Preparing For Scholarship Season

Preparing for scholarship season

Your Survival kit

Scholarships are financial aid that can help fund your college education and experience. They can help with the cost of tuition if needed, books, travel expenses, personal supplies, school supplies and much more.

Before all those scholarship deadlines get here, let’s make sure you’ve got all the materials you need to have a scholarship season survival kit prepped and ready to go!

what do you need?

While there’s a lot of scholarships that will pop up between here and the spring, most of them ask you to turn in the same things along with your application.

A Personal Statement

Most applications will also require some type of personal statement. The prompts and lengths will vary depending on the scholarship, but most will ask you to write about the same topics. They’ll usually ask about what your career or educational goals are, struggles you’ve overcome and how, and how you plan to use the scholarship funds.

If you need help getting started, try making a list of all your career and educational goals to get started, then use those points to start building your essay. Just make sure you read the scholarship application directions carefully so you know what you should be writing about. If you need it, you can also refer back to our personal statement tips for a refresher on how to write about yourself!

A High School Transcript

Most scholarship applications will require your high school transcript. Make sure you have a copy on hand or that you know how and where to order one. If you’re not sure how to get your transcript, reach out to adviser or counselor for help.

Once the semester ends, you will also want to get an updated transcript to check your new GPA and make sure you’re sending in your latest grades.

Letters of Recommendation

Another huge part of scholarship applications are letters of recommendation. It’s best to have at least 2 letters of recommendation ready when you’re applying to scholarships. If you haven’t had a chance to get any yet or if you only have one, there’s still time!

If you’ve never requested a letter of recommendation before, now’s a great time to do so. Email a few people you’ve had a relationship with that would know you well enough to write a full and quality recommendation. Think of teachers, counselors, advisors, mentors, etc. that you believe would know you well enough to showcase your skills and abilities in a recommendation.

After you’ve decided who you want to ask, reach out to them to see if they’d be willing to write you a letter of recommendation for a scholarship. Make sure you inform them of when you need the letter and what you need the letter for, and give them at least 2 weeks to write it, if you can.

If you have one, you can also send your résumé or brag sheet to your recommender. This way, they know about the things you do outside of class, especially if you haven’t talked to them too much about your personal life.

If you wanted to reach out for a letter, you could write something like this:

Hello [X],

I hope you’re doing well.

As you know, I am planning to study at the University of Michigan next fall. In order to help cover the costs of books and school supplies, I am preparing to start applying for scholarships. Would you be willing and able to write me a letter of recommendation for a scholarship application due on February 1st?

I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

better to be safe than sorry

Scholarship season can be tough, but with the right preparation, we know you’re going to get through it just fine. If you need any extra support, you can always reach out to adviser or counselor, and they might even be able to let you know other ways you can prepare for local scholarships, like showing you what essay questions have shown up in past years.

No matter what you apply for, we hope you feel a little more prepared for what’s coming next!

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