Now

“There’s a lot going on senior year, especially now, regarding scholarships. Begin with the college websites… Wenatchee Valley College, WSU, wherever it may be. Look for the dates of admissions, scholarships, and financial aid; that’s the number one place to look.

This should be done right away. To me it’s an analogy, because I bake, and cook, and things. It could be someone working on cars too. If you have instructions, that’s fine. But if you don’t have the ingredients or the tools to use, then you have no product. So in the fall what I have students do is work on filling their pantry, getting the supplies, getting the tools, getting their toolbox full, so that when the scholarships really appear, which is right before Christmas, they’re ready to go. So we’re getting ready for the onslaught. So that’s the number one thing, you’ve got to look at the colleges, that’s your best resource for a scholarship.

Your personal statement is probably the most important aspect of your scholarship application, because it will either cause your application to rise to the top, or it will make you fall flat. And it fills in the gaps between what your scores say and what your transcript shows. It tells about the real you, where you are, where you’re going, where you’ve been, how you plan to get there, why. But it has to be memorable, and have a splash to it, so they’ll think, ‘Wow I want to get back to that [person’s] application. [He/she] shows real promise. I like the way [he/she] projected [himself/herself].’ So that is critical. That’s a number one; that should be ready by [Winter] Break.

Simultaneously, you should be requesting letters of recommendation. The request for letters of recommendation suggest that you have four on hand, and suggests that you have people from different aspects of your life. So if you’re really great at writing, I don’t want you to get every one of your letters of recommendation from people who know that you write. I want you to get some from, maybe a boss, an administrator, a counselor, a clergyman or pastor, a coach, or some other academic field besides that one that you really do great in. We want to show how well rounded you are. Please allow the writer to have two weeks in advance to get them done, because  our teachers and counselors and people in the building are just really overwhelmed with those, so make sure that you do that, and fill out the form completely, including a due date.

Attach an activities resume to the letter of recommendation request when you give it to those people who are writing it, because the activities resume will tell all the things you’ve been involved in in school, or out of school. And they’re things that you’ve spent quality time, and effort doing, that have made a difference in your life and the lives of those you helped, or been involved with. So, if you’re in a sport, it shows teamwork. It shows a lot of different things, but your activities resume will also be used for another purpose, besides giving it to the letter of recommendation writer. It will also be used for scholarship applications. Because they want a list, also, of the things you’ve been involved in. Sometimes people think it only has to be a German Club, or FBLA, or cross country, or things like that; it does not have to be a designated club or activity. So if you’ve spent a lot of time learning how to horseback ride, and you’re going to be a veterinarian or something, if it relates to who you are and that type of thing, and you have given value and time to it, then put it down. It could be fixing computers, it could be anything that gives you value.”

Later

“FAFSA is Free Application for Student Aid. And that’s the grandaddy of all money that’s given, and a lot of scholarship committees and benefactors, those people who are giving the money, look at FAFSA as a real good tool for them to gauge where you are and how much your need is, or not. It is based on the 2013 school year, so that means that your income tax from 2013 will be what is used. But it cannot be submitted earlier than January first of the year you’re attending college.”

Much Later

“The finishing touch of any scholarship is, if you were awarded it, you have say thank you. So keep a copy of the scholarship information and the addresses to those you’re applying for in your organizational binder, so that you can write a thank you when you get awarded it.”

Additional Tips

“Think of what your parents do for a living, think of what groups they belong to, or you belong to. Think of someone who has been honored by a scholarship through a memoriam, which is someone who’s died, or think of someone who you know who has offered a scholarship in some way. It could be through Rotary, it could be through a workplace, but all those things now become important to you because you want to apply to those which you best match.”

“Something else that’s really critical is following the instructions for quantities. If I’m baking something I’m not going to add a third egg because it’s going to make it better. It may not, it may ruin it. So if they are asking you for two letters of recommendation, do not send three. They want to know if you’re following instructions. If they’re asking for a limit on your essay, don’t go over it. They’ll toss out applications if they’re not done right. And that includes official versus unofficial transcripts. If they want an official transcript then it does need to be sealed in an envelope and signed, etc.”

“Be aware of the dates so [you] don’t miss out on any opportunities or important deadlines, because they’re not going to be so lenient as we are here for deadlines. And there is a difference between scholarship deadlines and financial aid deadlines. Scholarship deadlines are those deadlines at the college that they have for their scholarship application, if they have a separate scholarship application, not all colleges do. The financial aid deadline is generally the FAFSA deadline. That’s a difference that I tell students.”

“If you’re applying for a scholarship that asks specific questions, make sure you answer to that question. Because what they want, in your short answers, is to know how you match their scholarship. They just don’t want the generic scholarship application, so those specific short answers are really, really important.”