Although it is the most talked about process, applying for university isn’t the only thing students need to worry about. Students also need to think about how to apply to scholarships to help them pay for university. You can apply for scholarships from the school, government, nonprofit, and community organizations. A scholarship application is a form of “sales negotiation,” where the student presents their skills and qualities. For those who have never had to make these pitches before, they may be more familiar with the process than those who are trained negotiators. These tips, gathered from a top sales training program, will help you win scholarships regardless of whether you have professional negotiating training.
Offers on Other
Smart negotiators are skilled at comparing offers between parties in business negotiations to determine if they can match. This tactic is something business professionals often learn in negotiation workshops. You can use an offer from one school in order to increase your scholarship offer at another school. Because of the unique skills that students bring to the school, universities offer merit scholarships and/or athletic scholarships. It encourages you to show the school that you are interested in attending their school by demonstrating your support.
Spread Your Net Wide
When negotiating contracts, savvy business leaders will seek out offers from as many companies and as many people as they can. This principle should be used by students applying to universities and for scholarships. You can leverage a scholarship offer from one school to negotiate a better offer from a school. These offers can be leveraged by applying to multiple schools. You never know, your school choice might change if one or more universities make a great pitch to you!
Do Your Homework
There are many scholarships available beyond those offered by the school or the government. Many scholarships have specific requirements such as GPA, club involvement, future courses of study, and other criteria. It is not worth your time applying for a scholarship if you do not meet the requirements. You can search thousands of scholarship funds online using this free tool from the Department of Labor. Filter by keyword, amount, and deadline to find the one that suits you best. There are many scholarships with similar application processes. Once you’ve completed one, you can reuse the template for dozens more.
Sometimes smaller is better
Many small community funds and organizations offer scholarships to local residents in modest amounts. This scholarship is more likely to be awarded to you if you compete with a smaller number of applicants. Although the average award amount is between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars each, any amount will help. These scholarships are not insignificant, but they should not be overlooked. You can save a lot of money on your tuition by accumulating multiple scholarships.
Hard work pays off
Do not be afraid to apply for scholarships even if it is a lengthy and difficult process. You must be willing to put in the effort and time required to complete these lengthy applications. You will be amazed at the amount of students who quit simply because they couldn’t do the work. Your chances of winning that scholarship are much higher. You can also possibly workshop parts of these applications to make shorter and simpler applications in the future.
Avoid Common Essay Mistakes
Some applicants make common errors that could instantly disqualify their applications. Most applications are blindly read, meaning that they do not have any identifying or personal characteristics. This allows the judge to be objective. The whole application may be rejected if you include your name in it. Avoid cliches such as repeating the essay prompt or using boring, stale quotes. These are a turnoff for application graders, and will lower the quality of your application. It should also be obvious that you must answer each prompt completely and accurately.
Look Beyond Tuition
While scholarships are not eligible for tuition reimbursement, they can be used to offset housing or rent costs or cut down on other college expenses.
Find A Niche
Many scholarships funds are established by or in memory of people who want to foster a particular interest in young students. There could be a scholarship that suits your needs, from grants for gamers to players of rare instruments to grants for gamers.
Conclusion
Our tips for winning scholarships can help students to think of the application process as a business negotiation. You should not be afraid to use your creativity, make the most of your offers and show off the skills you have.
