The Questions To Ask About Grants And Scholarships

Much is known about grants and scholarships in general. Their existence has been much documented over the years and everybody who has ever known anyone who has been to university or college in the recent past will know the rudimentary basics, but there is a lot more to scholarships and grants than meets the eye. There are fundamental questions that should be asked of every single scholarship before anyone wanting to go to college even applies for them because those questions often determine which ones are the best ones for you. If you ask the questions below then you will not go far wrong!

How long will my scholarship last for?

This is a question that needs to be asked of every scholarship purely and simply because every scholarship is different. Some may only last for a year, others last for two and a few will last for the duration of your degree course. If you are counting on funding for the duration of your degree then you will need to ensure that the scholarships you apply for actually fulfil that want or need, whichever category that falls into. It may be that you need to contact the provider of the scholarship to check this detail because it may not be publicised in the literature that you receive.

What does my scholarship encompass?

Again, this answer all depends on the individual scholarship. Most scholarships tend to be full scholarships so they encompass tuition and housing. The grants you can apply for usually only cover one aspect or another. In fact, that is not always the case. Some only designate a set amount of money for books or similar materials. You need to make sure that you know exactly what you will be applying for and what your scholarship or grant will be paying for because it does drastically vary. Certain scholarships actually designate a certain amount for you rather than covering a certain aspect of your study. For example, one school-based scholarship offers between $10,000 and $3000, depending on the nature of the award.

Where will my financial aid check go?

The majority of financial aid check will not go to you, but instead head straight to your school. The checks need to be payable to the college you will be attending because they are then used against costs, such as tuition and housing. If so much of a scholarship is towards living costs and has covered the rent then you may have that back, but the rest will go into your account at the college. There are very few exceptions to this rule. However, you may need to contact your college before applying to see what their procedure is.

What are the requirements I must meet in order to maintain my scholarship?

If you have been awarded a scholarship then you will almost certainly be awarded it on a conditional basis. You would usually have to maintain a certain GPA in order to qualify, although that sometimes translates into certain subjects or classes rather than overall. Different bodies and colleges set different targets for the students that they have awarded money to, but this should be in the literature for you to read before you accept the offer. Every scholarship is conditional, but it is up to ascertain what those conditions are.

Can I hold more than one scholarship at the same time?

That all depend on the terms and conditions of the scholarships as set by the body that administers the individual ones. The general rule is that you cannot hold more than one scholarship, but this is slightly different with grants. If you are awarded help from several bodies then you can take it, as long as you inform all sources that you hold more than one because this may affect their assessment. For example, you can hold a college and a federal hardship grant and you cannot have one without the other, but you do have to inform both parties of the help you are getting!

June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Scholarships and Grants

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The Scholarship Application And Making It Yours!

Every scholarship application is perfectly unique, which is great for the people who have to read through thousands of them every year in order to decide to award it to! However, although they are unique and no doubt very personal, it must be mundane to read persona statement after personal statement if nothing catches your attention. Some will be well written, others will not, but that makes no difference if it cannot attract another individual’s attention!

A personal statement is actually your selling tool. It is all you have because the representatives or assessor who can discard an application at the drop of a hat will never meet you. You will not get a second chance to make a first impression so you have to make the most of what you have and the personal statement is it! Before you even start looking into the scholarships you will apply for, you should begin to plan out your personal statement. It is the one thing that will speak about you so you have to make the most of it and more effort should going into composing a good one than anything else you will do relating to scholarships.

There are various ways to catch an assessor’s attention, but making the page really talk to them is the main way. Anything too fancy, like a different font will have them reaching for the scrap pile, but a great statement will prevent them from discarding your application. The first thing you should remember then is ensuring that your words are perfectly clear and flow well together. In other words, your personal statement must make perfect sense. If it does not make sense and instead is just a bunch of random words thrown together in the hope that it will work, I guarantee that it will not! It needs to flow in order to say something. It is the flow that makes it work, that makes it speak and that can give the assessor a good idea of who you actually are. If your statement is clear and flows well then it will say so much bout you.

Flowing language denotes a conscientious individual who is capable of logical thought and reasoning. That person would not be impulsive but instead put his or her instincts to better use. He or she would also be capable of making sense of even the most complex of problems by simplifying them. Therefore, if you also make your language direct and straight to the point without adding floral extras that could most definitely be left out then you would also be honest and direct without being cutting. It would indicate that you do not procrastinate and are usually 100% focused on a task! You can see from the description of a specific style that you can say so much about yourself by simply implying it, thus leaving you more room to sell yourself in terms of your achievements!

It is well worth spending extra time on your personal statement, as you can see. If that is the most important part of your application, it could also feasibly win the assessors over, and that alone could ultimately win you a scholarship. You should put a little of yourself in there, but by tailoring your style, you can get yourself noticed in a positive way.

June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Scholarships and Grants

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The Search Engine And The Scholarship: An Unhealthy Relationship

The Internet search engine has revolutionized the way we search for information these days. No longer do we trawl through book after book, taking half an hour to find a simple fact and painstaking writing down everything else we discover along the way. Today, you can search with just one or two words and copy and paste the results onto a word document to refer back to later. The nature of the world is changing as a result of the technology that we have at our fingertips today, but that may not be a good thing in certain ways. So Internet search engines are fantastic for looking information up when you need it then and there, but not so much if you are looking for a specific piece of information that you need virtually immediately!

If you are looking for scholarship information online to help you to find awards that you apply for, or information concerning general scholarships so that you can learn more before applying, then you will soon come to regard the search engine as your worst enemy. In terms of quality material, it will barely turn up any with various keywords inputted into the search field, and refining your search will bring back more obscure results that you had previously. Search engines like Google and Yahoo respond to keywords, but yet very few educational websites have keywords laced in the text and this makes them difficult to find. Instead, every article that even mentions a scholarship is keyword optimised and consequently turns up at the top of the results list. Those articles are actually of little or no help to you!

Keyword optimised articles may not yield any helpful data and information because they are simply designed to draw more individuals to the website in question, and usually for money making purposes. There are some little gems out there, though it becomes increasingly hard to find them as the days go on! In truth, they could actually direct you to a more comprehensive site that could act as a guide but very few do.

The keyword articles that can be found on the Internet that regard scholarships and grants should not be taken as gospel if they do offer you information because it may not be accurate. There are some well researched and thoughtful articles out there, but it is always better to back them up with a reliable source before acting upon their advice. In fact, as far as academic funding and applications for it are concerned, it would be advisable to find helpful hints and tips in a couple of articles before actually acting upon them. This is your future ad one mistake could render the heart and soul that you poured into the application useless.

Unfortunately, you may actually need a printed guide or a website address given to you from a careers or guidance counsellor to find the information you need. When you do get to the correct website then there will be more than enough information for you to be able to use there. Some printed information is available on certain websites too and can be downloaded. Most downloadable material will actually be the official guides of certain educational bodies and can thus be trusted. There may be a guide on the website of the school that you want to go to, and that would be a very trustworthy source indeed, but if not they will be able to refer you on so you can get the help that you need.

Although this sounds like very surprising information and is easy to disregard, it is perhaps the best advice anyone could give on scholarships, grants and other opportunities because it puts the ball firmly back in your court. Applying for a scholarship or grant should be all about you, and only about you. There is enough pressure to make a successful application, without having several sources of information telling you completely different things.

June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Scholarships and Grants