Guidelines for Completing Scholarship Applications

1. Determine the deadline date for the application. Be sure to allow plenty of time so the application will not be completed in a last-minute rush. Return the application early if possible as this is indicative of your interest, enthusiasm, and time management skills.
    
2. Type your application if possible. If it is not possible, print neatly, preferably with black ink.
    
3. If a letter of recommendation is required, ask for letters from teachers, counselors, principals, employers, neighbors, religious leaders, community leaders, or other respected persons who know you well enough to write a good letter.    BE SURE TO GIVE THE CHOSEN PERSON PLENTY OF ADVANCE NOTICE SO THERE IS AMPLE TIME TO WRITE A GOOD RECOMMENDATION!     Remember that school personnel are often asked to write letters for many students and they need as much time as possible to provide their best recommendation for you. Ask politely - "Would you mind writing a letter of recommendation for me?"  Follow up with a thank you after the recommendation has been written.
    
4. Make a list of your accomplishments and honors that would distinguish you from other applicants. Be sure to include any awards that are not associated with school or with extra-curricular activities. Any awards from employers or outside organizations will help your application be representative of a well- rounded candidate. Keep your list updated as you go through your senior year, but you should compile our preliminary list immediately and then add to it as you think of other honors or as you receive additional awards (see sample document in "Documents" section).
    
5. Be prepared to put pictures on applications. It is best to use .yearbook type photographs. Do not use Polaroid or snapshots as these tend to characterize you in one particular way.
    
6. Apply!  Apply!  Apply! The more applications you complete, the better your chances for success. If you are organized in your approach and keep copies of your application, subsequent applications are easier and faster to complete. The real secret to obtaining financial aid is to have your name as a candidate for as many sources as you can find. Never take the -I probably can't qualify" approach! Its appearance and content may have a bearing on your future.
    
7. If a written statement is required, is should meet any requirements stated in regard to length. (Generally a statement is approximately 150-200 words.) The written statement may be the most important part of your application. It should be well organized, concise, and carefully planned. Hopefully, it will provide insight into your personality for the scholarship committee. The written statement should be proof-read many times for grammatical errors, misspelled words, poor sentence structure, or any other factors which would possibly leave a negative impression on a scholarship committee. Not only should you proof- read your paper, but have your parents and an English teacher proof-read it for you. Ask for input on technical matters and for elements such as style and tone. To get honest feedback, do not get defensive about constructive criticism.
   
   It is preferable to use a word processor for your written statement; then it can be altered slightly to "fit the occasion." This can save you time and allow you to apply to many more places than if your statement is typed. The word processor will allow you to easily correct any errors you may have in your first writing of the statement. A few words of caution are in order when using a word processor for scholarship statements. Use on letter quality print, never dot matrix. Proof the final copy that you will be sending carefully. It is very embarrassing to send a letter to the University of Texas at Austin with the closing sentence reading, "I look forward to the challenges offered to me by Texas A & M University."
   
    If you are unable to use a word processor for your statement it should be typed. Be sure to keep a copy so you won't have to start "from scratch" every time you need a statement. Any statement for a scholarship application whether typed or input into a word processor should bear our signature and date at the time of the text. This makes your statement more personalized and will make a better impression on members of the committee.
   
   Use the ideas below to add polish to your statement and avoid some pitfalls that are common to essays of this type.
    
1. Write your statement yourself. It is acceptable to get help, but make certain that you are the one who actually writes the essay. Write the statement quickly and freely, then let it rest for several days. Return to the statement and you will find that you have new insights, ideas, and approaches that may make your statement more effective.
    
2. Do not use your essay to restate in narrative form the information found in other parts of your application. Your statement should contain information from a perspective that the scholarship committee will see as personal and revealing. Think about your interests, hobbies, activities, and experiences and how they relate to your topic to reveal your individuality. You are more than just numbers or a list of accomplishments. Open a window on your personality for the person reading of your statement. Try to share an experience or describe an actual scene if you can.
    
3. Be selective about the tone of your statement. You should be confident but not cocky. There is a fine line between arrogance and pride in accomplishments. Keep your accomplishments in perspective. You must convince a scholarship committee that you are worthy of their award without taking the approach that you deserve assistance. Never use phrases such as " have the right. . .," "I deserve. . .," or "The committee owes me. . ." Sincerity, honesty, and realistic goal-setting are important components of any statement.
    
   Do not beg or exclaim that the only way you can attend college is if you are awarded a scholarship. Approaches such these are viewed as manipulative by most scholarship committee members and will work against you rather than for you.
    
4. Avoid the following topics:
    
   1. Big ideas such as world peace, a cure for cancer, etc.
   2. The idea that you want to go to college to make money
   3. Apologizing or explaining low SAT/ACT scores or poor performance on your transcript
   4. Death
   5. Religious beliefs or philosophy
   6. Sex, drugs, rock 'n roll
   7. Political views
       
5. Use these editing techniques after you have written the second copy of your statement.
    
   1. Read your statement aloud and listen for the flow of the essay. You should have some compound or complex sentences interspersed with simple sentences so the statement will now smoothly when read.
       
   2. Use the active voice instead of the passive voice. "Tom won the award," not "The award was won by Tom."
       
   3. Be sparing with adjectives and adverbs. Nouns are the bones of writing, verbs are the muscle, and adjectives and adverbs are the fat. It's certainly acceptable to use adjectives and adverbs, but do so sparingly and, in particular, avoid flowery, magnanimous superlative adjectives.
       
   4. If you use a thesaurus, do so carefully. The meaning may be changed and you may wind up sounding foolish instead of sounding like you have a collegiate vocabulary.
       
   5. Do not let your statement become an "I" sore, starting every sentence with "I." One remedy is to use "me" and "my" instead of "I." For example, rather than say "I learned a great deal from. . .," try "My experience taught me. .."
       
   6. Be concise in your writing. Read your statement with the idea that you want to take out unnecessary words. If you watch for certain words - who, which, that, what, there, and it - you will find you can trim down your statement by being more concise. For example, "The attention to detail makes me appreciate. . ." is better than "It is the attention to detail that makes me appreciate. . . " Go through your statement and circle the words above. Then go back and try to rewrite the sentences containing these words more concisely. Do not feel that you must completely eliminate those words from your statement as they are sometimes necessary, but if you find you are using a lot of unnecessary words, you probably need to tighten your statement.
       
   7. Avoid the word "however."  Most people use the word too frequently in essays of this type.
       
   8. Confine the length of your statement to the specifications in the application.  Longer is not better.
       
   9. Avoid clichés and overused literary sources.
       
   10. You should not feel compelled to use every editing tip given here.  They are to be used as guidelines and are not intended as inflexible rules.  You should use them in conjunction with your style and your ideas to produce a statement that, along with your academic record, will get results - a scholarship.  You now have some tools to approach the task of writing a scholarship statement.  Begin that writing process today so you will be prepared with a statement when you need one.