Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Deadlines Are Approaching--Start a Scholarship Calendar

Start a Scholarship Calendar

If you have a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, you can often get templates for calendars, which you can then print out.

Another resource for calendars is Printfree.com (http://www.printfree.com). Here is the direct link for calenders: http://www.printfree.com/Calendars.htm.

Basically, start putting due dates of scholarships on this calendar. Also put dates of when the FAFSA is due, as well as early admission deadlines for colleges you would like to attend.

Look through all the entries on the Scholarshipman blog and put the dates to scholarships you would like to apply for on your calendar.

Here are some coming up deadlines:

1. http://scholarshipman.blogspot.com/2009/02/march-16-2009-deadline-for-more-than-60.html

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee—up to 60 scholarships, Deadline: March 16, 2009

2. http://www.scholarshipworkshop.com/highschool.html

Here is a list of scholarships and opportunities for high school students. Even if several of these award dates have passed, you can review the material and plan for next year.

For example, notice the deadline for Coca-Cola Scholarships is October 31 of your senior year. You can read and start planning for this, even as a sophomore.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards makes material available on its web site in September, the deadline being the last weekday in October. You can still read the material ahead of time and plan ahead.

The Yoshima Award is expanding its program, making its new material available in 2010. You can read ahead, seeing what you need to do to be nominated. Funds do not have to go toward college tuition.

3. http://scholarshipman.blogspot.com/2009/02/two-essay-competitions-let-words-lead.html

Writing Rewards Competition—only open to students in a developmental writing class, Deadline: May 31, 2009

SuperCollege Essay—Deadline: July 31, 2009

4. http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/apply.htx

ScholarshipExperts.com is noted by Forbes to be one of the best scholarship search engines. ScholarshipExperts.com will sponsor six scholarship programs in 2009, and they will award $30,000 in free scholarship money.

Some of these scholarships require a 250 word essay, and "US students who are 13 and up may be eligible to compete for these scholarships--high school students, college undergrads, grad school students, and adult learners are all invited to apply!"

The first competition is March 31 and requires a 250 word essay ($1000).

The second competition is April 30, requires you complete an online scholarship profile at scholarshipexperts.com, and write a 250 word essay on how $5,000 for education will make a difference in your life.

These both may take you up to 2 hours each, and the payoff is fantastic!

Break completing these scholarships into smaller steps.

For example, for the March 31 competition, you might break this down into these steps:

  • study web site, noting the rules and what you need to have to apply
  • create a profile at scholarshipexperts.com (required to submit essay)
  • spend 30 minutes making notes and writing response
  • look it over the next day
  • have an English instructor look it over and make suggestions
  • revise the essay
  • if I have time, let the same English instructor look it over
  • submit the essay online, double-spacing between paragraphs, paragraphs single space
You can then put these steps into your calender, making sure you follow through with the process.



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