SCHOLARSHIPS! How Applications are Judged

by Willette Coleman ©2014

You’ve met the deadline.  Your scholarship application is now in unseen hands.  Judges.  You might wonder:   Who are these people?  Will they evaluate my application fairly?  Judges, usually, are a panel or reading committee of college admissions counselors and high school college advisors.  Some committees include professionals from various disciplines (e.g., law, the arts, business, medicine, etc.). 

Following is a peek at the average scholarship application review process.  {NOTE:  Since committees may differ from education institution to education institution and foundation to foundation, the process may not necessarily occur in the following order.}

Round 1  Judges determine whether you met the basic requirements: 

a)     Did applicant dot all “i’s and cross all “t’s” in the application and essay?  Judges check for

·        poor grammar,

·        incorrect spelling,

·        sloppy handwriting (whenever cursive or hand printing is allowed),

·        missing documents,

·        incomplete answers to some questions or failing to answer questions entirely, and

·        neatness. 

With applications now being submitted electronically, neatness and coffee, tea, or food stained applications are non-issues, BUT, where a hard copy is still preferred, make sure your application is LEGIBLE and CLEAN. 

b)    Does the applicant’s GPA match the scholarship provider’s requirement? 

If the provider specifies that applicants must have a 3.0 GPA, applicants with a 2.5 should not apply.   {BUT:  Hundreds of scholarships are available for students with GPAs as low as 2.0.  Check www.fastweb.com/ and other scholarship directories for a list, or do an Internet search for “scholarships for 2.0 GPA.”}

Round 2  Judges evaluate essays and separate applications into “average” and “great” categories.

·        Great applications contain thorough and thoughtful answers to questions.

                                        ·          Great essays

a)     are focused, forthright and insightful;

b)    stay within word-count limits -   

Some scholarship providers stipulate a limited number of words for essays.  Applicants that submit an essay with a single word over the limit won’t get past this round.  Remember, Word Count, counts!

c)     stay “on subject” - 

If a scholarship provider tells applicants to submit an essay on:  “How you would help reverse the dire effects of global warming?” don’t write about panda bears giving birth, unless you can show how the panda’s birth rate is impacted by global warming and how you would help.  In other words, stay on subject; don’t write about oranges when the provider asked for apples, unless you can show a clear correlation.   

Round 3  Judges narrow selections by evaluating your ~

                                          ·          Course Load

Is it challenging?  How well do you perform in those courses?  

                                          ·          Leadership  

Were you president, treasurer, record keeper of your class, or neighborhood or school book club; writer and/or editor of your school’s newspaper or newsletter; coordinator of fundraising drives or community cleanup/environment events; organizer of a community sports team, arts program and so on?  Did you sell comic books as a child, or manage the age-old lemonade stand?  Leadership shows initiative – a trait judges admire. 

                                           ·          Creativity

Do you play an instrument, sing (i.e., in a church choir), write poems or stories, blog, draw/paint pictures, sew/design clothes or jewelry, invent word or picture puzzles, act in or write plays, dance (tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop), design websites, develop video games?  Tell the judges. 

                                          ·          Skills 

Are you a “fixer”/like to repair things – electronics, machinery, home items; a budding IT guru, website builder; good at scrabble, chess, monopoly, etc.?  Tell the judges. 

                                          ·          Internships (Paid or Unpaid)

Did you intern for a television or radio station, magazine or newspaper publisher; at a grocery store, book store, library, museum, hospital, corporate or nonprofit office?  If you interned at a barbershop or beauty shop, you can tell the judges what you learned about customer service, grooming and grooming products.  

Tip:   

For paid internships, click here.  

                                          ·          Volunteering 

Did you volunteer at a church or local adoption or homeless service nonprofit; volunteer to shovel the snow off your older neighbor’s driveway each winter; read stories to younger children, even your siblings, to help them improve their reading skills; tutor peers and younger students in math; help with voting registration?  Tell the judges.

                                          ·          Special Circumstances: 

Have you overcome any obstacles?  Tell the judges how you did it to show your “can do” and “follow-through” spirit.  Overcoming obstacles (poverty, bullying, gangs, illness, etc.) shows determination, commitment and perseverance.  

Tip:   

See Special Circumstance scholarships,such as scholarship providers for orphan/parentless students, or students of a deceased parent, and more at http://www.schoolsoup.com/ and fastweb.com.

                                           ·          Awards 

Were you recognized for any activity, including jumping rope, spelling bee, growing the best rose bush in your community or in a sport like bowling?  

Tip:   

Yes, bowling scholarships exist here.

Judging scholarship applications “is tedious work” said Mark Davis, President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation that receives “thousands of applications from high school seniors.”  According to the foundation’s website, they “review every one carefully.”  Get an overview of Foundation’s judging process here.  Awards range from $1,000 to $20,000.

Thanks for reading.

Magic, Miracles & Blessings,

Willette

STARBUCKS’ SCHOLARSHIP – What’s the Deal?

by Willette Coleman ©2014

In early June 2014, the major coffee and coffee beans merchant, Starbucks, boasting 23,187 stores in 64 countries according to StatisticBrain.com’s, announced that it was offering “an upfront scholarship” to its workers through Arizona State University (ASU).  When I heard the news report, like a lot of people, I cheered.  Thinking that a portion of my occasional coffee purchases was going to a worthy purpose, gave me a fuzzy feeling.  (Actually, when I can, I prefer getting my caffeine “hit” from socially conscious companies that serve 100% fair trade certified organic coffee.  Only 8.4% of Starbucks’ coffee meets that standard, according to their “responsibility” website.) 

Anyway, the scholarship appeared to be setting a unique precedent among corporations for low-wage workers.  But, as with most “too good to be true” situations in life, there are “fine print” hiccups.  “Critics warn that details of the new Starbucks College Achievement Plan (SCAP) indicate it may not be a real improvement for the 15,000 to 20,000 workers the school expects to enroll,” wrote Alan Pyke on thinkpress.org.  This “inside deal” may not serve Starbucks employees’ needs, Dr. Siva Vaidhyanathan, the Robertson Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and a commentator on online education models, told Pyke. 

After reading Pyke's and other reports, I began to wonder, "What's the deal?"  For one thing, the operative word here is “scholarship,” which, by definition is “An award [relief] of financial aid for a student to further his or her education,” whether it be a “grant, award, endowment, payment,” etc.  Starbucks is NOT contributing any money toward the “scholarship” ASU’s president, Michael Crow, told the Chronicle of Higher Education, following the public relations fan fair.   Instead, the program, described as "an investment," allows Starbucks workers to earn an online degree at a “steeply discounted rate.”  ASU’s online tuition ranges from $482 to $543 per credit. And, what, exactly, is “steeply”?  When department stores give customers a discount, can we call it a scholarship?    

Next, consider the restrictions.  Employees are locked into pursuing  a degree at only “one specific university, only online, only if you enroll full time and work at least 20 hours a week,” professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, said in an email to Pyke.  Starbucks’ existing, less restrictive program, launched in October 2011, at City University of Seattle and Strayer University and offers employees up to $1,000 a year, will be phased out by 2015. 

The online restriction causes some concern since studies show that "low income adults who work full-time tend to do worse online and better in person,” Vaidhyanathan added.  While ASU has been acknowledged as being among the best online degree education institutions, some questions are:  How successful has it been for low wage workers?  How many of their students are and graduates were low income adults?  What has been the graduation ratio for low income students?  How well are these graduates doing, since earning a degree from ASU?  Goldrick-Rab said that, “The fit with the needs of employees here is weak.  They are less likely to benefit from online education and a supportive company would allow them to attend the local public college of their choosing in person.”  Furthermore, many low wage employees can’t afford a computer and Internet service, and access to local libraries may pose transportation and/or timeframe issues.

Most of Starbucks front-line workers earn minimum wage, so they’ll need to apply for federal aid, such as Pell grants and/or loans.  The barrister serving your Frappuccino or Teavana Shakened Ice Tea average salary is $8.80 per hour according to glassdoor.com www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Starbucks-Salaries-E2202.htm.  A Starbucks spokeswoman, Laurel Harper, told Pyke that its analysis with ASU found most of its workers would qualify for federal Pell grants.  To receive MAXIMUM federal aid, candidates must enroll in school FULL-TIME.  According to a study by the Greater Washington National Urban League, “62% of Black students receive Pell Grants, which only covers 31% of the average cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies, expenses, and transportation.”  A survey by AP-NORIC Center for PublicAffairs Research concluded that “Only 18 percent [of low wage workers] have used Pell grants….”   

Freshman and sophomore employees, after factoring in the ASU discount (whatever that is) and the federal aid amount, would pay any remaining costs.  Junior and senior year students, after completing 21 credits, would get reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses by Starbucks.  “Many corporations in America have public tuition assistance plans that vary in value and utility for their employees,” Vaidhyanathan told Pyke.  “This,” he said, “is nothing particularly revolutionary, except that it’s an inside deal with one particularly aggressive institution.”    

No doubt, any assistance for furthering one's education is valuable, and some employees will certainly benefit from SCAP (one advantage is that after earning an undergraduate degree, workers will NOT be required to stay with Starbucks), but, after investigating its “scholarship deal,” my initial exuberant fagizzle has waned to a drizzle. 

Magic, Miracles & Blessings,

Willette

“DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO WORKS HERE?”

by Willette Coleman ©2014

When you prepare for a job interview, consider prepping for unexpected questions.  “Do you know anyone who works for us?” is one of those unanticipated queries and can seem a bit tricky.  Sean Haggard says his “…skin becomes a little clammy,” when he thinks “about this job interview question.”   

If you get the "willys" too, empower yourself by, first, reviewing the company’s nepotism  policy.  It might be posted on their website.  In the interview, you might wonder:  

Are They Judging My Character?

Yes.  They're gauging whether you’ll be truthful and whether you have the same or similar traits as the person you know at the company.  If the person is an excellent employee, you might be also.  On the other hand, if the person has regressive and infantile behaviors, is an undercover alcoholic, overt bully, or slacker, they might wonder: “Ye too Brutus [or Brutusa]?” 

The Person I Know is a Poor Employee; Nobody likes him/her.

Clearly it’s good to know a person who is an excellent employee.  On the other hand, knowing an employee with unacceptable work habits and behavior may depend on the depth of your relationship.  If the person is a distant acquaintance, say so.  If, in your mind, you say:  “That’s my girl or homeboy,” even relative, then, “Houston,” you could have a situation.  In a close relationship, no doubt you know about your friend’s or relative’s short comings.  In the minds of most people, you approve of (and may be a part of) any bad behavior, by association.  But, you may NOT approve; you’ve even made copious attempts at helping him/her improve.  If the interviewer says there have been some concerns, briefly, share your intervention efforts.  

The rules on hiring acquaintances, friends and/or relatives differ from employer to employer.  While one interviewer might consider your association with a troubled employee beneficial, in that you could be a good influence, another interviewer might fear you’ll only compound the problem.  Employers want to minimize workplace conflict.   

Haggard recommends you “stay neutral” and “… do not say anything negative about the other person, even if the interviewer does.”  He offers this sample response:

“Carla [or Carl]  and I are friends, but I know she [he] has had some difficulties at this company, and I don’t always agree with her [his] work ethic.” 

It’s best to keep the interviewer focused on you and convince her/him that you’re capable of separating your professional life and your personal life, and that you are a focused, task-oriented individual.  Again, preparation helps you dispel any fear energy around unexpected questions, along with taking 3 deep belly-breaths. 

Remember:  Integrity counts; keep it simple; keep it honest. 

Thanks for reading,

Magic, Miracles & Blessings,

Willette