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.