Introduction
This three-part series will cover how to find scholarships, how to choose scholarships to apply for, and how to compile competitive scholarship applications. The purpose of these articles is to help students better understand the scholarship process in order to become stronger scholarship applicants.
Part 3. How to Compile Competitive Scholarship Applications
Now that you have learned where to find scholarships and how to choose which ones to apply for, this final segment will teach you how to compile competitive scholarship applications so you can stand out among the pool of applicants. As with choosing which scholarships to apply for, you have to first have a strong sense of self—who you are, your goals, your motivation—in order to develop a strong foundation for scholarships. Since a scholarship is a financial investment in your potential to succeed, it is important use your story to show that you are worth their time and money.
Beyond knowing yourself though, it is also important to understand the scholarship organization’s perspective—have you demonstrated the core values of the organization through your experiences and opportunities? Will you be a strong ambassador for the organization’s mission? Do you have the potential to succeed academically and give back to society? An organization is looking to help their scholars succeed in college so that they can further develop their strengths and skills to help the community. If you can understand their perspective, it will allow you to take your profile and show them how you are the perfect fit for their scholarship
How does a scholarship organization gauge your potential to succeed and give back to society? They want to support students who can succeed academically, so it is important to do well in school. However, that doesn’t mean they are just looking for students who are 4.0 valedictorians and have perfect SAT scores. I had neither and still had tremendous scholarship success. Many times I get asked by students, “Are there scholarships for a high GPA or SAT score?” While scholarship organizations look at grades and test scores, they are looking, more importantly, to see if you are active in your school and community. This means going beyond just attending a few club meetings here and there but actually taking an active role and developing your leadership skills as well. If you can find activities that you are passionate about and put your time and energy into them, you will have a much easier time writing your essays.
Many scholarships will ask you to describe your activities or your goals in an essay or short response question. Most students simply describe each step and stay on a surface level that anyone who is knowledgeable about that subject could replicate. The students who win scholarships, however, go beyond just the surface and instead dig deeper into why they participated, how it changed them, or what they learned. This goes back to the idea of knowing yourself. I always included personal stories and anecdotes into my scholarship essays to help them get to know me better. In order to be competitive, your application must be extremely personal—include vivid, personal examples from your life to show rather than tell. That way, scholarship organizations see not only the skills you’ve learned by participating but also your capacity for learning and success through showing how the experience shaped you.
When you show the deeper aspects of your personal story—which I like to describe as “taking a step forward by taking a step back”—you will have much more success with scholarships. Remember to follow the instructions carefully, include everything they ask for, and above all, be honest and personal.
As you apply for scholarships, realize that your personal story is worth telling and never underestimate the impact of sharing it in your applications. I had great success with scholarships because I approached the application process with the steps described in each of these three sections. If you can learn and apply these lessons in your own life, you will have a stronger foundation for your scholarship search and a head start on your path to scholarship success.
About the Author
In the spring of his senior year of high school in 2006, Samson Lim created Sam’s Scholarship Kiosk, a scholarship resource website that provides students with an insider’s guide to the college scholarship process. After applying for over 75 scholarships throughout high school and winning 18 both locally and nationally, Sam set out to help students better understand how to find scholarships, how to choose scholarships to apply for, and how to compile competitive scholarship applications. Today, Sam continues to work with students through workshops on scholarships and essays, speaking to audiences about overcoming adversity to achieve success, and creating materials to help students better understand the scholarship process. For more information, please visit www.scholarshipjunkies.com.
