The Ultimate Scholarship Application Guide
Filed In
- Resources
- Scholarships
Topics
- Scholarship Applications
Get ready to find and apply for scholarship funds with this guide.
Aspiring college students are in the middle of one of the busiest seasons of their lives; applying to schools, working through tough course loads, and transitioning from high schoolers to young adults. It’s a lot. And there’s no time to waste for those looking to find ways to help pay for their education.
When every deadline and every dollar counts, it’s critical to be as efficient and laser-focused as possible during the scholarship application process. Maximizing your effort and knowing where to focus can help increase your odds of receiving awards, which is the whole point!
We’re sharing our top tips for students to work smarter, not harder at searching for and applying to scholarships.
There’s a scholarship out there just for you.
We’re here to help you find it.
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Read directions thoroughly. Not following directions could disqualify your application.
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Be sure you do the work. Your scholarship application needs to be an authentic portrait of you. Using AI? It’s best as a thought partner or editor. You’re the best at telling your story.
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Set the scene. Even if you aren’t sure of what your major or career path will be, indicate your intentions and interests. Share your passions and important events in your life. It’s not just about your academics. Scholarship sponsors want to know what makes you “you.”
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Plan ahead. Track deadlines. Sign up for reminders.
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Prepare your recommenders. Provide your recommenders, usually teachers, coaches, or other leaders who have helped you learn and grow, with key information about your accomplishments and future plans and detailed directions for submitting their recommendation.
Solutions to Common Scholarship Application Struggles
Become a scholarship applicant pro with these tips.
There are 1.7 million private scholarships awarded every year, totaling more than $7 billion. This means there are plenty of awards that could be a good fit for you.
However, with so many scholarship options, it can be hard sifting through them all to find the most relevant opportunities.
At Scholarship America, we believe that every student is scholarship material. So here are our recommendations to ensure that you position yourself to win the scholarship you want.
Common Pitfall
Trying to apply to ALL the scholarships.
There are nearly two million scholarship opportunities out there, and there’s no way to apply to them all. That’s why being selective and applying to those that align best with your specific lived experiences, ambitions, strengths, and interests can help you stay as efficient and focused as possible.
Solution
Create your own unique scholarship strategy.
Not all scholarship opportunities (and applications) are created equal. Some offer huge paydays, but they are very competitive. Others may not cover your whole tuition, but they also may not have very many applicants. What’s most important is deciding which opportunities are best suited to your unique story, strengths and school(s) of choice. And remember; it’s better to apply to 10 scholarships that align with your specific strengths and situation vs applying to 100 random, not-really-for-you scholarships.
Your Scholarship Search
To make the best use of your time, try asking yourself these questions:
Advice from a Student
Once you find a solid scholarship opportunity, look deeper into that source to see if you can find more opportunities from the same or similar place. Once you create a profile on the Scholarship America Hub, you will see other scholarships that may be a good fit for you. So, follow that rabbit hole!
“It’s better to just ask questions, even though you might not have the little things figured out. Looking back, it’s really something that you can figure out with the help of others very easily. So just don’t don’t hesitate to ask questions.”
– Angel, Scholarship Recipient
Advice from a Scholarship Pro
Before you spend too much time on an application, it’s important to understand the eligibility requirements, timeline, and other criteria. Scholarship America works with small businesses, large corporations, foundations, trade associations, and nonprofits to create unique opportunities; so each scholarship has different selection criteria, eligibility requirements, deadlines, and more.
If you have any questions about a specific application, please click the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of the webpage. You can then send your question or message through the form. Our customer service support team is dedicated to helping you resolve issues and gain clarity. Plus, they have an average response rate of replying in 38 minutes during average business hours.
Common Pitfall
Having sporadic bursts of energy and giving up too quickly.
If we’ve seen it once, we’ve seen it a million times. Students start off with the best of intentions, making to-do lists and spreadsheets, but the research and effort gets overwhelming and their energy piddles out.
Solution
Find an accountability partner.
Loop in a friend who could also use some scholarship assistance to create shared accountability for this new side quest. Think of it like a study buddy or gym buddy; when you have someone to help keep you on-track, it’s easier to stay motivated and harder to flake. Not sure who to ask? There’s probably someone sitting 10 feet away from you right now who could use a scholarship too, so go ahead and ask them. Or if just reading that made you break out in hives, ask someone from an online community, like Reddit. So many students need extra financial support and are in the same boat as you.
Advice from a Student
Try to keep your eyes on the prize. Literally. While finding and applying to scholarships might be a lot of work in the short-term, earning scholarship dollars will reduce a ton of pressure later in your educational journey. Stick with it!
“It’s much easier to apply for scholarships than working minimum wage; I’ve done both. Just keep applying for scholarships and don’t, don’t give up if you’re not getting anything.”
– Angel, Scholarship Recipient
Advice from a Scholarship Pro
Set up a support system and divide your to-dos into smaller, more manageable steps to get you through the long-haul. It’s hard to stay motivated when there’s a delayed payoff, so find ways to stay the course and not get burnt out or discouraged. You got this.
Need help determining when you need to start? Check out this guide on the most important tasks by high school year.
Scholarship Search Breakdown by High School Year
Sophomore Year
Track application close dates.
Schedule time to work on scholarship applications leading up to those deadlines with specific deliverables.
Give advance notice (2-4 weeks) to anyone who is writing a recommendation for you.
Junior Year
Start searching for potential scholarships to apply for when you are eligible in your senior year. If there is an option to set up a profile or get reminders, do it.
Pare down colleges you plan to apply to.
Prepare general goals and/or overcoming obstacle essays you can tweak for different scholarship applications.
Senior Year
Explore job fields/careers.
Track application close dates. Schedule time to work on scholarship applications leading up to those deadlines with specific deliverables.
Give advance notice (2-4 weeks) to anyone who is writing a recommendation for you.
Bookmark these links!
These resources can help you find more scholarships or improve your application.
Tips for Applying to Scholarships
You’ve narrowed down the scholarships you’re applying for and have all your documents together. Now how do you keep working as efficiently as possible once you start clicking “submit?”
Common Pitfall
Doing lots of double work, getting disorganized, missing deadlines, and feeling overwhelmed.
Solution
Keep things simple: maintain one primary Google Doc or spreadsheet that holds all of your info and answers to key questions.
Then copy/paste as needed. Make sure it’s available on your phone and on your computer, so you can quickly add notes or ideas if/when inspiration strikes. Having trouble getting started? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Find and recycle from your previous essays or creative work from your college applications, classes or even journal entries or blog posts. And if you’re an early planner, you can look at the short-form questions Scholarship America asks you to submit, right here.
Advice from a Student
Starting a relationship with your college counselor might feel awkward at first, but it can really pay off. They offer a lot of great advice, and you can ask them to look through your essays or other materials. They are also really plugged into scholarship opportunities, so pay close attention to communications they send to your class or ask them about specific opportunities that might suit you.
Advice from a Scholarship Pro
Look for credible, trustworthy places where you can create one account and apply for multiple scholarships, like the Scholarship America Hub. Set up your account in advance. It takes 5 minutes to complete your profile, and then you’ll be ready to apply to other programs as they open up.
Pro Tips
Tell your story
Filter your search
Keep going
Other Reminders + Ideas
If you don’t adequately prepare, it’ll take you longer to finish your applications, so break down your big tasks into smaller to-dos. That way you’ll stay ahead of the game and avoid a breakdown the night before a deadline.
Things like submitting your official transcript, test scores, and letters of recommendation will take more time to assemble, so get going on those tasks early. When asking recommenders to write you a letter, be sure to provide them with key information about yourself and directions for submission. (Check out our Scholarship Application Checklist to stay on track.)
Save these documents in one folder or Google Drive so you can easily find it and upload it to the relevant applications.
We see lots of sloppy mistakes that happen when students are applying to too many scholarships, too quickly. Make sure you do a double and triple check for names of the scholarships or other specifics that might change based on the opportunity (try using ctrl + f on your keyboard). You can also check out Google’s find/replace document for instructions.
If you’re not finding enough opportunities that align with your specific situation, here are other places to look for scholarships
- Your local school district or high school
- You or your parents’ employer(s) and/or any membership organizations that you or they are affiliated with (examples: Kiwanis, American Legion, Masons, other clubs)
- Your prospective colleges; the colleges you are applying to often list internal and community scholarships
- Search engines like fastweb.com, cappex.com/scholarships and the scholly app may list other relevant scholarship opportunities
- Social media hashtags and scholarship accounts can also be a great way to find new opportunities
There are tons of ways to leverage the power of technology to help you stay organized and focused, like:
- Creating folders and saving links to specific applications in your browser or on your computer
- Setting deadline reminders and calendar alerts
- Turning off access to your phone or other apps if/when you need to focus
- Using project management software if that works for you (some examples are Trello, Monday.com, Asana, Basecamp)
- Using Grammarly or the Hemingway Editor to “read” through your essays and check for mistakes
"As students go through the scholarship process, having a readily available summary of all their responses, education information, and total financial picture is incredibly valuable. Registering for The Scholarship America Hub helps applicants and their families reduce redundancies and use their time as efficiently as possible." — Kalwis Lo, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Scholarship America
Remember what you’re doing this for and why. When you feel overwhelmed (which you inevitably will), try to remember what this is all for: minimizing future financial stress so you can focus on pursuing your education, passions and career. Don’t get discouraged. You can do this!
