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The Where and How of Scholarships

David Coven
Scholarship Junkies

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Scholarship Junkies is officially partnering with Me-2U, to bring access to opportunity to students everywhere. If you want to fund your passion and dreams, then come no further.

Where?

The most common question I get is, “WHERE ARE ALL OF THE SCHOLARSHIPS!?”

Searching for scholarships can feel like chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Elusive, time consuming, and fruitless. But I can assure you that the size of your pot of gold is determined by how much time and effort you put in. There are a ton of resources out there, and we at Scholarship Junkies are here to help you sort through it all. In essence we provide;

free one on one essay feedback and editing/revision for all scholarship and college essays.

How to use Scholarship Junkies

  • Submit your scholarship or personal statement essays
  • Your essay is then matched with one of our expert reviewers to provide the best feedback
  • Receive “play-by-play” editing, and revision
  • Receive essay within 72 hours
  • Re-submit essay for even more FREE feedback

We have a team of awesome people who read and provide first class support for each and every essay you submit. You can submit your essays by going to http://scholarshipjunkies.org/for-students/

So you know where to get help with your essays, now what?

The internet is chock full of great (and free!) scholarship databases, and at Scholarship Junkies, our goal is to complement the scholarship opportunities you find to help you become even more competitive an applicant.

With the multitude of online scholarship databases though, it’s important to beware of scholarship scams and websites that simply want to steal your personal information. As such, always remember: you should NEVER pay for a scholarship (i.e. fees for processing scholarship applications, etc.).

Highly Recommended Scholarship Search Resources

Our Scholarship Junkies around the country have used dozens of online scholarship websites, and here’s our collective list of the top 10 online scholarship resources (besides Scholarship Junkies, of course):

And because we’re from Washington, we have to throw some love to TheWashBoard, which is a huge scholarship hub only for Washington State students.

Another list I found that details a ton of scholarships, made by someone I wish I could give credit to can be found here

Undocumented students

If you’re searching for scholarship opportunities that do not require U.S. citizenship or a Social Security number, there are still resources to support you.

How do I write better?

Okay, now you know where to find scholarships, most of them will require you to write an essay, but how do you write competitive essays to stand out?

1. Plan. Plan. Plan.

Make sure you have a rough idea or outline of what you want to write about before you get going. You can list everything, draw a map, use a bubble map, or do whatever it is you do to get your ideas down. Just do something!

2. Write with your heart, edit with your mind.

Once you know where you’re going just start writing. One of the keys to success lies in inertia. The ability to keep going once you’ve started. Take 10 uninterrupted minutes and just write before you do any editing.

3. Don’t be a pillow or gingerbread cookie.

These essays are your time to shine so use the space you have to show the reader who you are. You don’t need extra fluff and filling. This doesn’t mean you can’t add in extra details, instead you should zoom in on moments to extract the richness of an event. On the contrary, it means don’t worry about padding or stuffing your essays to the point where you’re a pillow.

While gingerbread cookies are delicious, they’re all the same. Make sure you add in your unique details to make your story stand out.

4. Be Netflix.

Think about your favorite shows. Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy. The one thing they have in common is their compelling nature to keep viewers coming back. Now, you may have seen the story a 1000 different places, but you keep coming back for more. Because of the writing. Because of the dialogue. Because they hook you in from the beginning. Your favorite shows draw you in and never let go. They make you feel for the characters and they leave you wanting more. Write your story like your favorite show and capture your reader until the end.

5. Win the talent show.

If you’re applying to a scholarship, or writing a personal statement, it is often the only time your reviewer will ever meet you. You are also most likely competing against hundreds if not thousands of of other applicants. But just like a talent show, its all about presentation. You may have the coolest talent, or the most amazing story, but people won’t receive it well if you simply tell them that you’re the best. You must show them that you’re the best. Do this by describing your situation instead of simply stating it. You weren’t just anxious as you sat down, but rather that your arms began to shake as you shuffled to your seat.

6. Don’t give up.

You will get rejected from a scholarship, in all likelihood many scholarships. Use it. Grow from it. Failure allows you to push the bounds of your understanding. Leverage it to increase your capacity to do better next time. Failure is success in progress.

7. Ask for help.

If it was easy everyone would have a full ride, and programs like Scholarship Junkies wouldn’t exist. It is okay to be stumped. It is okay to not know something. It is not okay to let yourself stay stuck. With so many organizations and so much support out there, there is no reason you shouldn’t get your question answered. Teachers, counselors, parents, and even friends can all be amazing resources to get your questions answered. You can also use Scholarship Junkies! We just launched scholarshipjunkies.com, which is a questions and answers forum dedicated to the expansion of knowledge and education excellence. You can ask us ANY questions you have and we’ll make sure we find the right answers.

8. Be Lucky

Photo Credit Mackenzie Child | http://bit.ly/1zcknb0

Luck is when opportunity meets hard work. Create your own luck. Talent is nice, but hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Talent will get you to the door, but luck will give you the keys to open the door. You have to work three times as hard as the people around you. Eat, sleep, breathe, live, cry, and fight without ever taking your eyes off of the goal. There is no shortcut for hard work.

I don’t need to tell you why you should apply to scholarships—college is expensive. But scholarships allow you to take your future into your own hands. It will be hard, it will take time, and you will need help. And thats okay. Writing is a collective process that requires a deep understanding of who you are and how you want to communicate to your audience. You are working to convince whoever is reading your essay to invest in you.

Scholarships are an investment in your potential based on the things you’ve done, and what you are currently doing. So put your heart into your writing and show them why you should be invested in.

I personally applied to over 60 scholarships and won 12 of them totaling over $100,000 of financial support. That means I won only 20% or 1 out of every 5 scholarships I applied to. That also means I was told no 4 times for every yes. Scholarships are about the shots you take, and about picking yourself up so that you can try harder the next time.

Now what?

Now its time to start hunting, and we have the perfect place to start! Our partners over at Me-2U have launched campaign that offers a $2,222 no essay scholarship every month! Typically individuals get one one entry into the contest, but with scholarship junkies you can get 5. Here’s how:

With this make sure you follow your passion, ask questions, and most importantly get started. Good luck, and happy writing.

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David Coven
Scholarship Junkies

Written by David Coven

361 Followers
Editor for

Mechanical Engineer @UW | Scholarship Junkies Prez, Holla at me @mrcoven94