We all learn from mistakes but that doesn’t mean that we all should commit mistakes rather we can also learn from other’s mistakes. And especially when it comes to the matter of scholarship application, we should learn how to avoid common mistakes. This article will help you to learn all the dos and don’ts of a scholarship application.
Scholarships help you to study in the college or university of your choice without applying for numerous student loans. And millions of students compete for a single scholarship. So, you should know what you must do and what you shouldn’t to optimize your chance of getting a scholarship.
Here are some suggestions for you. And at first, we will discuss the mistakes that you must not commit and then we will discuss what you must do. Let’s start.
1. Avoid The Failure to Research About All Scholarship Options:
Whenever you are searching for scholarships, do complete research and use all the resources. What happens very frequently is that if you just search online, you may miss out on the local scholarships. Hence, along with using online content, you must visit the local community centers and clubs to find out if any scholarship is available there or not.
And whenever you are searching about the scholarships, go through all the eligibility criteria very carefully. You must check the required age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, extra-curricular activities, financial conditions, geographic locations, etc.
And yes, there is no limit to how many times you can apply for scholarships, so don’t limit yourself from searching out all the possibilities for your own inconvenience.
2. Don’t Forget to Clean Up Your Social Media Profiles:
Nowadays, the best option to know about a person is to visit his or her social media handles. And it is also done by the organizers because they want to filter out the best-qualified applicants and hence, they also keep an eye on the applicant’s social media profiles.
So, do check your posts on social media and keep in mind that your posts must not include any inappropriate jokes, foul language, bullying content or any inappropriate photo.
And if there are any of such contents available there, please clean up all that.
3. Don’t Fail to Maintain The Deadline:
Each and every scholarship has its deadline and that must be maintained by the applicants. Actually, it is your responsibility to submit the deadline within the proper time and that shows your sincerity and dedication towards achieving the scholarship.
So, if you fail to maintain the deadline, it will leave a bad impression on your candidature. Hence, value your time.
4. Don’t Forget to Send All The Paperwork:
Whenever you are doing the research, you must make a list of documents that are required for the specific scholarships.
And you must provide all the documents according to the list. Generally, the common requirements include a copy of your photo id, copies of your high school and college’s scorecards, recommendation letter, personal statement and your resume.
Have a check on all of these and obviously fill up all the portions of the application form. And along with all the required documents, submit them within the due date.
5. Don’t Start Late:
Whenever you are going to apply for a scholarship, always start early. The sooner you will start, the better you will be organized.
Actually, you will need some time to collect all the required documents (such as the recommendation letter) and hence, start preparing yourself very early.
6. Write Down The Essay Carefully:
In some scholarship applications, you need to write down an essay. And the biggest mistake regarding this essay is to use it repetitively in several applications.
So, here, I just want to remind you that every scholarship is different and hence, the required essay will also be very specific. Hence, go through the topic of the essay very carefully and then write it down. And yes, don’t use the same essay for different applications.
7. Don’t Forget to Proofread The Whole Application:
Proofreading is an important part of any application before it gets submitted. So, take the help of your mentor or a willing friend of yours so that they can help you in the proofreading. Always proofread your applications, essays, personal statements and supporting documents before submitting all that.
You may take a break before you finish the writing and start proofreading. Because that really helps to find out the mistakes (if any).
8. Don’t Fall For A Scam:
While you are applying for scholarships, you need to be cautious about scammers. If a scholarship opportunity seems to be too good to believe, then be aware of all that.
Do thorough research and if you need then take the help of your career counselor. Get the scholarship verified by the career counselor if it really exists or not and then go for it.
So, avoiding such mistakes optimizes your chance of winning a scholarship and also saves your time. And along with all the above suggestions, here are some other tips that will also help you.
1. Do keep track of the deadline.
2. Do keep all your documents at hand.
3. Do keep track of submitted applications.
And I think, now you are totally ready to fill up your scholarship forms without any flaws.
