Finding Scholarships Online

Scholarships are not just for straight-A students or for athletes anymore. Each year, thousands of dollars of scholarship money goes unclaimed. Use the internet to find out what money you could earn.

Applying for college or university can be a daunting procedure by itself. Also applying for scholarships can seem like a monumental task. Applying for scholarships doesn't have to be painful. You can now find many scholarships on the internet.

Using the internet to find scholarships might not be painful, but it will still be time-consuming. You will probably have to fill out a profile at each site on which you want to search. It is in your best interest to fill out your profile as accurately and as painstakingly as possible. Choose as many options as you can so that you will be given as many matching scholarships as possible. This way, you can weed out the ones you don't think are worth it.

A simple way to find scholarships online is to google scholarships. This, however, isn't always going to take you to the most reputable sites. You will be taken to contest sites as well as scholarship sites.

The best way to find scholarships online is through a few reputable scholarship search engines.
 

studentawards.com

This is the best scholarship website out there. It has scholarships sorted by their availability in Canada, the US, and abroad.
 

scholarship.com

This scholarship site is worth checking out. Although not as extensive as studentawards.com, it is best to search for as many scholarships as you can.

scholarshipscanada.com

This site is dedicated to Canadian students or students studying in Canada. It has tons of helpful information.

With all scholarship search engines, you will likely find that some scholarships require money to apply. Find out if that is worth it to you. Only send money if the scholarship is coming from a reputable source. Be sure to establish the difference between scholarships that are based on your merit and scholarships that are more like contests, or that are based on financial need. Any money is good money, but it's also nice to know why you deserve that money.

Other places to look online include cfuw.org (the Canadian Federation of University Women) and aauw.org (the American Association of University Women). The Rotary Club (rotary.org) also offers scholarships. Are you involved in any national groups, such as scouting, a church, or a club? Check out their websites too for scholarships you might not even know existed.

Governments often offer quite large scholarships. Check out your municipal, state/provincial, and federal government website to see if there are any awards to which you can apply.

Another place to check for scholarships is with local public broadcasting. Go to cbc.ca or radiocanada.ca or pbs.org or npr.org and search for scholarships to see if there are any salient scholarships. The places to look for scholarships are endless. Often, you will find wonderful scholarships simply by signing up for search engines. Don't be afraid to sign up and take the time filling out the profile.

If you are a graduate student, it is time for you to start looking at getting grants instead of scholarships. You can find out how to apply for grants and fellowships by asking one of your professors. You will want to apply for grants in your field.

In the end, remember that it will take you hours to find and apply for pertinent scholarships. However, because in the end you will be earning hundreds or thousands of dollars, it only makes sense to spend more time now for earnings in the future.

The key to successful scholarship organization is to be organized. Get started early so that you won't have to scramble at the end of any application. Online is only one place to look for scholarships (and be sure to add the www. at the beginning of these web addresses!). You can also ask for at your school (and your prospective school's) office of student awards and financial aid. Don't be afraid to call around and ask for help. Online scholarship engines are a great way to start looking for scholarships, but they are certainly not the last step in obtaining funding for your education.

by Morgan D. James

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Comparing Loans And Scholarships For College Students

Anyone considering furthering themselves in terms of a college education will be looking at funding options. The main two considerations are the option of loans versus scholarships. It is impossible to compare the value of the two; most people eligible for a scholarship will go down that route. The reason for this is simple; who would choose a repayable loan over a scholarship which doesn’t need to be paid back? The two options differ in that a loan needs to be paid back over an agreed term; which generally includes interest. A scholarship is a grant provided to cover part of the college education and doesn’t need to be paid back; which represents and immense amount of value.

A college scholarship does not just cover some or all of the cost of the tuition fees. The scholarship, which consists of actual money paid into your bank account, can also be used to cover your living expenses such as; the cost of your room and food bills. The scholarship can be used to cover any costs as prescribed by the college or scholarship provider. A student loan is of course money as well, to be used to cover the same types of expenses. The obvious difference is that the loan will need to be paid back, with interest.

The most sought after college scholarships are those which provide funding for the entire duration of the course. These grants which can cover the full four years of college are called renewable scholarships, and guarantee funding throughout your college education. Student loans again differ in that you need to reapply at the end of each college year. This can mean that the interest rate or loan terms differ each year.

Some students are eligible for a type of student loan which is part subsidized by the US Department Of Education. These subsidized loans are known as Stafford Student Loans. Eligibility is based on the annual household income of the students’ parents. If eligible the student will receive a certain degree of assistance with the loans interest.

Essentially the US Department Of Education will cover the interest whilst the student is at college. In addition the interest would be covered for a period of six months after graduation, to allow the student time to find employment. This differs from a standard student loan where by the borrower pays interest from the day the loan is taken out.

Clearly when looking at the pros and cons of loans versus scholarships it apparent which option is best? Any prospective college student should take time to look for scholarships which he or she is eligible for. Of course not everyone is eligible for an academic scholarship, but there are also scholarships based on one's interest group or leadership skills. It is important to assess eligibility for a Stafford Student Loan, as any help during college will be of benefit.

by cathydionisio

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Tips to Avoid the Scams of Student Scholarships

Let's face it; with the times nowadays, it could be very hard to pursue our studies without some help. A number of institutions, academic, commercial, non stock or government offer scholarships in various forms and benefits. These scholarships can be small or big and they are designed to provide help to students in all possible ways. Therefore, it is necessary to find a good one. However, getting student scholarships can be side tracked by those pesky scams that are usually present online. It is necessary to avoid those scams as much as possible.

No money involved
When you see a scholarship that asks for money or any down payment, you should not believe them, reputable grant giving institutions do not ask payments for the application form and will absolutely not require students to spend for the processing of grants. These student scholarships are given to help and not to earn money. Therefore, if you see any advertisement for scholarships requiring payments, do not fall from the trap. Report these scams on those institutions that are being used.

Guarantees
The student scholarships are offered with absolutely no guarantees. If a scholarship grant is guaranteed, there is no reason why it should be a grant. You should be aware that no one, not even the institution can make guarantees that you can be given that particular grant. The scholarships work but selecting the most qualified individual. The scholarship will be offered by a panel usually, the board of trustees or the scholarship and grants department. No individual can assure anybody unless there is bias or irregularities in the implementation of the grants. Nonetheless, no individual should assume.

Exclusive information
You might have seen advertisements about student scholarships that are exclusive only and no other individual knows about it. The fact is that no one really knows about the "exclusive" scholarship. Scholarships can only be limited on occasions that they are only for students of a particular school or if the grant is only for the children working in a particular office. Nonetheless, they are all available for any student to take advantage of. We are in the internet age already and such exclusive things are things of the past.

Do not give non-relevant information
The student scholarships will never ask for information related to your bank account. Avoid and report scholarships that ask for your social security number, bank account, and anything that pertains to money. No institution will ask for that information. Only criminal minds would want to use grant scams to get to your pockets. Lastly, if you doubt it, it may possibly be a scam. It would be best to stay away from them and do your research somewhere else.

by Vijay K Shetty

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Scholarship for College

Scholarship constitutes any financial aid that is offered to students within any institutions of learning. This financial aid may be partial (a partial scholarship that caters for a part of the students' expenses) or a full scholarship (financial scholarship that caters for the entire financial needs of a student). There are many scholarship schemes set up by various individuals and organizations that try to help needy students acquire education. These scholarships are issued on merit and they are offered to the best student based on his or her performance and needy status. Candidates applying for any scholarship scheme have to prove that they deserve the funding through a scholarship essay writing exercise.

Scholarship essay writing entails the writing of short literary pieces on designated subjects. The scholarship essay writing exercise is used to gauge the candidates' academic proficiency in terms of writing and understanding various aspects of the presented issue. Scholarship essay writing holds the key to getting a scholarship, and as such it is an important exercise that should be carried out with care by any candidates wishing to get a scholarship. In scholarship essay writing every candidate should try as much as possible to make themselves distinct and different from all other applicants by writing the best possible scholarship essay.

There are various factors that writers should consider in scholarship essay writing has to do. Prior to doing the actual scholarship essay writing exercise the writer should consider the issued topic critically. In doing this, the writers should try to determine what the evaluators will be seeking for in their essays. If the scholarship essay writing topic is about ones major accomplishments, the writer should consider how his/her achievements relate to education and learning, because this connects the essays topic to the scholarship.

While doing scholarship essay writing, the candidate should also consider the organizations, people or person that set up the fund. While doing this the candidate should ask himself or herself: What value does the organization, people or person espouse? Do the people or the organization that offers the scholarship have any values, interests or principles that distinguish them or the organization? Answering these questions may greatly help in the scholarship essay writing exercise. This is essential because many at times the issuers of the scholarship or contributors to the scholarship fund have certain interests in life that they would like to culture in the people they fund or society.

Thus, it is usually highly likely that they would like to see the same values in the receivers of the scholarship expressed through the scholarship essay writing activity. Therefore, scholarship essay writing candidates should consider the values of the organization or people offering the scholarship and try to relate it to the topic assigned as well the values of the issuers of the scholarship. Though this is common in scholarship essay writing, it may not always be the case.

In some scholarship essay writing assignments the offered topic has no relation whatsoever to any aspect of the issuers of the scholarship, but the evaluators may be interested in determining who you are and how proficient you may be in academics. In such cases scholarship essay writing candidates should try as much as possible to highlight positive attributes that he truly posses that can make him or her outstanding enough to merit for the scholarship.

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College Free Grant Money Scholarship

“Education is expensive, if you want something cheaper, try ignorance,” this is one of the clichés that has ben well worn and said over a million times. But this cliché is a reality that painfully bites.

Nowadays, only a few numbers of students have parents who can really afford their education in college without placing excessive burden on their shoulders. The common scenario for youths today is working while studying at the same time, especially in college, working students as what they are termed.

Most often the academic performances of these working students’ suffer if they will not be able to manage their time wisely. But are we going to allow education to be exclusive only for the wealthy? The answer is, definitely not.

That is why education grants benefits and opportunities exist. The purpose of this is to help the students to sustain their college education by generating educational funds though minimal.

Grants unlike scholarships are based on the students’ specific need, if not a combination of needs and merits.                                     

However, before you get this privilege, you have to be assured that you are eligible for the opportunity. Basically, the process of grants benefited both the students and the institutions that are using that grant money to develop the curriculum, employ new faculties, and construct new facilities.

The difference of grants to the scholarships and students’ loans is that it is given to the benefactor without any expectation of repaying it. Grant is a monetary gift. Scholarship on the other hand, is awarded according to the academic merit though it is also a monetary gift.

However, the students’ loans really differ among the three privileges. Students’ loan is the sum of money being borrowed by the student to finance his schooling with the agreement to repay it after some time with the corresponding interests.

The awarding of grants may come in general categories, or it may also be awarded to students who are pursuing a specialized degree program, like mathematics or business, or to various degree levels, such as Bachelors, Associate, Doctoral or Masters.

Also, grants may come originally from different sources: college and university, public and private organization, and federal state.

Since grants are specially meant for the financially unprivileged, certain grants exist for the deprived, underrepresented minorities and students. There are also some cases wherein the grant money is exchanged for professional service after the graduation. This is common to those taking up health care professions. The main purpose of this is to keep trained professionals in medically underserved regions.

Grants are particularly taken up by the adult students to return to college or to college programs that will direct them in reentering the place of work.

This is usual since college does not anymore require for the traditional age, specifically between 18 to 24 years of age. Americans nowadays are becoming more and more practical in considering several chances to receive a degree. And this modern perception has driven adult students to flock into colleges without the fear of public scrutiny unlike before.

The world today is requiring skillful and sharp new set of labor force for them to be able to join the flow of the competitive market. And for the applicants to be credible for these characteristics they must present a college diploma.

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Your Options on Getting Business Scholarships

If you intend on taking up your education to the higher level seriously and attending a business school, then it is recommended that you go in for business scholarships. Once you have decided on attending a business school, you need to get business scholarships so that your education process is a smooth one. All of the top business colleges are attracting a good number of students, and getting business scholarships is no longer a hassle. With the students these days, majors like business management and administration are hot favorites and much asked for subjects.

Business scholarships can be granted to only those students who wish to pursue a degree in business. Business degrees are offered by educational institutes, big corporate houses, and many others to choose from. There are various options to help you choose the right kind of business scholarships. Depending on the course fee and certain other factors, you can begin finding out business scholarships options which best suit you. You can do a search on the scholarship offered by the many colleges, and see if any of the offers suit you or not. Apart form business scholarships, you can also get additional scholarship amount based on certain other criteria, such as essay, merit based, and the likes. All these various options give a student plenty of scholarship opportunities.

Let us look into a few of the many available business scholarships available for those students who are looking at studying business. The ABA Diversity Scholarship is a much sought after scholarship program. The application deadline to this program varies depending on the admission dates. This scholarship concentrates on broadening the groups which are traditionally under represented in the travel, transportation, and tourism industry in the ranks of operations as well as management. Those candidates who would be eligible to apply for this scholarship program who are at least in the first year of their college from an accredited university, and must have a major in either transport, tourism, or travel.

Business scholarships offered by Catching the Dream MESBEC Program began its operation in 1986 for the purpose of catering to the Indian communities primarily. This scholarship program was previously known as the Native American Scholarship Fund. Catching the Dream is the oldest program offered by MESBEC, and aims at providing business scholarships in subjects like Math, Science, Engineering, as well as Business.

Business scholarships by CITE Minor Student Tuition Scholarship is also a popular scholarship program. This scholarship program is to recognize the present students of University of Akron who have achieved a distinction for themselves in Information Systems and eBusiness.

The IAAP Evansville Chapter Scholarship program, which is worth $1,000, invites applications from the students of the counties Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, and Gibson who intend to take up business studies. The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship program is awarded to those female students who are at the undergraduate level, and have demonstrated excellence in their fields.

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Scholarship Essay Help: Writing and Editing

Every scholarship applicant wants to sound like a confident, competent, and intelligent writer when they submit an essay for review. However, many commit some of writing’s worst mistakes, turning their otherwise good easy into a SNAFU. To avoid a mess up, the best thing to do when writing your essay is follow your outline. Don’t change it up halfway through, unless there’s a logical reason to alter your plan. And if you do make changes, go back to the outline stage. Fix it there, first, so you have a guide for the writing.

Remember, though, there are many ways to mess up an essay, and most of them have to do with word choice, sentence structure, and other minutia. Follow these tips to make sure your smooth prose doesn’t read like a hard-to-decipher puzzle.

   1. Ditch the adverbs. For the grammar-challenged writers out there, an adverb is a word used to describe how something acts (she moved slowly, he thought pensively). On occasion, incorporation of these types of words can clarify or enhance a sentence, but usually they can be left out or replaced with stronger, more direct verbs. For example, the phrase, “she moved slowly,” could be written as “she crawled,” “she walked,” “she shuffled,” “she inched forward,” etc. Each of the verbs used in place of “moved slowly” is clearer. “Moving slowly” could mean crawling or walking or shuffling, but each of those verbs means a distinct thing. The adverb, in this case, is ambiguous; using the verb gives the reader a picture of exactly what’s going on.

      Too often, writers add adjectives and adverbs wherever they can, operating under the impression that it makes the writing stronger. False. The trick is to say what you have to say using the clearest, most direct prose, and often the fewest words possible.
     
   2. Delete the empty words. Many experienced essay fluffers will naturally use empty words. You have to go back and delete them. There’s no need to say, “Not only does the school offer tacos, but it also offers burritos, as well.” How many forms of “too” are in there? Two. Not necessary. “The school offers tacos and burritos,” would suffice.
     
   3. Don’t exaggerate your point. Keep in mind that empty words tend to exaggerate things. The “Not only…but” structure is used in advertisements, as in “not only are you getting this, but you’re getting more!” It’s used to emphasize and exaggerate, and that’s how readers perceive it. However, in an essay, you shouldn’t have to exaggerate anything. If you have a strong, solid thesis and valid supporting points, then the content should speak for itself.
     
   4. Make sure your conclusion actually draws a conclusion. It’s not enough to just write, “The End.” You need to tie up loose ends, bring all of your points together, and either return to the main point—your thesis—or build upon it. There should be some sense of finality after reading the conclusion.
     
   5. Edit, and then take a step back. Editing is an important step, to be sure. You want to make sure you’ve followed the outline, drawn strong conclusions, and used supportive evidence. You also want to make sure your grammar is clear and your sentences read clean. However, you can edit a paper to death. To avoid this, make one pass and then take a step back. Give yourself a breather of a day or two, and then return to the essay. After taking that space, it’ll feel like you’re looking on your essay with a fresh set of eyes, and it’ll be easier to pick out the flaws. Then you can edit again.

If you find yourself repeating this step several times, it may be a good idea to bring in outside support. Have a teacher or guidance counselor proofread it for you. Some writers obsess about perfection, even though nothing they write ever seems perfect. This feeling can trap you in a never ending circle of revisions and rewrites that will get you nowhere. So if an outside source that you trust says it’s good to go, believe them.

by Kari Cooper

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Scholarship for Engineering Students

Not only colleges and universities, but engineering scholarships are offered by several national scholarship associations, funds and organizations. So, if you prepare yourself to look beyond academic institutions, you will find many other resources to finance your engineering college education. Since engineering is a vast field, there are many scholarship programs which are concentration specific. Students doing a major in engineering fields like mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and civil engineering can be eligible to receive scholarship awards.

Students should remember that national engineering scholarships happen to be very competitive. However, if you can win just one scholarship award it can be worth the time and effort you put in the application process.

Given below are scholarships that can help engineering students bear their college education expenses -

Barry Goldwater Scholarship
The scholarship is available to candidates who aspire to pursue careers in science, engineering and mathematics. The $7,500 award is available to students across the entire United States. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation provide this free college funding to 300 students of the US every year. One criteria for this award is that students need to request a nomination at the college or university they attend, rather than directly applying to the scholarship program. For further details on the eligibility criteria and application deadlines, students can visit http://www.act.org/goldwater.

SAE Engineering Scholarship
Students who pursuer an engineering degree can apply for this funding program. The award money for this scholarship varies from $400 to complete tuition. Candidates applying for this award must be citizens of the United States.

Association for Women in Science Scholarships
This is one of those national associations that encourage women to pursuer careers in engineering, science and mathematics. Candidates who wish to apply for this educational financial aid program must attend an accredited US college or university. Another eligibility criterion for award is that candidates should plan to occupy careers in research or teaching field. The award money for this engineering scholarship varies between $100 and $1,000. Students can log on to http://www.awis.org/ for more details.

SMART Scholarship for Service
Under the Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship program, candidates receive an annual stipend ranging between $22,500 and $38, 000. The engineering student scholarship covers college expenses including full tuition, health coverage and book allowance among others. Set up by the Department of Defense (DoD), SMART aims to provide financial support to graduate and undergraduate students of engineering, science and technology. For detailed information, students can visit http://www.asee.org/smart.

American Society of Naval Engineers
The ASNE scholarships awards are available to graduate and undergraduate students planning to pursue engineering careers. The award money for graduates and undergraduates are $3,500 and $2,500 respectively. Winners are chosen on the ground of their academic excellence, extracurricular activities, working history, recommendation letter among and a keen interest in the field of naval engineering. More information is available on http://www.navalengineers.org/.

Myrtle and Earl Walker Scholarship
The $1,000 scholarship is available to students pursuing careers in manufacturing engineering or technology. Applying candidates must be US citizens, enrolled in a full time degree program at a college or university in the United States or Canada. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to apply for the engineering scholarship award.

American Radio Relay League Foundation Scholarships
Though most of these scholarships are awarded to engineering students attending a four year college or university, the funding program also provides financial support to community college students. The award money for this scholarship ranges between $1,000 and $10,000. Winners are decided on the basis of their financial need, academic excellence, ham radio activities and the candidate's future success potential. Students can get further details by visiting http://www.arrl.org/the-arrl-foundation.

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Perth Airport Indigenous Scholarship, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Westralia Airports Corporation (WAC), owner and operator of Perth Airport, will be offering two (2) $5000.00 scholarships in 2010 to 1st year Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students undertaking studies at ECU. This follows the signing of a Partnership Agreement between WAC and Nyoongar Elders in July 2009.

Selection will be based on demonstration of prior Academic success as well as personal and educational goals. Successful recipients will have the opportunity to receive mentoring from Nyoongar Elders.

Amount: $5000 per year for full time enrolment (pro rata for part time – minimum 30 credit points)
Frequency: $2500 (or pro rata) payment made each semester after census date
Method: Electronic Funds Transfer

Eligibility criteria:

    * Indigenous – Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Level of study:

    * Advanced Diploma (3 year courses only)
    * UG – Undergraduate Bachelor Courses

Nationality:

    * Australian Citizen

Applicant information:
Application for this scholarship is made on the application form titled – ‘Scholarships for Indigenous Australian Students’. This application form allows students to complete one document which will be used by the ECU Scholarships Office to assess the applicant for other Indigenous scholarships including the following:

    * ECU Indigenous Scholarship
    * ECU Vice Chancellors Indigenous Australian Scholarship
    * Commonwealth Indigenous Scholarships (including CAS, CECS, Enabling and Indigenous Payment)

Selection:
Selection will be based on:

    * Demonstration of prior academic success
    * Personal and educational goals

Application opening date: February 2011Application closing date: March 2011
Contact Scholarships Office for more info.

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Lee Kuan Yew Postdoctoral Fellowship (LKY PDF)

The prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Postdoctoral Fellowship (LKY PDF) was established in 1991 under the Lee Kuan Yew Endowment Fund. The Fellowship supports and promotes young and outstanding researchers to realize their full potential in their respective areas of specialization. It will be awarded concurrently with the candidate`s appointment as a research staff in the schools under the following:

    * COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
    * COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES, ARTS, & SOCIAL SCIENCES
    * COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
    * RESEARCH CENTRES

Eligibility

    * Candidates should have excellent academic records and research potential
    * Candidates must be recent PhD graduates or have completed 1 postdoctoral training from a reputable university
    * The scheme is open to nationals of all countries

Terms and Conditions

    * The Fellowship will be tenable for a period of 3 years.
    * In addition to an attractive remuneration, the successful candidate will be awarded a research grant of S$180,000 for research consumables and research related expenditure.
    * Leave and medical benefits will be provided. Other benefits may include passage assistance and baggage allowance upon appointment.

Applications
Applications must be made on the NTU Application Form (Research) obtainable here and submitted together with the following documents duly completed:

    * Detailed Curriculum Vitae and copies of the Educational Certificates;
    * Three (3) International Referee Reports (including contact details) who are known to the applicant in the last 4 years ;
    * Statement of Research Intent
    * Grant Application Form which is available here and
    * List of Publications

Closing date: 18 February 2011

Please send your application to:
Deputy Director
Office of Human Resources
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
42 Nanyang Avenue, Level 4-07
Student Services Centre Singapore 639815
Fax: (65) 6792-5745

or Email: NTUResearch@ntu.edu.sg
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

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Scholarship Application Tip: Efficient Essay Writing

Unless you are blessed with wealth that allows you to pay for your college education, chances are, you'll look for student financial aid to support your dream of attaining higher education. Among the types of student aids, scholarships are one of the most sought after, since scholarships provide financial support with no strings attached to the recipient.

But because scholarships are in demand, winning them is not the easiest thing to accomplish. In order to increase your chances of winning, it is still advisable to apply to as many scholarships as possible.

However, scholarship application requirements are also lengthy. More often than not, you'll find yourself facing a tough challenge: how do you submit as many application requirements as possible without diminishing the quality of your submissions? Remember that you are competing with other students for the same prize, so it's important that you do not sacrifice the quality of your submissions.

This is where efficient essay writing comes into play. Essays are one of the most common requirements for scholarship applications. Usually, the applicant is asked to answer a very specific question within a certain amount of words. The essay’s length may not be long in itself. But the process of trying to come up with the best and most proficient answer can be quite a challenge. Doing so for every application will surely eat up a lot of your time: probably more time than you could ideally spare.

Fortunately, there is a way to get around this dilemma. The key is learning how to be efficient with your essay writing. Here are some of the ways to maximize the efficiency of your essay writing:

1) One essay may be sufficient to answer more than one scholarship requirement.

Many essay questions for scholarship applications delve on common subjects like ‘giving back to society’, ‘sustainable development’ etc. There is a good chance that essay questions and requirements from one scholarship can overlap, just as though different people asked you the same question with different sets of words. In any case, one answer will still suffice.

You might want to gather the different scholarships application forms that you have and compare their essay questions. Ask yourself which questions are similar and see if you can write essays that can be used for more than just one scholarship before writing one essay per scholarship application. Remember that time is of the essence. The less you need to write, the more time you can save. If you can hit two or more birds with one stone, do so by all means. The time that you save can be used for making sure that the essays that you do write are of top quality rather than rushing to finish one essay just so that you could write the next one.

2) Use the internet and get inspiration from scholarship websites.

Many scholarship providers have their own websites. Take time to explore these sites and get to know their company values and their mission-vision statements. In doing so, you will have an idea of what different scholarships value in a candidate. Mold your essays in such a way that it fits the company values of scholarship providers.

Sometimes, scholarship websites also post the essays of past winners. Read these entries so you can have an idea which writing styles work, how specific examples were used to answer the question, and also to get other tips on how you can compose your essay well. Reading the essays of past winners may help you conceptualize the general structure of your essays.

3) Don’t forget to follow the format

Sure, you may have well written essays. But all your efforts might come to waste if you failed to follow the format. Always double check the format requirements of each application. Be extra cautious if you’re using one essay for different submissions. Sometimes, we instinctively print our work based on the number of copies we need. Don’t get caught off-guard by the force of habit. Look at the essay instructions first and modify the format of your essay if needed before printing your work.

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Scholarship Application Tips for High School Students

For high school seniors this is the time of year the pressure is on to answer the big question. What is the next step after high school? For a number of seniors this question will be answered by continuing their education, which is followed by another big question. How am I going to pay for my education? On average one year of college tuition to a four year school plus fees will cost $27,000. College students can help lower that hefty price by applying for scholarships.

Scholarships can provide students with free money for college that doesn't need to be paid back, unlike student loans that often come with high interest rates and could lead to years of debt. Different types of scholarships students can apply for are academic, financial, sport, or club/member based.

An obstacle many students may come across during their college application preparations is where to find available scholarships. Students should first look into any local scholarships offered through the community. These scholarships have less competition and applicants increasing a student's chance of receiving the reward. Typical community organizations that offer such scholarships include banks, grocery stores, clubs, local businesses, and churches.

Another great resource students should utilize during their scholarship search is their high school guidance counselor. The guidance counselor has access to tons of scholarship information and can aide students during their search by introducing different web searches and programs students themselves may not be aware of. Seniors should also look into state offered scholarships. State scholarships have more competition than local scholarships, but the reward is often larger.

Tips to follow when applying for college scholarships:

-          Most scholarships have early deadlines, so seniors should not wait too long before starting their search.

-          Students should read over the scholarship requirements carefully to make sure they are eligible.

-          Never apply for a scholarship that requires a payment fee. These scholarships are company scams.

-          Follow instructions carefully and students should proofread, proofread, and proofread. One small mistake or error could lead to a denied application.

-          Most scholarships require high GPA's so students should make sure to keep their grades up.

-          Students who are active in school activities and clubs often have a better chance of receiving a scholarship reward.

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