Organising your scholarship application - School leavers

Your scholarship application should

Find out what they want
Give them what they want
Add something special to give you an advantage over the others.

And then check it carefully.

What do they want?
Read the application package carefully.

Read over the forms. Check the brochure. Make sure you understand what it is they're looking for. If anything isn't exactly clear, or if there's information they haven't given, contact them and ask for clarification.

Give yourself plenty of time

It's no fun having to stay up till two in the morning to type your application out so that you can get it into the mail before a scholarship deadline, it's even worse if you have to do this in the week before your final school exam, and it's worse still if the form asks for documentation birth certificates, academic transcripts, referee's reports that takes time to chase up.

Watch your deadlines. Write the closing dates for applications in your diary.

Worst of all, of course, is staying up till two in the morning and still missing the deadline. Put a note of the closing date in your diary, and put another note a week before the closing date.

Research pays off

The more you know about the topic of the scholarship the more you know about the university, the profession, the company the better. You have to sell your potential, and the advantage you have over other salespeople is that your target audience is manageably small. Make the most of it.

Give them what they want.
Target your application

If you want to have a chance, you need to target your application for the particular scholarship you want. They look for "Commitment to the proposed course of study", as one scholarship says. They don't want someone who's going to drop out.

That means that if you're applying to several universities, or for several scholarships, you can't just use the same application and change the names. The selection committee can generally pick it, and they may think that you're not really committed to them.

If the scholarship is worth going for, it's worth taking seriously. You can draw on the same basic material, but you should go over your basic CV to adapt it to the needs of the particular application. Get new referee's reports. Think of it as if you were applying for a job.

Don't be too modest

The higher your score, of course, the better, but there's more to you than that. Even if your results are good, you'll still need to make a case. If your results aren't so good, scholarship programs know that applicants have much more to offer than simply the marks that appear on their transcripts, and most universities are looking for students with all sorts of achievements and backgrounds. You have to convince them that what they're looking for is you.

Make the most of your achievements and your potential. Nobody with a grudge against themselves is likely to fire the imagination of the selectors.

Show them that you need it

Even scholarships that aren't primarily for people in need often use student need as a tiebreaker. Weigh up where you have difficulties, and bring these out in your application. Financial need is not the only kind of disadvantage. Remember also that you're not asked to be the person in the most need in Australia at large, only to be the person in the most need among the eligible applicants.

Get referees

If you have a chance to put in referee's reports and that doesn't mean "Did they ask for it" but "Have they told you not to?" put them in. This gives you a chance to plug your potential without sounding boastful.

Give them a bit extra

Why are you special?

OK, you've shown that you fit the specifications. Now they're giving you a chance to talk yourself up. They're asking for something like

"Evidence of participation and achievement in other areas eg sports, arts, employment and community activities" or

"Evidence of leadership potential and participation in community activities" or

"students who demonstrate excellence not only in their academic studies, but also in some other aspect of their lives".

Now you have to show that out of all the people who fit the specifications and there could be lots you're the one they want. You may be academically excellent, and that's the easiest argument to make, but if you're not in the top percentile you can still show them that you have strengths in other areas.

Do you do volunteer work?
Have you got interests or talents in the arts?
Are you a keen sportsperson?
Are you active in any clubs and societies?
Are you an expert in your particular hobby?

Remember, what they want to know about is your potential.

Don't overdo it - put in your best points only

Check your application carefully

Spellcheck
Check it again - spellchecks don't pick up everything, especially if the misspelling is a word in itself
Check the application form to see you've included all the attachments they asked for
Ask someone to look it over for you

Where there are a lot of good applications it doesn't take much to move you from the "possibles" pile to the 'sorry, no' pile.