6 Tips for Applying for College Scholarships

Applying for scholarships this coming school year? If so, you’ll want to make certain that you present the absolute best application that you possibly can while still managing to make your application stand out among thousands of others. Take a look at these 6 tips for applying for college scholarships before you send your application in. You may have a bit more work to modify your application after, but in the end, you’ll be glad that you took the time.

6 Tips for Applying for College Scholarships:

Be honest –
First and foremost, be one-hundred percent honest on your scholarship application. Flat out lying or even embellishing a tiny bit can and will cause you to lose the scholarship (or worse) if you’re caught. Honestly really is the best policy and that statement is especially true here. Even if you have something negative that you need to let them know, owning up and taking responsibility is best.

Check eligibility requirements –
Before you even apply, you’ll want to make sure that you’re actually eligible for the scholarships that you’re applying for. Some scholarships are limited by major, race, culture and even location. While it won’t actually “hurt” anything if you apply for one that you aren’t eligible for, it is a waste of time and energy. Do yourself a favor and check before you send the application.

Spell and grammar check –
If you were on the scholarship committee, would you award several hundred or thousands of dollars to someone who couldn’t be bothered to check their spelling or grammar? Your answer is likely “no” and theirs will be as well. This is especially important if your scholarship requires an essay to be written.

Be on time –
Another general tip for applying for college scholarships is to make certain that you have your application in before the deadline. This would include making sure that you aren’t sending it on the last day of the deadline too. Being early won’t give your chances a boost, but it absolutely will make certain that you don’t miss being able to apply.

Highlight the good –
When you list your extracurricular activities, make sure to highlight any special awards, offices or positions held or other “special” things that may have happened while you participated. This is especially important if you are applying for a scholarship that is based around one of your activities, such as a music scholarship.

Don’t ignore the bad –
Just like highlighting the good in your school career is important, acknowledging the bad is as well. Like lying, if you try to ignore it, you may ignore your way right out of receiving the scholarship you might desperately need. Whether it is bad attendance, an arrest record or something as simple as a handful of detentions, you will get much farther by acknowledging that it happened.

These 6 scholarship application tips are by far the only ones that you’ll want to put into practice when you apply for your own scholarships this year. They should be considered a jumping off point for you. Take them and use them as a basis for your application then build a strong profile from them.