How to Make Your College Scholarship Application Stand Out
College expenses can deplete the bank accounts and savings of anyone paying out of pocket, so many students resort to loans to make ends meet. Students must repay loans, with interest, once they receive a degree and have been in the workforce for six months. During the 2000 to 2009 decade, the costs of attending college rose around 4 percent every year, according to an October 2010 article in the Tucson Sentinel, causing many students to look for other ways to pay for school. Organizational scholarships to needy students require no such re-payment plan, but you will need to learn how to apply so that your application stands out above others.
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Target Your Essay
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Although many college scholarships require applicants to include an essay with their application, many students send a generic essay rather than one specifically tailored to the scholarships for which they are applying. Research the granting organization to discover their primary purposes and what they look for in scholarship applicants. In your essay, give several specific examples from your academic record, volunteer work, career experience and extracurricular activities that show why you meet those criteria.
Get Relevant Letters of Recommendation
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Students applying for scholarships often include letters of recommendation from their teachers, coaches, volunteer leaders or other leaders. However, in order to stand out from the crowd, you should get letters of recommendation from individuals who directly relate to the scholarship's purpose. For instance, if you are applying for a mathematics scholarship, getting a letter of recommendation from your math teacher or department leader will be the most helpful.
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Demonstrate Financial Need
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Some scholarship grantors, such as universities, professional organizations and private foundations, offer scholarships to students who show "financial need," or an inability to pay for college without scholarship help. For these scholarships, you must include proof of income or financial need, such as your and/or your parents' tax returns, bank account statements or Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms showing you are eligible for financial aid. Make sure to check the scholarship application guidelines before including this information, as some have specific instructions for sending financial information.
Have Someone Review Your Application
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Even if you draft the perfect essay, get excellent letters of recommendation and demonstrate your financial need, one spelling, grammatical or typographical error can derail your hopes of getting a scholarship. For this reason, it is important to get your scholarship application reviewed, preferably by someone experienced in academia, such as a teacher or professor. Additionally, ask the person who reviews your scholarship for feedback on what you can improve upon in your application before you send it in to the scholarship foundation.
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