How to Get a Scholarship: Five Easy Steps to Follow
If you compare the cost of education that was 20 years ago and the cost that you have to pay this year, you will be shocked. The price is growing with almost every year, so more and more applicants want to receive a financial aid to cover the expenses. The biggest benefit of having a scholarship is the absence of the need to borrow money or take a loan in a bank. It means that you have a chance to get a degree for free.
Look for a financial aid
You can use search engines to look for the scholarships that you can receive in your school or college. You can find local or even international scholarship programs that you can inquire. You should take into consideration the fact whether you are already a student or you are only planning to be the one. If you want to go to the U.S. from your country, you can inquire for the scholarship if you plan to come back to your home country.
The same rule works for European countries as well. You don’t have to invent any strange or weird reasons to get the scholarship. You can contact the college representatives via email if you see it on the official website. Or you can make a call to quickly ask if it’s possible to inquire for a scholarship if you study in that very college. Or you can use the services of special agencies that help students get the financial aid.
Get your application ready
Your inquiry will consist of the essay that you will have to write yourself and a package of documents that include:
- Your academic records;
- The records about your family finance state;
- The important details about you.
You should mind the deadlines as you will send these documents via a land mail and it can take a few weeks to deliver them. Prepare a resume where you will mention all your achievements for the last few years. It’s better to type it and print it on the paper. It’s great if you know the names of the people whom you addressing your resume and your application essay. Include all the information about any projects that you have ever participated.
Write a compelling essay
If you have no idea how to write an essay, don’t give up the plans to apply for a scholarship. You should divide it into three parts to make the right structure. The first part will be the introduction. Devote one paragraph to it and describe what you are writing and the reasons for it. The main and the biggest part is the body of the paper and you should provide the major arguments why you should receive the scholarship. And the last paragraph will be the conclusion where you will sum everything up.
It’s also great if you know who your readers are and what they are interested in. It’s bad that you cannot take a look at the successful essays of other applicants to get the best parts from them. But you can make your life easier if you follow the instructions that you can find on the site of the college or the organization that gives you the scholarship. It’s good to write only about real you and about your life.
Get the letter of recommendation
If you have any achievements in your life, there have to be the people that can write a few good words about you. It can be any person or several of them. Arrange a personal meeting with that person and ask to write a letter of recommendation. You should be ready to get a negative answer to your request as not every person can make up a great story in short time. You can offer to write everything yourself and that person will make some edits if needed.
If you ask your teacher to write a letter of recommendation, you can mention his or her contact details. The members of the committee may contact your teacher to confirm that all the information you provide is true to life. Don’t make up imaginary stories and don’t let anyone lie to you and your achievements as you will lose everything if someone gets to know the truth.
Check your application
When you have all the documents and papers ready to be sent to the admission committee, check twice if you have everything. You can have a little rest to make your mind fresh and you’ll be able to see any drawbacks of your application. You should proofread your scholarship essay and your resume to make sure they don’t contain errors or misconceptions. You can rewrite your texts several times and that’s absolutely ok.
Make sure all the pieces of paper are of the same size and you’re using the same font and style on every of them. A visual attraction of your application package is also important. The members of the committee will also evaluate it as it can show how well you have prepared and how strongly you need the financial aid. You can present your motivation through your essay as well.
Don’t give up
Being on the bright side means thinking positively. However, there’s still a chance not to get the scholarship this year. But you should be ready for it not to get depressed after the refusal. Think what you can do if you fail. Don’t forget that you can prepare several application forms and send them to different organizations. You will make your chances much higher by doing this. If you want to succeed, you should believe in yourself.
If you apply for several scholarships, you should write a separate essay for every of them. Every scholarship essay should be unique and meet the requirements and expectations of the people who will read it. Always believe in your success and never give up in any case. And always mind the deadlines.
