Nowadays, free online scholarship applications are popular and easily accessible. Instead of searching for them individually, you can view them all on one site. Big scholarship search sites have become more personal; you will be asked to provide information about yourself which the site uses to filter through the listings and provide you with the ones that are most relevant to you. For example, you may be asked to input your GPA, intended major, ethnicity, religious affiliation, club memberships, volunteer work and extracurricular activities. The site then takes your data and displays the scholarships that are a match to the criteria you gave.
You can navigate through the scholarships and immediately recognize the ones that suit you. The listings may be comprised of scholarships that are being offered by a specific college, a private organization, a corporation or the government to name a few. The site also provides the links to the scholarship applications so that you can find out the additional details. Although most of the applications are available online, that doesn't necessarily mean that it can be submitted online as well. You will be able to download or print out a copy of the application and the list of other materials that are needed, but afterward it's crucial to identify the submission procedure that goes with the particular scholarship. Perhaps you will be asked to fill it out and send it via postal mail or even fax. Some scholarship applications can be copied, downloaded or transferred into a text document. This allows you to fill in the required information on your computer and then email the completed application back to the email address that is provided to you.
Online scholarship applications may have specific eligibility requirements. The eligibility for the scholarships can be based on certain factors; such as a student's financial need, academic achievements, their intended major or area of interest and their athletic capability. Scholarship search sites might allow you to create a profile which gives you a personal account on their site. You can log into the account and see any new opportunities or listings and keep track of the ones that you have already applied for. Additionally, you can eliminate the ones that are not a match for you and organize the others into categories like your favorites and the date they are due.
It's important to remember that not every online scholarship application you encounter is worth applying for; in fact some can even turn out to be hoaxes.The Federal Trade Commission maintains a Scholarship Scams website that tries to help prevent students from falling prey to scholarship scams. The Scholarship Scams (US Federal Trade Commission) Site can be viewed at ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/scholarship/index.html.
When filling out a scholarship application, there are several tips to bear in mind. The first is to complete the application in its entirety and follow the specific instructions. For example, some of the scholarships may require you to submit materials like an essay or a project. Since the essay is a popular requirement, write one quality essay. This essay acts as a foundation of sorts, which can be tweaked to fit the specifics of other essays that may be required. If the assignment is to write an essay in 400 words are less, you want to adhere to that number. Sending them a 1,000 word essay is unnecessary and overboard.
Make sure that your whole application is legible and free of any spelling or grammatical errors. Double check it before you submit it and make a copy of all of the materials that you are sending (in case something gets lost and as proof). Below is a list of three scholarship search sites that are among the most comprehensive and beneficial.