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Focus on "Matching" Scholarships
You should focus on scholarships
where your qualifications match well with the scholarship guidelines
and intent of the scholarship sponsors. For example,
if a scholarship is offered for female high school seniors interested
in a career in medicine, you should apply if (1), you are a female
senior year student, (2) plan to take a pre-med curriculum in college,
(3) have excellent grades, (4) have extensive science and math courses
in your high school curriculum, and (5) have completed numerous hours
of service as a student volunteer in the medical field (such as a student
volunteer in a hospital). Your qualifications
and experience match so well with the guidelines and intent of the
scholarship that you should have a good chance of winning the award.
In
the scholarship example above, all female senior students are eligible
to apply. However, if your grades are mediocre, your high school
curriculum has limited science and math courses, and your activities
include no community service hours, it is not recommended that you
apply. The odds of winning
such a scholarship are poor because your competition (other student
applicants) will possess vastly superior qualifications. You
should focus on applying to scholarships that match your qualifications
and provide a reasonable chance of winning. |
