Announcing the 2018 Savor Summer College Scholarship Winner

Announcing the 2018 Savor Summer College Scholarship Winner

The Savor Summer College Scholarship had a record number of applicants this year! Did you apply? Are you the winner? Keep reading…

Hi scholarship searchers!

After spending countless hours reading scholarship essays and pouring over applications, I am excited and pleased to announce the winner of the Savor Summer College Scholarship!

I had an extremely difficult time choosing the winner because of the high quality of the applications that came in, so this year I am doing something that I have never done before.

I am not only giving out the $500 scholarship award, but I am also giving $100 awards to the top 5 finalists. I realize that $100 will hardly make a dent in the high cost of today’s college tuition and expenses, but if I can even help buy one textbook for a few hard-working students, then it makes me happy. 

So, here are this year’s WINNERS of the Savor Summer College Scholarship:

Drumroll, please…

This year’s $500 winner is Marciana Castillo

Great job and well done, Marciana!

The five runner’s up who will be receiving $100 each are:

Rebecca Krug

Evan Mizerak

Amanda Ramirez

Laurel Shaw

Kiaran Turner

CONGRATULATIONS to all of you! Be sure to check your home mailboxes for an official winning letter and follow-up instructions.

Now before you close this blog post in disappointment, unless your name was mentioned above, please keep reading to find out what made these applicants stand out in my eyes. I made detailed notes as I went through each and every application that was mailed to me, so use this is a learning experience to strengthen your applications for other scholarships you plan on applying for.

This is what the Savor Summer College Scholarship winners did RIGHT:

• The essays were memorable and something in each one of them sincerely touched my heart.
• The essays were NOT boring and began with a hook.
• The applications were clean, organized, and clear to read.
• The requested materials were all included and nothing was missing.
• The applications were presented beautifully.

This is what I came across as I was reading all of the other applications.

Basically, this is a what NOT TO DO on a scholarship application list:

• Do not handwrite the applications, find a way to type into the form and print.
• Paragraph breaks really help the reader digest the essay, do not submit an essay that is ONE long hard to read paragraph.
• Don’t forget or omit ANY of the required materials.
• Please do not use slang such as “gonna” in your essay.
• Proofreading is extremely important. When I see a typo in the very first sentence, it is really hard to get past it. (TIP: Use Grammarly, it’s FREE!)
• Don’t assume your application is complete and then submit it. Check and double-check, then get two pairs of trusted eyes to also check for typos and missing information.
• Making mistakes is human, I get that, but if you make them in a scholarship application, correct them and re-print instead of crossing out and filling the white spaces with corrections.
• This is a scholarship application and not a job application or college admissions essay, don’t forget who your reader is.
• Don’t stuff all of your materials into one letter-sized envelope, not only does this crush your precious information, but many times the envelope arrives with postage due.
• Sending extra materials is usually fine, unless a specific number of documents has been requested. In this case, ONE letter of recommendation was required, not two, three, or four.
• Don’t forget to sign the application. This is for legal purposes!

I have other notes, but hopefully, you get the picture.

I will be totally honest and tell you that the essay was the most important part of the Savor Summer College Scholarship application.

After my first 30 second glance, my eyes went directly to the essay to learn more about the applicant. For more tips in writing a stand-out scholarship essay, click here. 

Thank you to all of you that applied for my scholarship. Please keep applying and remember to apply for scholarships even while you are in college and use these tips to find them. My son applied for a TON of scholarships, but did NOT win every one of them. He just kept applying and didn’t give up.

Feel free to email me or send me a Facebook message anytime if you have scholarship questions. I share winning scholarship tips and new awards daily on my Facebook page, so be sure and connect with me there if you haven’t already. ~ Monica Matthews

Students and their parents who are looking for college scholarship money can easily get overwhelmed. I know, I’ve been there! Learn the step-by-step method that I developed to help my son go to college and graduate 100% debt-free here >>