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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Winning the Scholarship Award

Searching for and finding scholarships is only the first half of the process. You still need to apply for each scholarship you are trying to win. Applying for scholarships can be time consuming and takes dedication and motivation. But the thousands of dollars you could receive makes the effort worthwhile. Below are some hints to help you apply for and win scholarships.

Be proactive.No one is going to track you down to give you a scholarship; you need to do the legwork yourself. So when you find awards with eligibility criteria that you can meet, contact the provider and request a scholarship application packet. Whether you have to request the application via email, phone or by sending in a self-addressed stamped envelope, do it. There’s just no other way to get the ball rolling than to be proactive and assertive in requesting information for yourself.

Be timely.Almost all scholarship providers set deadlines, and you MUST adhere to them. Make sure you have all materials submitted before the deadline. If the scholarship deadline is approaching and you have not yet even received the application packet that you requested four weeks earlier, follow-up with the provider and request the application packet again. You do not want to miss a deadline, as most scholarship providers do not consider late applicants.

Be organized.Good organizational skills can really pay off - literally! Keep your applications ordered by deadline date and give yourself plenty of time to complete them and send them in well before the due date. Keep letters of recommendation and transcripts on hand so you don’t have to obtain new ones every time they are required for an application. Make copies of your completed applications before sending them in, and file them in folders labeled with the deadline date and the mailing address and phone number of the scholarship provider. Call before the deadline to see if your scholarship application was received. If it got lost in the mail, (the postal service is not perfect!) you still have an extra copy you can send in.

Be persistent.The scholarship search process doesn’t just happen overnight. You must be diligent about looking for new scholarships to apply for. Plan to spend several hours each month reviewing the scholarship programs with deadlines approaching, preparing application packets, and getting the applications in the mail on time. And then the cycle should begin again - finding scholarships, sending away for application information, and applying in an organized, timely manner.

Be positive.Finally, believe in yourself and in your chances of winning a scholarship. Hard work and time spent on the scholarship process will pay off eventually. Keep your chin up and think about how great the reward will be if you can land even one of the scholarships you’re trying for! After all, your education depends on it!

by: www.scholarshipnet.info

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Scholarship Application Strategies

Scholarship competitions receive applications from numerous deserving students each year. With so many students who deserve an award, how do they choose just one or a few winners? While some may believe that the best applicant will be the one who wins, that is not always the case. Instead, it’s often the applicant who does the best job of presenting his or her case who wins the scholarship money. So how do you become this student? The key lies in scholarship strategy and creating a successful approach to finding and applying for awards. We’ve put together some advice on scholarship application strategies to help you improve your chances of winning scholarships.

Play to Your Strengths

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Perhaps the most basic scholarship application strategyis to apply for scholarships you have the best chance of winning. While this seems obvious enough on the surface, figuring out what these scholarships are does require some thought. A good first step is to do a free scholarship search, like the one available at Scholarships.com. By completing a profile that includes many of your personal strengths and interests, you can allow someone else to do the initial legwork for you when it comes to finding scholarships. You’ll want to start early—if you begin to investigate scholarship options when you’re a junior in high school (or even sooner), you’ll have a heads up on the competition.

After you’ve finished your scholarship search, you can begin narrowing the list down to awards you think you have the best chance of winning. Perhaps you’re an excellent writer, you’ve had a truly unique experience, or you are fascinated with the subject of a scholarship competition. Whatever the reason, there are likely to be scholarships that stand out as awards for things you can do, and do well.

Beyond deciding which scholarships to apply to, you should play to your strengths in constructing your scholarship application. Everything you put in your application should be designed to highlight your strengths as an applicant for that particular scholarship, including the materials written by someone else. For example, if you need a letter of recommendation, ask someone who knows you well and can speak to your strengths, rather than someone with an impressive title or a friendly attitude who may not be able to go into the level of detail that scholarship providers would like to see.

Write a Killer Essay

A large part of your time and energy when applying for scholarships will be devoted to writing scholarship essays. Many scholarship applications require at least one essay and a large number of scholarship reviewers will rely heavily on the essay in choosing a scholarship winner. There are things you can do to write effective scholarship essays that save you time and highlight your strengths as an applicant.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a particularly skilled wordsmith, you can write a scholarship-worthy essay if you put in the time and effort the task requires. By learning about your audience and what they want (one way to do this is by reading about the scholarship contest’s mission and reading previous years’ winning essays), you can better tailor your scholarship application to their needs. This will immediately set you apart from the students who didn’t bother to figure out exactly where they were submitting their scholarship application. If you do it right, you can incorporate this strategy into a plan for efficient essay writing to maximize your results. Beyond that, following other basic guidelines for the scholarship application process and scholarship essay writing will keep you on track and help you create success in your scholarship search.

Pay Attention to the Details

The most useful, and often overlooked, scholarship application strategy is paying attention to details. From making note of scholarship application deadlines to getting organized to formatting essays, paying attention to details can make the difference between winning a scholarship and finding your essay at the top of the reject pile. Be sure to always follow the rules, no matter how tiny or arbitrary, and to observe appropriate scholarship application etiquette. Taking these steps will ensure that it’s the substance of your scholarship application that stands out, not the errors in its presentation

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