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College Scholarship Tip: Pass the 30 Second Test
Use this college scholarship tip to impress the judges and win more money for school!
[2023 Edition]
Before picking a winner, scholarship judges need to eliminate the applications that are obviously not in the running for the scholarship money.
What they are looking for is complete application answers (no missing information or blank boxes), required materials included in the correct order, and a generally neat and orderly feel to the application.
If a scholarship application passes the first 30-second test, it is placed into the possible winners’ pile.
Taking extra care to ensure complete applications are submitted can be an easy way for students to propel their scholarship applications into the pile that represents the money.
For applications that are submitted online, there should be no missing information (blank spaces) and documents that are uploaded can include personal touches such as a student website link and scholarship/activity resume.
The judges are also looking for students who have ignored the scholarship guidelines.
Some examples are:
- G.P.A. requirements
- ACT/SAT minimums
- Extra materials – Do the rules say they are specifically NOT allowed?
- Letters of recommendation – How many are required? Do NOT submit more thinking it will impress the judging committee.
- Level in school – Is the award only open to high school juniors and the student is a senior?
Watch this short video:
Also be sure to read: 10 Epic Tips Straight from a College Scholarship Judge
Isn’t that what college scholarship applying is all about?
Are you wondering about the How to Win College Scholarships ebooks and how they can help students go to college with less debt?
This parent says it all:
“Using tips from the ebook, How to Win College Scholarships: A Guide for Parents in 10 Easy Steps, my high school senior secured scholarships to cover tuition, books, and fees her first year in college. How exciting! No extra outlay of money for either she or I…her very important freshman year in college…allows her to focus completely on her studies.
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Staying organized listed as step #1 in the ebook was essential. Completing all the lines and thinking of the presentation as if she were acing a job interview helped immensely.
Thank you, Monica, for putting together this thorough, inspirational, and amusing guide. It’s a masterpiece and it truly works! If we can do it, so can you!!!” T.R., Louisville, KY
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Monica Matthews is the author of How to Win College Scholarships. She helped her own son win over $100,000 in college scholarships and now shares her expertise with other parents and their students. She truly has “been there, done that” in regard to helping parents and students navigate the scholarship process.
Her method of helping students in finding college scholarships, writing unique and compelling scholarship essays, creating amazing scholarship application packets, and more have taught desperate parents to help their own students win thousands of scholarship dollars. She teaches them how to apply S.M.A.R.T. with outstanding results.
Monica’s scholarship tips have been featured on many prominent websites, and she has been dubbed the “Go-To” expert on college scholarships.
I recently bought your book and it is a huge help! We are just staring the scholarship process. What do you think about all the scholarships that are online and ask for ‘surveys’? Are these (and other similar kinds) worth pursuing? It seems as if I could spend ages just on one application answering questions. If these are more ‘advertising’, how do I weed out the legitimate scholarships? Thank you!
Hi Jennifer, this is a great question! I believe that someone has to win these scholarships, but the companies really want your information first to use as they see fit. Make sure your student sets up a separate email address just for scholarships and checks it regularly. You will get a lot of spam and junk as a result of signing up for these contests, but they can easily be deleted and unsubscribed from. I routinely use sites like Scholarship Points to collect free points for one of my sons. For the longer survey sites, if the survey is too long or basically has you clicking to no where, I just forget about it and unsubscribe. You’re better off spending your time applying for other scholarships like those offered by a company and require info from your student such as an essay, transcripts, letter of recommendation, etc… I hope that answers your question! Feel free to contact me any time and I’m so glad my scholarship guide is helping you! 🙂
HI Monica – thank you so much for answering my question. Next question: My son chose to go to an out-of-state public university. We were hoping he would get instate tuition as a ‘scholarship’, but did not. (I think this was because he got that application in just before the deadline – and they had run out of money). Any suggestions for some way to get in-state tuition from the university? (I know we don’t qualify as residents of the state).
Your best bet is to call the financial aid office of your son’s university and explain your situation to them. Better yet, have your son call and tell them that your family is struggling to come up with enough money to pay tuition and ask if there are any scholarships that he can apply for or additional financial aid he can receive. He also needs to keep applying for every scholarship that he finds, as there are still lots available with deadlines that have not yet passed.