Etiquette and the Scholarship Search
Today searching for scholarships is easy for students—the internet has made it so.
With scholarship databases containing millions of dollars in financial assistance
at your finger tips, like Scholarships.com, you can literally earn a scholarship
from a business or organization with which you have no affiliation. Getting out
of the car, opening the door, and walking in to the scholarship provider’s office
to pick up an application is a method of the past because of the effort and time
it involves.
Scholarship providers want thousands of students to have a chance at
earning their scholarship, and so many choose to list their awards in databases
like Scholarships.com to make their gifts available. Most have even gone so far
as to encourage students to apply online. When you are applying for a scholarship,
consider the things that the scholarship provider has already
done to make the process easy for you and show your appreciation accordingly. Think
about it- they haven’t even determined that you will be the recipient, and yet they
have stretched to extraordinary lengths to make the chance at financial assistance
easy for you to take.
When requesting information about a scholarship:
- Write a letter expressing your interest in the scholarship and request an application
if the application is not available online.
- Look for answers to your questions about the scholarship online before making a
phone call or sending an e-mail. Take the initiative to find the information in
the materials they have made available to you because usually it is actually there.
- If the scholarship is discontinued, do not write unreasonable e-mails or letters
expressing your contempt for the removal of the award. Scholarships are gifts and,
as such, nobody owes you one. Move on to another scholarship and apply elsewhere.
- If you place a phone call to the organization, be patient, polite, and appreciative
even if you are just requesting certain information about the scholarship. Thank
them for offering the award.
When submitting an application:
- Follow the guidelines for submission that the scholarship provider has given you
exactly. They’re considering giving you free money, comply with their instructions
and pay attention to detail.
- Include a cover letter if the application is submitted by mail, unless the scholarship
provider specifically requests that you don’t. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope
with the correct amount of postage.
- Proofread any materials that are submitted along with your application and take
any essays seriously. There is nothing that puts off a scholarship provider like
an apathetic student applying for free donations.
When you receive the award: Send a hand-written note thanking the
scholarship provider. This is very important. Too often, as soon as the cash is
in hand, students forget to acknowledge who gave it to them - please don’t let this
happen. Scholarship providers are anxious to hear from you and excited that they
are helping you attend college. The silence that falls when they hear nothing from
a recipient after they have cut them a check for several thousand dollars is disheartening
to say the least.
One year after you receive the award: Say thank you one final time
if the award is not renewable. Write your scholarship provider and tell them about
what their award has helped you accomplish in the past year, even if the award was
small. Such a gesture will be greatly appreciated. If your scholarship is renewable
you should still express your gratitude for their continued support and give them
an update about your academic progress.
Thank you in advance for using proper scholarship etiquette. By doing so, you will
help ensure that scholarship providers will continue to reward deserving students
in the future and help another student like yourself attend college.