Do you know that 90% of scholarship applications receive a rejection in the first 30 seconds after they are opened? Those applications usually not even read by a scholarship judge because they are normally open by an administrative assistant and she will compare those applications with a checklist to determine which applications get tossed and which ones go to the scholarship committee. If you want your application to pass this initial screening and goes to the scholarship committee for review, you must avoid the common mistakes that most of your peers will make.
Mistake # 1: Missing the application deadline
All applications arrive after the deadline will automatically be rejected. In fact, some scholarship programs will stop accepting applications even before the published deadline if they already receive too many applications. Hence, you better send your application as early as possible so that you have the best chance of winning.
Mistake # 2: Not meeting the eligibility requirements
Every scholarship has it own eligibility requirements. Many applicants submit their application without fine read the eligibility requirements and fail to fulfill the requirement. The person who initially screens scholarships applications will check that each applicant meets every requirement. Only those applications that meet all the requirements will go to scholarship judges for further review.
It's crucial that you spend your time to review each and every eligibility requirements and make sure you are able to fulfill those requirements. If you are not qualified based eligibility requirements, don't even waste your time to submit your application because your application will be rejected. Only apply scholarships which you are qualified for.
Mistake # 3: Not follow the application instruction
The screener will check that you followed all of the application instructions exactly and your application is complete. If application requests an essay, a letter of recommendation, two names for references and a photograph, all of those items had better be in your packet, or your application will wind up in the rejection bin. You must also answer all the compulsory questions in the applications. If you have to write "not applicable" in an application blank, then you probably are not a good candidate for that scholarship.
Mistake # 4: Wrong spellings and incorrect grammars
The above 3 mistakes will stop your application at the screening stage. Avoiding the above 3 mistakes will help your application to reach the scholarship judges, but you need to aware that other than yours, the judges have many other applications that awaiting their review, they will look for way to make that pile smaller. Even one spelling or punctuation mistake can earn your application a rejection. Hence, before you put your scholarship application in the mail, double check for any spelling or grammar error, ask your friends or family members to help you to recheck if possible.
Summary
You have no control over whom the scholarship committee chooses to award the scholarship. What you can do is make your application the best case for yourself as possible by submitting a professional-looking application package with an original essay and impressive letters of recommendation.
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