Scholarship Tips

Winning a scholarship to study locally or abroad has never been very easy. It even gets tougher when the scholarships at hand are full scholarships. Even partial scholarships are very competitive. Who wouldn't want some free bucks ?

Full scholarships are special scholarships which cover the costs of tuition, accommodation, text books, trips, flights to and fro and many more. Partial scholarships on the other hand are offered to help reduced the cost of your studies. They may come in various forms. Some are offered to cover only tuition fees. Whichever scholarship you are applying for would definitely be very competitive so lots of work would be required for you to win the scholarship.

Below, you would find some few tips you can apply to help increase your chances of winning the scholarship.

• As many students grow up with the ideology that scholarships are provided to only "big brained people", many scholarships which could have been won just slips away. Prestigious colleges in the world do not only award scholarships to exceptionally intelligent people, but to other people with other artistic or athletic qualities. This ensures that the school would have a heterogeneous environment with people of all qualities. In most "IVY LEAQUE" colleges which are the dreams of every student, scholarships are awarded to athletes with exceptional athletic skills like running, swimming,basketball, football etc.

• Certificates are really important!!! You may think of them as worthless in High School but upon completion of High School, you would realize that it would have been a good decision if you had taken activities with certificates seriously. These certificates can be obtained by taking certain positions in academics (by joining quizzes, debates, seminars), in sports (football team, basketball team), etc. Doing so would send a good subtle information to admission .

• Always try to get into leadership positions. Getting a leadership role is quite simple. It could be as a class secretary if in High school, or as a choir leader if in a choir, or a captain if in a football team. You can also go for a role as a cadet officer if in the cadet. All these roles earn special certificates which can be used in the future for scholarship applications.

• Participate in communal activities like doing free and voluntary community services. Some communities even award students scholarships to community colleges based on the participation in communal activities.

• Always try to have a good personal relationship with your teachers. In applying for a scholarship, most institutions request for a recommendation letter from your teachers, head master/mistress, or any member of staff in your school. If would then be easier to approach your teachers for a letter of recommendation. Your teachers would also be very kind in writing a good letter of recommendation if they have a personal relationship with you. You can get into a friendly relationship by doing favours for your teachers.

• Most important of them all is to work towards getting good grades. To many admission officers, good grades speak more on any applicants behalf. Try to always improve your academic performance in order to get it easier when applying for scholarships. Always remember that you are not the only one applying for the scholarship.