific and particular when reviewing the criteria scholarships require. If the scholarship qualifications include a grade point average of 3.2 and you have a 3.0, it generally isn’t worth your time to apply. Scholarship selection boards begin by narrowing their applicant pool down to students who qualify based on their initial application before reviewing essays, letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities. If your numbers don’t match the required criteria, all your time in preparing your application will likely be for nothing. Selection boards have a lot of applications to review, and they have to begin narrowing down their pool by first taking only applicants who meet the initial criteria. Instead, try to find scholarships which are specially tailored to some attribute you have that others may not. Many scholarships are based on the location you live in, gender, ethnicity or background. However, if, for example, your grade point average is close to meeting the specified criteria of the scholarship and you feel your grade point average will rise to meet that criteria once your last semester’s grades are added, then apply for the scholarship.

It All Pays in the End

The search for a scholarship can be lengthy and finding scholarships you are qualified for can be even more stressful. But your time and effort will pay off in the end if you have carefully sought out scholarships for which you qualify and have applied correctly. After all, the thousands of dollars a scholarship provides is well worth the hours spent finding the right scholarship for you.

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