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How to Supercharge College Scholarship Applications
With hundreds, and very often thousands, of college scholarship applications to wade through, how do students make theirs stand out to the judges?
[2023 Edition]
Here are some easy ways for students to supercharge their college scholarship applications, impress the judges, and avoid them getting thrown in the reject pile:
Include all requested material: Check and double-check that ALL mandatory materials specified in the scholarship guidelines are included in the application packet. These usually include letter(s) of recommendation, school transcripts, an essay, and a completely filled-out application. If the guidelines specify the order in which to arrange the documents, diligently make sure they are in that order. In addition, pay attention to mailing specifications and attachment requirements (to staple or not to staple).
Completely answer the essay question: The essay is the heart of the scholarship application and how the judges truly get a feel for the kind of student that is applying.
Be sure to read: The Complete Guide to the College Scholarship Essay
Students have a tendency to start off in the right direction when they are answering the essay 
question but then go off on a tangent and lose focus. To be sure the question is fully answered, students can have a trusted adult read the essay without knowing the essay question and see if they can figure out what it is from reading the answer. Students must also pay close attention to word count requirements and never go over the limit specified in the scholarship guidelines.
Do not apply if all qualifications are not met: A student with a 3.4 GPA may be tempted to apply for college scholarships that specify an average of 3.5 and above, but this is a big mistake. Scholarship judges need to eliminate students in order to narrow down the field of possible winners, and ignoring simple guidelines is the fastest way to get college scholarship applications thrown into the reject pile.
Before spending time on any college scholarship, students need to read all qualifications carefully, as I discuss here, and only apply if they truly qualify.
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Don’t be standard: Most students start the scholarship essay with these exact words, “I deserve to win this scholarship money because…” In order to stand out and get noticed by college scholarship judges, students need to be different and start off their essays with a strong, bold, eye-opening, and maybe even shocking, statement. This “hook” immediately gets the judges thinking about the student and wondering how they are going to answer the essay question with this unique lead-in.
The goal of a great scholarship essay is to get the judges to want to read the entire essay, instead of having to read it.
The scholarship essay can easily make or break a college scholarship application!
Showcase leadership: Organizations offering college scholarship money are looking for students that show true promise, so leadership skills should always be shared and emphasized in essays and on applications. There are many ways that students are considered leaders besides the traditional leadership roles such as team captain or student body president.
Did a student lead a group of kids in games at their church’s vacation bible school? THAT is leadership. How about starting a club or volunteer group? More leadership! Dig deep and examine all aspects of involvement, and there are surely leadership roles to highlight and showcase when applying for college scholarships.
You may also like to read: How Students Can Volunteer Their Way Into College Scholarship Money
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These are just a few of the strategies that I used to help my son win over $100,000 in college scholarships and graduate 100% debt-free.
Learn how to download the HOW TO WIN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS ebooks for parents and their students by clicking the button below:
It’s true!
“At my daughter’s awards ceremony, they announced the scholarship winners and kept calling her name over and over and over again. It was amazing and everyone was saying that they had never heard of a student at our high school that won SO many scholarships. Thank you for your scholarship guide ebooks!” – Parent
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.
Excellent and clear breakdown. Thanks!
Thank you, Anna!
Love the tip to have someone read the essay without knowing the question & check that they can work out what it is supposed to be about.
Thank you! Answering an essay question fully is so important. 🙂
Good, practical, handy tips that could apply to other situations too eg job applications etc.
I agree, Linda. Job, college, and scholarship applications all could use fine-tuning to give the applicant a better success rate.
This is such good info. I will share with my high school teacher and counselor pals!
That would be wonderful, thank you!
This is full of such great guidelines and support. Sharing!
Thanks so much, Stacey!
Monica, Could’ve really used this stuff when my sons were college age (not that they were “exactly” scholarship material). One can always dream!
Sorry I couldn’t help your sons! Feel free to pass my info on to your friends and family that have college-bound kids. 🙂
I’m going to need this info really soon. Thank you for this concise easy to understand guide!
You’re welcome, Rosemond! Thanks for reading!