Applying for External Scholarships

There are many different types of financial aid out there, and among the most popular, and understandably so, are scholarships. If you're on the How to Apply page, you're obviously interested in all the nitty-gritty of applying for scholarships. In deciding that you're going to apply for scholarships, you are committing yourself to a time-consuming but beneficial process. Aside from the obvious financial payoff, applying for scholarships allows you to discover a little bit more about yourself and just why you're so unique.

The following information will make you aware of the things you can do to increase your eligibility, competitiveness, and individuality when applying while still allowing you to participate in activities you enjoy. It will also help you identify campus resources that will help you along the way and give you tips on locating and applying for external scholarships.

Contents
What do selection committees look for?
How do I get involved?
How do I find external scholarships
How do I apply for external scholarships?
Are there resources to help me?

What do selection committees look for?

Most scholarship selection committees look to reward well-rounded, active, and accomplished students, particularly in the following areas:

• Academics: Almost all scholarships involve some kind of academic component. Since you're attending an institute of higher learning, they want to ensure that you're dedicated to academic studies. Some things they consider include GPA (both cumulative and within your major), breadth of classes taken, involvement in your department, research & publishing activities, and awards & honors.
• Leadership: This criterion is broadly defined and can include anything from being a student government officer to writing for the student newspaper. With this requirement, committees are looking for motivation, independence, and the ability to complete projects & lead your fellow students. Breadth also counts here, particularly in the ability to work effectively with different groups of people including students, faculty, and administrators.
• Work Experience: Many committees want to see how you apply your skills in the day-to-day work world. You certainly don't have to be the manager of your local bank to qualify; instead, committees look to see how you're preparing yourself for the future, whether you're interning at a nonprofit or bagging groceries at your local market. In addition, this requirement can be absolutely pivotal for field- or career-specific scholarships for which you might apply during your junior and senior years.
• Service: In addition to paid work, it's important to volunteer in your community. Both public and community service are important to show that you're committed to civic involvement. This can be as simple as volunteering for a few hours a week at a retirement center. Because many civic organizations give scholarships, it's great to show that you're committed to similar ideals.
• Physical Fitness: Some scholarship committees demand well-rounded applicants, and this often includes fitness of body as well as mind. You don't have to be a star varsity athlete to fulfill this requirement. You can show that you take care of your body simply by running every day, biking to work, or joining an intramural basketball team.

Most scholarship committees are not looking for all of these requirements. Many are only looking for one or two, and by far the most common requirements are Academics, Leadership, and Work Experience. However, as a potential applicant, it's important to keep in mind how you fulfill each of these requirements.

How do I get involved?

Lewis & Clark has lots of ways to get involved, have fun, and make yourself more attractive to scholarship committees. Often, your campus involvement can distinguish you from those 40 other applicants for a scholarship. Our Getting Involved page lists many opportunities for you as well as contact information. You should also check out Student Activities for more information on the various student groups we have on campus.

How do I find external scholarships?

Now that you know what scholarship selection committees want and how to distinguish yourself from other applicants, you need to find some scholarships! Both the Internet and Lewis & Clark have many resources to help you with your search. Check out our Resources page for on-campus opportunities to help you find scholarships and our links to online search engines for Internet opportunities.

How do I apply for external scholarships?

There are many components to scholarship applications. Some of them are very simple, involving nothing but submitting a résumé, while others might be very long and involved processes including essays, lists of activities, and interviews. Here are just a few pointers that will help you through the application process.

• General: Scholarship committees look for specific individuals who represent the principles they think are important for success. It is good to be aware of your principles and to stand up for them. Scholarships are about selling yourself, so make sure that you don't underscore your accomplishments. Committees like a certain degree of bragging, after all, just not too much. Regarding committees, it's good to keep in mind who's on the selection committees. Doing this will help you avoid saying things that might challenge their political or religious sentiments and therefore disqualify yourself even if you're a strong candidate. It's important to remember that your current activities will help or hinder you in applying for scholarships later on. Preparing now will make it easier to apply later, and sometimes that may come down to sacrificing other things that you'd like to do. Chances are, however, that your sacrifice will eventually pay off . Also, be proactive. Search for opportunities to make yourself a better applicant. You could develop your own internship or offer to coordinate a large activity. Also, even if you think you're only barely eligible, apply! You may be the only person who was motivated enough to do so! And as a final note, not applying is the quickest way to close doors. It's much better to try and fail than to not to try at all. The path to scholarships is littered with rejection letters, but those shouldn't dishearten you to future possibilities.
• Essays and Written Applications: Most scholarships involve some sort of written portion, usually an essay. These essays are important because they communicate your values and opinions to committees and let them know what you think. Therefore, you should remember the general principles described above when writing these essays. It's important to consider why your view is unique. Often, these committees are reviewing over a hundred applicants, and the more you distinguish yourself in a positive manner, the better. And make sure that you answer the questions, even if you don't like them. A pet peeve of many committee members is when applicants don't answer the questions that were asked. Always type your application. While many scholarships do accept handwritten applications, typing them shows that you care about your application and put time into it. Keep grammar in mind, too. Committee members often list typos or grammatical errors as a surefire reason for rejection. Thus, always read over your essays several times and have other people proofread them. As a general principle, try to write actively. Using verbs such as "managed," "coordinated," or "facilitated" sounds much more impressive than saying you merely worked in an organization. Finally, make sure that you leave yourself enough time to write your essays. It's important to plan out what you're going to say and have time for feedback, and writing your essays the night before they're due often won't suffice. Some scholarship essays are extremely common, and it would save you time and effort to keep stock answers to these questions on file somewhere, or at least be aware of your answers to them so that you can just pull out those answers and adjust them to fit the scholarship for which you're applying. For your convenience, here are examples of some of these common essays:
  • Tell us about yourself.
  • What's your most significant (academic) achievement?
  • Who or what has influenced you the most and why?
  • What are your career (academic) goals?
  • How will this scholarship help you achieve your goals?
  • Why should we select you for this scholarship?
• Résumés & Lists of Activities: Many scholarships want a list of your activities, both on and off campus. This list is not only very useful for the committee, but you as well. Your list should include the name of each event, a comprehensive description of it, what you specifically did in it, when you started and ended doing it, and approximately how many hours per week it consumed. You may find it helpful to keep a long list of everything you ever did, a "long résumé," as some people call it. This comprehensive list should include everything that you've done in the past few years, and it's not only a great way for you to remember everything you did, but you can also select certain activities to highlight in your different applications. Your list should include leadership, service, work, athletics, awards & honors, internships, and work experience.
• Letters of Recommendation: One important consideration many students overlook when applying for scholarships is choosing the best people to write letters of recommendation. The people who recommend you paint a picture of you for selection committees, and you want to make sure that you're painting a positive, well-rounded portrait. While having people high in the College administration write your letters might look good, committees are really looking for people who know you well. For instance, even though you've spoken with the Dean of the College a couple of times, you might choose to have that adjunct professor who taught one of your classes write your letter instead if you worked together extensively on projects during class. Also, it's important to consider the scholarship's goals. If it's a physics scholarship, it will probably help you to get letters of recommendation from your physics professors rather than your philosophy professors. Also, if your scholarship has more of a leadership and extracurricular activity focus, a faculty member might not be the best choice. Instead, you might opt for that staff member with whom you worked on large projects. Finally, when asking people to write letters of recommendation for you, it helps to supply them with a résumé as well as some strong project or paper you might have done in their or another class. This will allow them to write more specifically about your skills and accomplishments.
• Interviews: Many larger scholarships include an interview to give committees a feeling for what you're like both on and off paper. This is an opportunity for you to show the passion you have for what you do and your desire to continue successfully. The first thing to keep in mind in an interview is neatness. Although this might seem unimportant, your appearance gives committees an impression of your degree of professionalism and how much you care about the scholarship. Therefore, make sure that you dress in semi-formal to formal business attire, even if it's not requested. Being prepared counts. Make sure that you're familiar with what you wrote in your application as you may be asked to elaborate on it. Interview questions vary widely, and some may be very general. Keep your answers succinct while still answering the questions. Interviews are only allotted for certain periods of time, and wordiness often doesn't help committees keep on schedule or your chances of receiving the scholarship. One thing that may help you is practicing interviews. Gather together a group of friends or faculty and have them give you a mock interview to prepare you for what's ahead and perhaps relieve a few of those jitters. And speaking of jitters, it's okay to be nervous; committees expect it.

Are there resources to help me?

Yes! Our campus is rich with resources to help potential scholarship applicants. Again, our Resources page lists many on-campus services that can help you, including ones for helping you apply for scholarships. They can help you with anything from the written application to interviewing to lists of actvities. Check it out!