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