Scholarships and fellowships are unquestionably a lot of work – scholarship applications usually require you to write essays, provide letters of recommendation, and sell yourself based on your past experience. However, applying for scholarships can be incredibly rewarding. Here are some tips to get you started working on scholarship applications.
1. Get started early!
The earlier you get started on finding scholarships and fellowships, the better. There’s little worse than finding the perfect scholarship only to realize that the deadline to apply for it has passed! I would highly recommend setting aside some time early in your college career to look for scholarships and fellowships (via the internet, your on-campus scholarship office, or other resources) and note the application deadlines. Enter them in your calendar, set reminders for yourself (even a few years out!), create an organized list – do whatever works for you to make sure that you know when deadlines are approaching and when you need to start on your application.
Once you have identified scholarships or fellowships that interest you, start early on the application! In a scholarship or fellowship application, the most time-sensitive part of the application is requesting letters of recommendations. You should aim to request your letters at least a month before they are due. The sooner you ask your recommenders, the more likely they are to write you a letter and the more time they will be able to put into writing you a good letter. Starting early on your application itself gives you extra time to revise your essays and get more people to review and give feedback on your writing to help you ensure that you have the best application that you can.
2. Build relationships with professors or other potential recommenders
The importance of letters of recommendation in applications for scholarships, internships, or graduate school cannot be overstated. Your recommenders are instrumental in providing additional perspectives on you as a candidate and need to convince the committee reviewing your application of your academic and professional potential, personal qualities and strength of character, and ultimately, why you deserve this particular opportunity over other qualified applicants.
With that being said, it is crucial to build rapport with professors or other people that can write you letters of recommendation to support your application. While later in your college career your recommenders will often be people that you have worked with in some capacity (e.g. research, volunteer work, jobs), in your first couple of years it is extremely helpful to try and build relationships with your professors. Although professors can seem intimidating, most professors are very happy to speak with students about their class material or research, how they got to their current position, or provide general advice and guidance to students. Going to office hours, or better, setting up an appointment with your professor to chat helps you build a relationship and helps them get to know you, helping them to write you a personalized letter. In addition, getting letters from professors in classes where the material is relevant to your interests and where you did well in the class are usually stronger letters. Having a letter of recommendation from a professor where they can say more about you besides “____ is a good student that did well in my class” can help turn a decent application into a strong one.
(Should this be included here? In another article? Not at all? This is obviously very rough – want to know what you think first)
Once you have identified someone who can write you a letter of recommendation, writing them an email to request a letter is the next step. Crafting a well-thought-out email is an important part of getting someone to write you a good letter of recommendation. A good email requesting a letter of recommendation should include: 1) An introductory paragraph giving specific mention of how you know the recommender/what you have discussed that was of interest to you/mentioning any anecdotes, 2) Explaining what the scholarship or fellowship is, why you are interested, and why you believe you are a good fit, and 3) a concluding paragraph thanking the professor and telling them to let you know if they have any questions or need any more information.
3. Get involved, both on- and off-campus
For merit-based scholarships, having experience in jobs or internships, volunteering, clubs, research, or being involved in other ways is a great way to strengthen your application and show your drive. Pursue opportunities that you’re passionate about, take initiative, and have fun with them! Don’t be afraid if you feel like your experience doesn’t exactly fit the exact experience that a scholarship might seem to be looking for – as an undergraduate, you aren’t expected to have everything figured out yet, and it’s okay to be exploring different options! What’s important is getting involved and letting your passion and initiative show through in your application.
4. Take advantage of the resources available to you
When looking for scholarships or fellowships or working on your applications for these opportunities, be sure to take advantage of the different people and resources that can help you through the process! You’ll find a surprising number of resources that are available at your university (or high school!) or online to help you identify scholarships that fit your interests and you are eligible for. Most universities have a scholarship office, that not only can help you find scholarships but often provide writing help with your essays. Additionally, these scholarship offices also usually have websites that are a good place to start in your scholarship search. Another good resource to use are professors in your field that may know about opportunities. They are also often willing to proofread your applications and can provide great feedback!
If you don’t receive a scholarship or fellowship, don’t be demoralized! Even though it’s disappointing to not win a scholarship, working on an application is great practice for later scholarship, internship/job, or school applications.