Common Mistakes Made On Scholarship Applications
Why It Makes Sense To Make Numerous Scholarship Applications
It makes sense to make as many applications for scholarships as possible, even
if the available amount in some of them might be trivial as compared to the
total financial requirement for pursuing your college studies. Apart from the
fact that even a small amount like a couple of hundred dollars can come in handy
either to cover the cost of books for a term or for a research trip, you would
also gain experience in making out the scholarship applications. Moreover,
gaining small scholarship amounts would increase your credibility while applying
for bigger scholarship awards. Your skills of filling out scholarship applications will improve with each
application that you make and when the time comes for that really important
scholarship application that might provide you with the much-needed sufficient
funds for your education you will certainly be the winner. However, it is
essential that you should pay heed to the following aspects:
- Wrong spellings and grammatical mistakes: The first thing that catches the
eyes of the admissions officer is a misspelling or a glaring grammatical error.
If you are not careful about these aspects, it will show that either you are
negligent or that you are simply incapable of writing correctly.
- Cross-check that your online application has reached its destination:
Always seek confirmation that your application has reached the college or
university, either in the form of an email, response on web page or receipt
of a credit card.
- Don't forget to sign the form: Not signing the form will show your
negligence.
- Read carefully: Don't misread the form and avoid answering incorrectly.
- List only those extracurricular activities that matter: Avoid listing
frivolous activities and mention only useful ones like sports, arts and
social work.
- Keep your school counselor informed about where you've applied: Don't
hide from him but ask him to send your high school transcripts to colleges
only after reviewing them.
- Write legibly: A good legible handwriting gives a good first impression.
Make an effort to put forward your best handwriting.
- Use an appropriate email address: Avoid using an inappropriate fun
address and select an address which uses your name.
- Check your email regularly: If you don't do so, you might miss out on
some important message from the college where you have applied.
- Fill out the application form yourself: If you take the help of your
parents in filling out the form, the admissions people will come to know
about it due to the variance in the handwritings. It is better to get proper
advice from your parents but the actual work of essaying your replies and
writing them should be your own.
Normally students make the mistake of not expressing their views candidly. In
the INSTEP courses, difficult problems and questions are discussed and there are
no absolutely correct answers to these questions. There could be different and
varying views regarding these matters and the professors expect the different
views to be presented openly and argued logically. As such, you must put forward
your views on such topics in a reasonable and forceful manner. Moreover, you
must also indulge in supportive readings. It is advisable for students to look around for the appropriate reading material
relating to the topic as the faculty members are not very helpful in suggesting
the precise reading matter. They consider their role to be more of a stimulus
and an appropriate response to what is put forward.
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