Over the years, I’ve learned that applying for opportunities is a skill in itself and one that can be developed. This guide is to help more students take advantage of the many awards and programs available to them. My experience comes from both sides: applying for >100 scholarships, internships, grants, and workshops, and also serving on review panels and scholarship committees. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, and I hope these tips will make the process a little less overwhelming.
One of the biggest issues I see is people not applying for local, departmental, or state-level awards for various reasons. If you’re eligible, apply because your odds are probably better than you think. Many of smaller awards are undersubscribed and have very high acceptance rates. That means you actually have a decent chance of winning. Plus, these are often the easiest awards you’ll win, so it’s a great way to start practicing how to write strong applications.
Awards are cyclical: once you win a few, you’ll look more impressive, which boosts your chances of winning higher-level awards and it builds from there. That’s why it’s so important to go after local, departmental, regional, and state awards early on. Just because they aren’t super competitive or prestigious doesn’t mean they won’t be valuable for your long-term career goals. We can debate the validity and morality of awards, but at the end of the day, the number of awards you’ve won is almost always scrutinized in applications.
A lot of the suggestions in this subsection can be done before you have a specific application in mind. If you start working on them now, even just a little, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress later and you might even have a finished product ready if a last-minute application pops up. At the very least, you’ll have a solid starting point.
Keep Your CV Up to Date
Every time you accomplish something, add it to your CV right away.
Every so often (at least once a year), review your CV and polish it. You might notice formatting inconsistencies, or typos. You may even decide to add new sections or reorganize existing sections.
Save and Organize Your Work
Save your work often to avoid losing progress.
Save every application and organize your documents using folders, subfolders, and obvious file names.
Having previous work saved makes it easier to respond to last-minute application opportunities.
Reuse old essays, especially personal statements, to speed up future writing.
Update and improve past essays over time so you have stronger drafts ready.
Building Your Online Presence
Sometimes, the most visible or searchable candidate will win. Having a strong internet presence can truly make a difference. You can also use the internet to control your career narrative and even strengthen your applications if they google you.
Search for Yourself in Incognito Mode:
(You may need your [name] + [university] or [discipline] or [state/country], to narrow the results)
What does your internet presence look like?
Is your name too common, causing someone else to appear in the first few search results? Can you find yourself at all?
Is your presence "respectable" and "appropriate"?
Do your search results enhance your credibility and strengthen your application?
Websites to become searchable: LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, OrcID, your own website (there are free options like Google Sites), and social media. If your social media is not private, employers will be looking at it. Take that as you wish.
Professional Headshot Photo
Update your professional photos every 1–3 years.
Your university or a professional group might offer free sessions. At minimum, have a friend or family member take one for you. You don't need to pay to get professional decent photos
Tips for the Photo:
Clothing: Wear a nice shirt with no logos or only minimal branding. If it’s a headshot, matching pants aren’t necessary.
Background: Choose a clean, simple background: like trees, a painted wall, a brick wall, or the outside of a building.
Quality: Make sure the lighting is good and the photo resolution is clear.
Follow relevant social media accounts (professional groups, organizations, labs).
Sign up for newsletters or listservs from universities, agencies, and professional societies.
Check opportunity listings (program websites, bulletin boards, job boards).
Google keywords related to your interests (e.g., "undergraduate internships in planetary science").
For opportunities you're not currently eligible for, keep a list. They might be available to you in the future!
Follow Instructions Exactly
The second biggest issue I see is students not reading the instructions carefully and following them exactly. Shockingly, quite a few people don’t follow directions. From formatting issues to forgetting to include everything that was asked for. Reread the instructions before hitting submit!
If you're unclear about something, send an email to the contact listed for clarification or ask a peer or advisor what they think the instructions mean.
Pro Tip- Stand Out (Carefully!): Follow the instructions to a T, but if something isn’t explicitly against the rules, consider using it to stand out. Maybe bold or italicize a powerful sentence or include a relevant photo/figure in your essay before submitting. Just be cautious—it’s a risk. Some committees might appreciate your creativity, while others could see it as overstepping. Personally, I lean toward the bold move, as I’m applying against many people and need to find ways to stand out, even if it means taking a calculated risk.
The Advantage of Starting and Applying Early
Start your application early. Even if you don’t finish right away, create an outline or jot down phrases or sentences you can expand on later. It’s okay to have a rough draft that no one sees. Very few people write perfect papers or essays on their first try. Starting early also helps you avoid stress later on, as things often come up last minute, whether it's more work than expected or actual emergencies.
The sooner you apply, the better, especially when no deadline is stated.
Example: One application I submitted as soon as I saw it, and even though they ended up with over 900 applicants, I stood out because I was one of the first, qualified, and included unique personal details.
Example: I applied for a last-minute opportunity with no stated deadline. They received so many applicants that they closed the application once they hit 200 submissions, just a week later.
Writing for the Committee
Think carefully about the committee’s perspective and who their ideal candidate would be. They might be looking for someone with specific skills, but it could also be about attitude and personality.
If it's for a workshop, they might want someone who can contribute to discussions while still being open to learning. If it's a training exercise, they likely want to hear how you will apply what you learned and use your new skills. Also for workshop or training where you'll be around others for extended periods, they want to know you’re easy to work with—a positive attitude, helpful, and responsible.
For a scholarship, they may be seeking someone who embodies their values or someone to give back to. They could prioritize financial need, a strong work ethic, or outstanding achievements. Be sure to understand what they value and align your application with those goals.
Tips:
Understand what their goal is with offering this opportunity. Provide concrete examples of how you can contribute to the event/organization and explain why it's important for your career.
If they use key phrases in their application call, then be sure to address those in your application. Make your essay sound like you wrote it with them in mind, not just a generic essay.
Write Creatively and Uniquely
Your writing teachers probably always told you to use your voice and this advice is more relevant than ever, especially with the rise of AI. Write in a way that only you could have written. Dig deep and reflect your personality and experiences. Maybe it’s including certain words or phrases that only you would say.
Be Cautious with Jargon, as it can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, using some can show that you know your field and have done your research. On the other hand, too much jargon can make you sound like you're just using buzzwords, or worse, it might make it hard for the reader to understand what you’re saying at all.
Avoid claiming professional skills like "hardworking," "self-motivated," "attention-to-detail," or "team player." It’s not that these traits aren’t important, but they’re so commonly claimed that they don’t set you apart. Claiming these do not make you unique. Instead, focus on specific examples or experiences that demonstrate your professional skills.
DO NOT use ChatGPT or any other AI to write your essay. If you must, only use it for minimal editing, like fixing grammar and typos. AI-generated content is often very obvious, and submissions that appear to be written by AI stand out for the wrong reasons. Consider this: if most applicants are relying on AI, many applications will end up sounding the same. Where’s the uniqueness and personality? Does someone who is unable to write a strong essay truly deserve the award? Shouldn’t we just give the award to the AI software instead? After all, the award is meant for the individual who demonstrates their unique abilities, not for a machine to do the work for them.
Once you have a rough draft, it's time to edit. Start by reviewing it yourself: check for spelling errors, clarity, and overall flow.
After you think you have something really strong, ask peers, friends, or advisors for feedback. If you're a current student, use resources like the writing center; they're there to help you refine your work. Many writing centers offer one-on-one sessions for personalized help or provide asynchronous feedback.
The Unique Sentence Review
One of my favorite strategies for writing personal statements is what I call the unique sentence review. The idea is simple: if nearly every sentence in your essay is unique to you, your writing will be more powerful and personal. How It Works: I read each sentence individually, without the context of the rest of the essay, and ask myself three questions:
Is it clear?
Is it impactful?
Is it unique to me?
Example: Take a look at the two options below. Both are technically accurate, but only one passes the unique sentence test.
Option 1: I'm a PhD student at the University of Kansas. After my doctorate, I want to work at NASA.
This tells you very little. Many PhD candidates want to work at NASA. It doesn’t reveal my stage in the program, my field of expertise, or how I might contribute.
Option 2: I'm a 5th-year PhD candidate in Geology at the University of Kansas studying laser and rock interactions. After my doctorate, I want to work at NASA researching geochemistry of Mars with LIBS and Raman lasers.
This version gives much more specific information. You learn that I’ve passed my comprehensive exams, that I’m in geology rather than engineering, and that I specialize in laser-based geochemical analysis, which directly links my expertise to NASA.
Double-check the instructions to make sure you’re providing exactly what they asked for, in the correct format, and sending it to the correct location: whether that's an email address, mailing address, website form, etc.
It is your responsibility to make sure every is correct. Example: If they ask for a Word (.docx) file, make sure you submit it as a Word document. If they ask for everything to be combined into a single PDF, make sure you combine everything properly before submitting.
Rejections are not the end of the world and rarely are they personal. Remember, accomplished individuals face rejection frequently. Long lists of awards often accompany equally lengthy rejection rosters. Therefore, it's crucial to apply regardless. Don't let rejections discourage you; they can be stepping stones to eventual success. Keep applying, learn from each experience, and recognize that persistence often pays off.
Your selection odds are uncertain.
It's difficult to know the odds for some applications. Sometimes it's not clear what the selection committee is looking for or if they have a secret quota. For instance, a workshop might want 70% of the participants to be biologists, and the other 30% can be any STEM major.
Certain applications purposefully favor those with less experience to uplift more individuals.
Other applications are "fake," and they will never look at your application because someone from inside their organization was already pre-selected for that job, but they legally had to post that job listing.
Application materials can be reused.
Since many applications request similar materials, you can repurpose personal statements even after facing rejection. If you come across an application with a tight deadline, having prepared materials ready can give you a strong chance of success, even on short notice.
Applying frequently helps you refine your writing skills and the process of applying itself. Over time, you'll improve your instincts for what selection committees are looking for.
Rejections might yield unexpected benefits.
Sometimes, rejection have consolation prizes . For instance, a rejection led to an invited talk opportunity for me. They didn't think I was right for the position that year, but they really wanted to hear about my outreach that I mentioned on my application. Then the very next year I applied, and was selected.
Certain applications follow unspoken rules, like not selecting in the first round.
Many opportunities allow you to apply the next year. Sometimes it's better to wait a year to get an opportunity because that extra year of growth makes the whole experience better. Some committees even remember reapplicants, and recognize their persistence.
The Power of a Good CV
Some committees will only really look at your CV and won't care much about your essay. In other words, if you have a strong CV, you might be able to coast on it for some applications. If you don’t have a great CV, you’ll have less room for error and will need a much more polished essay.
I say this because I’ve written quite a few essays that were honestly terrible. They had grammar issues, typos, and didn’t flow well. However, they were very personal and kept my original voice. Though, if I were on the review committee, I wouldn’t have picked me based on those essays alone. And yet, on two different highly competitive applications (hundreds of applications), I was selected within the top 5%. I personally think it’s because my CV was that strong. The essays weren’t great, and the CV was basically the only other thing the reviewers had to go on besides my essays.
Low GPA Realities
Sometimes, your GPA may make you ineligible for certain awards, regardless of your CV and essays. It's important to manage your expectations accordingly. While some applications place significant weight on your GPA, others may prioritize your essay or CV more. A low GPA may limit some opportunities, but it doesn't prevent success. Though, it may require more effort. This could mean just applying to more opportunities, or taking different paths than those with higher GPAs.