Don't You Stop It...

Don't you stop looking for scholarships! The summer is possibly the best time to look for different opportunities. Many students are not concerned with searching and are more interested in preparing for school. So this is your time! Go to sites like www.fastweb.com to improve your search options.

When you find that scholarship you would like to apply to, shoot me an email (askjameelah@gmail.com) with your essay attached and I'll proof it for you. Please give me ample time to read over it (like at least three weeks) as I can be busy from time to time.

Time Is On My Side

I apologize for not updating in so long. Life has been keeping me away! It is reaching graduation time, and the last thing on your mind is yet another application but now is the time! You can still apply for scholarships out there, though they may not be substantial amounts, every little bit helps and adds up. In fact, it is a great time to look for scholarships because many people have stopped their search and are focused on other things. Not as much competition means you have a better chance of winning!

*Reminder* Please feel free to send your essays to askjameelah@gmail.com! (Look at the first blog entry for details).

What's the key to winning a scholarship?

While there is no guaranteed way to winning a scholarship, there is a general set of guidelines to follow. I will go into this more in depth in a later post but, first and foremost, know what you're applying to and who your audience is. Much like in an English Composition class, you have to know who you're talking to in your essays. Knowing this will allow you to cater your writing style to what the judges are interested in hearing about.

Paper Apps to Bad Raps

Let me drop some knowledge on you guys regarding paper applications. Let's start at the top...the mail. Please know how to send snail mail. What is snail mail? Back in the day, when e-mail wasn't as easily accessible, people would send letters using the U.S. Postal Services. It would generally require a stamp (or some form of postage) and an envelope. Believe it or not, some kids don't know this. Anywaaaay, it appears that some students (and parents) believe that their applications are coveted items and people are out to steal them, so simply placing their apps in an envelope won't suffice. Instead, envelopes are then wrapped up in yards of tape and stuffed into yet another envelope supplied by the post office. Although you may not want someone other than the intended party to read your essay, remember that the intended party has to actually...ya know...be able to get to your app. Don't make it hard for them to do so, it becomes very frustrating to have to break out the chainsaw to open an envelope.

And another tidbit of information for you...please keep all of the components of your application together somehow (a paper clip would be the best bet). You don't want someone to open the envelope and have papers spilling out all over the place.

Presentation is 9/10 of the work

We live in a paper-less age, the increased usage of cell phones, laptops, and computer tablets (better known as "the iPad") has created an absence of the need of paper and, subsequently, handwriting. While many scholarship applications allow (and prefer) the ease of an online process, there are enough others that still like to do it "old school" by requesting a paper application. That is where the topic of this post comes in...present your paper well!

There is nothing worse than a great application with a poor presentation. You need to show that your application is important to you, that way those reading it will appreciate it, too. Coffee/food/foreign stains, tears, sticky substances, and anything else you would be weary about having done to your phone should be kept off your app. It looks like you don't care that much about your application when it looks messy.

So, print a couple copies of the application, that way, if you mess one up, you can begin on another. And for those environmentally savvy, do a rough draft on your computer and then just copy it onto the paper printout you have. In this manner, you will have a record of what you submitted.

Everybody Plays the Fool...Sometimes

Mistakes:
Anyone heard of homonyms? I'll be talking about something similar. Be careful using words/phrases which sound like other words/phrases. Some common ones I've seen: should/could of as should/could have, since versus sense, your/you're, and their/there/they're. The last two are TOO common (exchanging "two" for "too" is one as well). Mistakes such as the ones listed above can be avoided easily by having someone else read over your writing or just knowing what to look for when proofreading your work. Don't rush it, if you're going over your work too fast, you will miss it.

Theirs nothing worst then not knowing win two use witch word wear. <- point maid. Even for a person not overly concerned with correct grammar/spelling, that sentence is painful to read. I recently went to a career workshop and a recruiter made it known that if she sees an error, she stops reading and deletes the e-mail. Now, some people are not that strict, especially for maybe a typo, but obvious mistakes are not often overlooked. Take the time to give your writing a once-over to prevent this from happening.

Money, money, money

The time is here (well, it has been for some time) for scholarship applications. I realize that many of you have already applied to and/or been accepted to the colleges/universities of your choice, so now the question is...how will I pay for this? While loans are an almost automatic consideration, I challenge you to say to yourself, "I am determined to not take out ANY loans." Um...yea...right. I'm being so serious right now, even though you probably don't believe me. That is what I told myself (I actually said, "I will not have loans," but you get the point). If you believe this and work towards it, it is VERY possible.

I'm thinking about revamping the blog so look forward to new additions like: common mistakes students (and people in general) make when writing formal essays/papers/documents, question of the week, scholarship posts/deadlines, tips, and more.

Don't forget to send those essays in! Ways to get in contact with me:
askjameelah@gmail.com
www.twitter.com/askjameelah
www.facebook.com/jameelah.johnson