There is a step to follow to win college scholarships in 2021. Many students are getting frustrated due to lack of funds to finance their education. Scholarships have been one of the easiest ways to gain free tuition fees either on the undergraduate or postgraduate levels.
In some cases, some of these college scholarships cover other expenses such as transportation, accommodation, feeding, etc. Many international students have been part of the different scholarship schemes, and they have gotten first-hand teaching experience from professional lecturers.
There are times students are confused about the amount of scholarship they should apply for, but the truth is one should submit their applications to different scholarships. There is a large number of talented students eyeing the same scholarship, and it is the reason to apply for numerous ones to increase your odds of winning one.
No matter how goal-minded you are to win a scholarship, it will be wrong to apply without checking the criteria or deadline. If you do this error, your application will be ignored. By the way, you should also check out Scholarship Application: Frequently Asked Questions.
Rejection is likely to occur during scholarship application but you don’t have to back down, because there are hurdles in the path of success. Let’s get to see the numerous ways to win college scholarships in 2021.
Ways of Winning College Scholarships in 2021
1. State Unique Traits:
Everyone has peculiar traits that make them different from others. Scholarship funders or sponsors want to see different traits from their applicants. Having traits is one exceptional way to stand out, and it goes a long way. There are various scholarships awarded based on GPA, extracurricular activities, languages, personal interest, etc.
Therefore, it is necessary to find one that will match your unique traits. If you could start listing your traits before time will help you match your skills, and gives you an upper advantage during scholarship application.
2. Apply for Scholarships Relating to your Traits:
It is one thing listing your unique traits, and it is another thing to find scholarships to match your traits. Finding these scholarships shouldn’t be a daunting task for you, because there are thousands of them on the internet. Using keywords on google can bring out these scholarships for you.
You have to be strategic with your search in finding ones with lesser competition, but it is not easy finding these scholarships. You can go as far as asking counselors or lecturers on these scholarships that will suit your traits.
3. Streamline your list of Scholarship Opportunities:
You should try to streamline the scholarship opportunities using different factors like scholarship amount, due dates, unique fit, etc. For instance, you are applying for different scholarships, and there is one in which the deadline will be the next 24 hours, it is preferable to pay attention to that one.
Everyone’s priority is different, but it is best to apply for different scholarships based on their deadlines. On the other hand, never downgrade any amount of scholarship, because every dollar is important. Some scholarships come with high funds for students leaving you as an applicant to doubt the money. You need to apply for many scholarships you can because at the end of the day there is no harm in trying.
4. Plan a Scholarship Schedule:
It might sound eccentric, but it is better to have different options by searching and applying for one to suit your traits by creating time and be intentional in your scholarship search. If you will be spending several hours every day to win college scholarships, you can stick to your time to make it work.
You can send applications to over ten scholarships every month. It might seem like something difficult to do, you can schedule your time to make it work. For instance, you can decide to submit three scholarship applications every week, then the last month you submit four applications. With this submission, you will have a total number of ten applications.
5. Arrange your Necessary Documents:
Having the various documents cut down the stress of wasting time on your scholarship application. Using this method opens the door for you to crank out different scholarships within a short period. Some of these documents are recommendation letters, academic transcripts, passport photographs, and many others.
When it involves personal information, you need to include things like name, contact address, graduation year, matric number, mobile phone number, email address, etc. Having this on time is one way to ensure you are fast in your scholarship application. Students who are ignorant about this might find it hard trying to meet deadlines.
6. Be Conscious of your Scholarship Application:
The worst thing that will happen to any scholarship applicant is discovering there is a mistake in their applications after submission. This is something that hurts so badly and could make one lose hope of winning college scholarships. You need to make sure the right information is on the application.
Refecting on your scholarship prints and also familiarization yourself with the organization play vital roles to eliminate unwanted errors. After filling in all the details on the scholarship form, you can spend time going through the scholarship or give it to someone else who has an eye for details to proofread.
7. Keep Track of your Applications:
Having a track of your different scholarship applications makes you more organized. The organization is essential during this application process, and you can keep an eye on future scholarships by having an idea of their criteria.
The best method in tracking your application is using a spreadsheet. It offers opportunities for students to budget and also increases the chances for students to get full details on the scholarship they are tracking.
8. Follow Scholarship Instructions:
Every scholarship has its instructions, and it is important as an applicant to adhere to them. If demands you provide your GPA score, then, state it on the application. It might be either a recommendation letter, passport photographs, or anything just try as much to follow up with the instructions on the website.
Not following the instructions on any scholarship could make an applicant disqualify from it. It shows how important it is to adhere to certain instructions. To be on the safer side, it is advised for students to crosscheck they have the requirements before submitting their applications.
9. Fulfill the Optional Requirements:
There are some scholarships online that will require students to pay details on minor requirements, and it might be a way of reducing the number of students applying for the scholarship. In the sense that those who fail to do it are being screened out from the application process.
It won’t cost much doing or fulfilling the minor requirements to get these scholarship programs. Doing this shows you are ready and motivated to get the scholarship. Therefore, pay rapt attention to optional requirements because it is one way you can have an edge over other applicants.
10. Craft Eye-catching Essay:
It is one requirement for scholarship application. Your scholarship essay must be eye-catching and make you shine bright during application. Your essay should reflect your personality and some traits in you. It is a stated fact GPA score is one reflection of you, while an essay is another aspect of you.
Writing an essay can be difficult for some people, but there are ways to go about it either researching on the internet or give it to someone to write it. You need an essay to help you win big in college scholarships. There are key things to know here:
i. Stick to the Prompt:
You need to state things you will do with the scholarship fund if you become part of the lucky winners. Any question you are being asked try to give a reply or response related to it. For instance, if the question is, what do you intend to study? You need to be straight with your answer!
ii. Your Essay Must have a Unique Story:
A normal essay has an introduction, body, and conclusion. This is the conventional way most applicants write their essays. Yours could be different by using a story to narrate the essay. It must be professional and also paint pictures to readers. It requires you to show the essay to the readers not telling them. Besides, you can state the changes that might happen in your life when you win the college scholarship.
iii. Polish your Resumé:
Using one resume over and over could be boring to readers. It is best to show them something different from the past ones. The major idea is to show them another version of you they haven’t seen.
iv. Proofread your Essay before Submission:
Everyone is bound to make mistakes, and you can get someone to proofread your content to eliminate fluff, grammatical errors, spellings, etc. Your friends, teacher, counselor, or anyone with strong use of English language can do it for you. If you have a deep pocket or wallet, you can find an editing firm to check out errors in your essay.
v. Recycle your Essays:
It is one of the fastest ways of meeting scholarship deadlines. In most scholarship essays, applicants are always asked to list out their major accomplishments in life. If you have any essay you have written before, you can use it in applying for a new scholarship. Although, tweaking some parts to make it look different for multiple submissions might be necessary too.
11. Be Fast in your Decisions:
Every tick in time is essential for a college scholarship application. Some scholarship funders place priority or preference on early applicants. You might not get the scholarship award but it gives you enough room to avoid mistakes. Anything involving dying minutes comes with nervousness and tension. The only way to stay out is through early submission to deliver a good essay.
12. Pay Attention to Scholarship Scams:
Scholarship scams are everywhere, and some people are on the internet pretending to offer scholarships to students to fraud them. You must watch those red flags on the internet! For instance, if it comes with something like a “money-back guarantee”. You must be on the run from scammers because no scholarship will demand money or private information from you.
13. Check your Social Media:
Some scholarship providers check the social media pages of their applicants. You need to take time to scrutinize your social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc to avoid anything complicating or hinder your chances of getting the scholarship.
14. Be Positive:
There is nothing good that comes easy in life because it requires hard work and dedication on your part. There must be rejections, but it shouldn’t be something that will kill your ambition for a college scholarship. A positive mindset is essential to scale through the scholarship journey.
Conclusion:
Having a college scholarship requires a lot of implementation and goal setting. If there is no goal to be achieved, there will be no drive to propel one in reaching their aim. If you are struggling to win college scholarships, you can try these methods to change things for you.