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| Applying for Scholarships |
 Most colleges and universities will tell you to be prepared for a time-consuming process that has great advantages if done correctly. The best advice always includes this first step – begin your search early! Many scholarship programs, whether they are for a specific school or from a business or community group, require that the application be finished in the school year before the funds will be needed. Some even demand that the application, essay and/or other documents be filled out in the first semester of the senior year of high school.
You are more likely to be successful if you and your parents begin this process early, having time for research at the library or online, and time for sending and getting documents through the mail. Why? Because, with most scholarships the university or organization has particular rules and guidelines that do not require a great deal of creativity. What is needed is time and attention to detail.
The student or family that looks at the application requirements and make up their mind to leave something out or alter something in the application will only be hurting the student’s chances. Scholarship committees have their own reasons for demanding certain information in a certain way.
One good piece of advice from a university admissions office – use common sense and be sure to follow directions. Organization is a major at this stage of the process. Many families find themselves unwilling to consider more than one or two scholarship sources because the process can become confusing. But if you create a separate file for each scholarship as well as each university you are considering, most of the file keeping will take care of itself as time goes on.
When preparing every file, remember three major criteria – merit, need and adversity. Most scholarship committees, whether from a school, an organization or a business, will use some form of these three items to choose recipients. What this means for the student and the parents is this: good high school grades are significant. But so are extra-curricular activities and community service. A solid student with a well-rounded lifestyle is more likely to be on top of the list when it comes time to receive scholarships.
Financial need is also an important consideration. Certainly, if two students are equally qualified and one family could afford to pay for the education, the student who needs the money most would probably get the nod. But there are always exclusions. Adversity is another item altogether. This area can contain physical limitations as well as other factors that might keep the student from attending a college or university. Prepare your information and application remembering this and you should be slightly ahead of the game.
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