Scholarship Application Deadlines
Deadlines and due dates are sources of stress for almost everyone on the planet,
and this stress is only made worse when there’s money on the line. You’re busy enough
during the school year, and successfully applying for scholarships and meeting scholarship application deadlines can seem
an impossible task. However, with the right strategy, you can stay on track and
easily meet scholarship application deadlines.
Start Early
Search for available scholarships
around the beginning of your senior year of high school, if not sooner. If you’re
already in college and looking for scholarships for the next academic year, you
will still want to kick things off in the early fall. Most scholarship application
deadlines fall between October and March, a time when students tend to have the
most on their plates academically. New scholarship information might not be posted for every award when you search, but you
will get a good idea of which scholarship opportunities
you will want to pursue, as well as when their application deadlines are. Even if
this year’s contest information is not yet available, scholarship application deadlines
tend to fall around the same time each year and the application requirements also
tend to be similar from year-to-year. For example, a
scholarship essay contest might change prompts from year to year, but the
scholarship provider is unlikely to significantly alter requirements for word counts
or supporting materials.
Make a Plan
Figure out which scholarship awards you plan
to apply for and around when the contests close. Check those deadlines against other
deadlines you need to meet (tests, major assignments, academic or athletic competitions,
etc.) then form a plan for how to get everything done. If you realize that you have
three final tests the same week that all of your scholarship applications are due
then you know that you’ll need to be writing scholarship
essays well in advance of the deadlines.
Once you have a plan, you’ll know which scholarship applications you need to work on at which points in the year, and you’ll
also have time to gather supporting materials. Do you need three
letters of recommendation by December 1? Will you need to submit 8 copies
of your high school transcripts at various points in February? Does a scholarship
you’re applying for in March require a copy of your great-grandpa’s discharge papers
from World War I? The sooner you know these things, the sooner you can find them.
Helping your mom figure out where great-grandpa’s war memorabilia could actually
be fun if you don’t have to get it to the copy shop and the post office before 5
PM that day.
Know Yourself
Perhaps the best advice for meeting scholarship application deadlines is to be honest
with yourself about what you’re likely to finish and how long it’s likely to take
you. If you know that you’re not going to be able to
write a scholarship-worthy essay in less than a day, then you know to either
give yourself more time to prepare a particular scholarship application or to cross
that essay scholarship off your list of potential
sources of scholarship money. The key to effectively
meeting scholarship application deadlines and winning
scholarships is to effectively prioritize your scholarship opportunities
and application efforts. Don’t strain yourself, don’t procrastinate, and don’t force
yourself into a situation where you must submit sub par work. Give yourself time,
get organized, and prepare as much as possible beforehand, and you will be on your
way to creating success in your scholarship search.