In addition to your savings and financial aid, scholarships can be a great way to lessen the burden of college tuition.
Most people assume that it is the 4.0 (and above) perfect student that naturally wins a ton of college scholarships. This assumption is wrong however, and has stopped a lot of talented students from even applying and trying to win money for college. Here are five secrets to winning a college scholarship that scholarship winners swear by and scholarship losers have no idea even exist.
Increase quantity without sacrificing quality.
Scholarship winners don’t just apply for a few scholarships, they apply for every single scholarship that they can and learn how to use the information shared on one application for many others. Scholarship essays can be used more than once, paying careful attention to word count and subject matter. Often it only requires a few small writing tweaks to turn one great essay into several, allowing the student to apply for more scholarships with less time spent on writing new essays for each one. Application details are usually very similar, so making copies of all applications and simply transferring the information from one application to another is another way to save time and apply for more scholarships.
Use your time wisely.
Reading the fine print in all scholarship guidelines is crucial to correctly applying for scholarships and not wasting time applying for those in which a student does not qualify. For example, if the scholarship guidelines require applicants to have a 3.5 G.P.A. and above, a student with a 3.4 G.P.A. should not bother applying. Scholarship judges first look for easy reasons to eliminate applicants and then take more time to narrow down the possible winners. Incomplete applications (not including all required materials) and ignoring clearly stated applicant guidelines are the easiest ways to have applications tossed into the losers pile. Students who meticulously follow all guidelines will have a much better chance of winning the scholarship money, even before the judges begin to read their essays.
Don’t let an essay requirement scare you away.
Scholarships should never be ignored or skipped because of the essay requirement. The essay is the student’s chance to show the judges, in great personal detail, exactly why they believe they deserve the scholarship money. Many students avoid applying for scholarships with an essay, so these scholarships tend to have less competition, meaning a greater chance of winning for the savvy student who takes the time to write a compelling essay.
Make your applications stand out.
Because the competition is so great for most scholarships, students need to find ways to make their applications stand out and get noticed by the judges. Little details like paper weight, envelope size, clear and proper font type, activity or scholarship resumes, quality letters of recommendation, and overall presentation of the scholarship application packet can make a huge difference in how a judge rates the applicant. Simply filling out a scholarship application and casually mailing it to the required address may look like a student has done their best, but learning how to polish and perfect the application is crucial to winning college scholarships. Online only applications can also be submitted with extra details that most students don’t bother including, but make a huge difference in the eyes of the judges.
Start early.
Finding the time and motivation to work on college scholarship applications is a large stumbling block for many students. One great way to overcome this is to encourage students to begin applying for scholarships well before their peers. Most students do not even begin thinking about winning scholarships until they have applied to college and start to see the huge cost associated with higher education. This is often the spring of their senior year of high school and by that time, a huge number of scholarship application deadlines have already come and gone. The student that starts early, in middle school or as a high school freshman, will have an advantage because they will be familiar with the college scholarship process and as a result, will be comfortable with applying for more scholarships than their fellow students.