There have been a lot of complaints about people not getting scholarships even though they applied for as many as possible. This week, we’ll be dedicating some of our posts to sharing tips on how to apply for scholarships and get accepted.
Let’s go…
10 Reasons Why Your Scholarship Application Was Rejected
Everyone wants to be awarded a scholarship. Even those who can afford the fees still apply for scholarships. Why? Besides financial aid, getting a scholarship is a recognition of your merit and achievements. It is something to be proud of, for sure. Besides, it will look great on your CV when you apply for an internship or job later on. Right?
Many people are surprised when someone with a less impressive list of achievements is called up for a scholarship interview or gets a scholarship offer. Although the scholarship selection process is quite subjective in some areas, there are some things you can (and should) do to make sure your scholarship application doesn’t end up rejected.
These tips may seem basic, but getting them right will help make sure your application gets off on the right foot (and into the ‘shortlist for interview’ pile). So, let’s look at 10 reasons why your scholarship could be rejected:
- You did not qualify under the terms of the scholarship.
Most scholarships specify the terms under which prospective candidates are eligible. This could concern the applicant’s age, academic achievement, area of study, level of study, and many other things. For instance, if the scholarship is offered only for courses in engineering, you can be your application will be rejected if you indicate your choice of degree as ‘Bachelor of Marketing Communications’.
- Your application was incomplete.
If you’ve applied for scholarships before, you’ll understand how lengthy some scholarship forms can be. Some applications request enough information for you to write an autobiography and these may seem tedious. But you have to make sure you provide all the info they want, and if for some reason you can’t, be sure to include a short explanation of why.
- You did not include a valid contact.
Make sure you give a phone number at which you can be contacted, and it must always be available. Some organizations may contact you via email, so make sure you check your email daily.
- You missed the deadline.
Many candidates start with great enthusiasm when filling out their application but they may get distracted along the way, or dawdle at the difficult parts where they need to write an essay. If you’re late, you’re out.
- You did not include enough postage.
If you’re sending out your application by mail, make sure you put the correct amount of postage on your envelope. Double-check to make sure the address is the right one too. If your application doesn’t reach them, you have zero chances of moving to the next stage.
- You submitted a dirty or torn application.
It sounds funny but it happens. In the process of compiling your application form, academic transcripts and other documents, who knows: you may have spilt coffee on them, sat on them, or even ripped them. If that happens, start over with clean crisp copies. There’s nothing that puts off a potential interviewer more than dirty, crumpled or torn applications
- Your application contained several spelling errors.
When you don’t stop long enough to correct the spelling mistakes in your application, you’re telling them that you don’t care all that much about whether you get the scholarship. So be sure to read it through to catch any typos. And while you’re at it, check the punctuation and grammar too. Get help if you think you need a second opinion.
- You copied your personal statement or essay from the Internet.
It’s too tempting sometimes…. There you are surfing the Internet to get ideas for your personal statement or essay and there in front of you lies a sample essay that fits you to a T. You may be thinking, “Should I use it? Oh, who would know?” If you’re copying essays from the Internet then most likely another student will be doing the same. Getting caught is risky and not worth it. Write your own – you’ll be glad you did. CareerEdu can help you with your personal statement. Do well to reach out.
- You submitted irrelevant or inappropriate supporting documents.
If the application requests only 3 types of documents, then please don’t supply 10! You don’t want to annoy the people in charge of vetting through applications. If they have to go through an entire stack of irrelevant documents to approve your application, chances are that they won’t.
- Your handwriting is illegible.
These days, most applications can be done online. And even if they need to be sent via mail, you can always complete your application on a computer and print it out. However, there will be instances where you’ll be requested to submit a handwritten essay. Or perhaps you have no option but to submit a handwritten application. In these situations, do make sure your writing is neat and legible. You don’t want them to get frustrated trying to decipher your writing.
If you want to boost your chances of success in your scholarship search, keep these tips in mind even though they may sound overly simple.
If you need help applying for your scholarships, our Admission team is ready to help you. Send us a message on our website.