Posts Tagged College Financial Aid
9 Killer Mistakes That Destroy College Scholarship Applications
Posted by admin in College Scholarships on November 23, 2010
Are there mistakes that can disqualify a college
scholarship application? You bet. Generally speaking, most local scholarship committees may find a few minor mistakes acceptable, but the higher the level of competition, the less tolerance there is for a faux pas. And when you go for the gold at the national level of competition, no mistake is permissible. Even at the local level, if the competition is heavy, one error can result in the loss of money.
Even small spelling mistakes can cause an application to be thrown out. A judge reviewed a submission from a girl who was second in her class. She had a 3.95 GPA. The problem? She misspelled salutatorian. Believe it! How does that
happen? Surely, it should have been noticed. Was it a keyboarding error? Maybe.
Another application from a boy on the baseball team noted that he won the league batting title with a .259 average. Know anything about baseball? Most likely, the number 2 should have been a 3, 4, 5, or even 6.
Yet, another listed the applicant’s age as “88.” Do you suppose she was the oldest high school student in the country…in the world? But wait, she listed her birth date as eighteen years earlier. Those are the kinds of silly little miscues that can disqualify good candidates. Use the computer spell check and have someone read for context and spelling problems. Most people cannot do a good job of proof-reading themselves. Why take a chance?
Another blunder is leaving blank spaces. This is not a good thing. The committee may think that you are trying to hide something. If the question or statement is not applicable to you, write DNA on the line, which is the standard abbreviation or acronym for Does Not Apply.
Use a computer and keyboard whenever possible. Investigate the many inexpensive and free form-filling computer programs. No long hand here. Never write in pencil. And, NEVER, NEVER. EVER, EVER use whiteout.
Follow directions exactly. It is not unusual to see lists where paragraphs are required and vice versa. Sometimes a signature is needed with the name printed. A simple YES or NO may be necessary, Instead, an opinion is given.
Here’s a tricky one that trips many juniors and seniors with honor roll credentials. After ten years in school, they still have problems using to, too, two, and they’re, their,there.
Oops! I saw a sure regional and possible national winner disqualified, because her application missed the deadline date…by one day. Always beat the deadline. Mail early.
How could this happen? An app arrived without the parent permission slip signature.
Check, Check, Check.
This bears repeating: most mistakes can be eliminated when others proof the application. Then read it aloud while someone else listens.
What can you do, if the mistake cannot be corrected? Be sure to make a copy before you start. If it says “copies are not permitted,” go back for one or two more originals.
Planning produces positive outcomes when the scholarship effort is truly a family affair.
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About College Scholarships and Grants
Posted by admin in Scholarships and Grants on June 4, 2010
About College Scholarships and Grants
Some of the best ways to pay for a college education is by focusing on either scholarships or grants. With college scholarships and grants, none of the money has to be repaid, in contrast to Federal student loans as well as private loans. Access to these types of funding usually has to do with the student’s past achievements in school and more. There are many types of scholarships and cannot be listed in full here; however, a good site to look at all the different scholarships would be college-scholarships.com which lists each one as well as some descriptions available. It is important to know that each scholarship may be different from the next and they may all have different terms and conditions applied to them which you will need to review prior to applying for the scholarship.
In addition to scholarships are grants. As a result of the US government’s No Child Left Behind Act, our government now offers more college grant opportunities than ever. Some of the Federal grants include the Pell Grant, National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (aka SMART) grant, as well as the Academic Competitiveness grant. The money provided by these grants and more are provided in order to help pay for college expenses such as for books and tuition. These grants and more can be obtained through federal and state governments, colleges, universities, as well as other public and private organizations.
There are several different categories for grants such as student-specific grants, degree level grants, subject specific grants as well as grants specifically for lower income students and minorities.
As for the student-specific grants, there are several categories such as those for low income or disadvantaged students, graduate grants, doctoral grants, undergraduate grants, non-traditional grants as well as military grants for college.
When considering subject-specific grants, subjects such as nursing, teaching and healthcare may offer grants for schooling which in many cases will be sponsored by corporations hoping to acquire interns and future employees to their companies after graduating from college with a degree in the corporation’s industry. In addition to the grants provided by many corporations and such, there are also those grants which are offered by your state and information about these types of grants that are offered by your individual state can be found be simply contacting your state offices and/or contacting financial aid offices at your college which you will be attending. There are many opportunities for students to get the funding for a great education and they can all be found by contacting those organizations or their websites for more information. If you are in high school, try a guidance counselor. It is important to get this information earlier on as the more you know the easier things will be once it comes down to getting that education funded.