There are so many scholarships for students to apply to, but it can be difficult to know which ones will give you the best chance of winning. With so many different scholarship providers and rules, what should you do? After reading an interview with Nancy Etz about scholarships, we realized that people need to know the common mistakes. This article will discuss six mistakes that people often make when filling out a scholarship application and provide tips on avoiding them!
Fill out the entire application
The first mistake to avoid is not filling out the entire application. Make sure you submit everything that’s required and stay within any page limits! If something isn’t required but particularly relevant to your scholarship, feel free to include it as an extra entry in your overall package – however, don’t go overboard, or they might think you’re lying about what else you’ve done.
Verify all responses are grammatically correct and spellchecked
Secondly, make sure all of your responses are grammatically correct and spell-checked before submitting them. It can be very embarrassing if a company discovers later on that there were spelling mistakes throughout your whole response! Even with this step, though, remember that some companies will automatically disqualify applicants who do not demonstrate basic English skills (those for whom English is not their first language or do not meet a certain threshold of literacy).
Don’t lie on your application
Thirdly, make sure you don’t lie on your application. Some companies will call the applicants they are most interested in to conduct interviews with them. If they find out later that you lied about something important (like what school you went to), your chances of winning could be ruined regardless of whether it was intentional or not! You can avoid this by simply being honest and telling the truth throughout the entire process.
Also, pay attention when filling out personal information like address, phone number, etc., because scholarship providers might use this for contacting students directly. Ensure these details are accurate so that you won’t miss any calls/emails from potential scholarship opportunities.
Include a short paragraph about yourself, including any awards
Fourthly, when filling out the essay questions on your application form, it’s important to include a short paragraph about yourself and any awards you have received throughout the school. This is where you can impress companies with what makes you stand out from other applicants – make sure this information is relevant and captures their attention!
Be specific when describing what you want to study in college/university
Fifthly, be specific when describing what field of study or degree program you are interested in pursuing at a college or university. Suppose there isn’t an option for them to contact you directly through your application. In that case, they will almost certainly look up more information about who you are and what you want to do with your life – make sure this information is accurate because scholarship providers need students who will excel in their program.
Read all of the instructions carefully before submitting an application
Finally, read all of the instructions carefully before applying! It’s very easy to get caught up in just filling out all of the questions that we forget about deadlines or formatting requirements (such as underlining your full name). Make sure you’ve double-checked everything, so there aren’t any surprises when they review your scholarship package.
Many other mistakes can be made on a scholarship application. Avoid these six, and your chances of winning will increase exponentially. If you want to learn more about what not to do, download this free ebook from our blog library! It covers everything we’ve talked about in the article; plus, it includes an exclusive bonus chapter with even more helpful tips for filling out a successful scholarship application essay.
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