The cost of higher education is so high that it creates a financial burden on the student and the student’s family. To rectify that burden, various scholarships are available but with different award money. The scholarships are awarded based on several criteria including academics, financial need, leadership qualities, extracurricular certification, and community involvement. If you want to secure a scholarship that offers more money, then you have to follow the strategic approach. Here, you will learn about all the actionable strategies that will help you in securing scholarships that offer more scholarship money.
How to Get More Scholarships Money?
To get more scholarship money, students have to adopt some strategies that directly help them in negotiating with the providers. Students can email the providers to ask for more money, attach a copy of offers that they receive from other schools, etc. So, let’s look into the strategies.
Strategies
- Broad Research: To attract more money from the scholarships, conduct broad research and find scholarships that meet your interests and goals. Your research must include all the details of the scholarships including amount, partial or full ride scholarship, requirements, eligibility criteria, renewal process, application deadline details, etc. You can use online platforms, university websites, local organizations, and expert advice to find scholarship programs.
- Plan Strategic Negotiation: When you are looking for extra money or additional scholarship, then structure your negotiation terms and conditions by taking enough time to research yourself. Try to focus on the things that you haven’t mentioned before or you have achieved recently such as any certification etc. These things will justify your value to the program and strengthen your profile. Let the institution know that you are very keen to be a part of their program or institution and how it will help add to your profile. Don’t forget to highlight your financial situation and try to include evidence that can support your financial problems because it could make a huge difference and allow you to be a part of their program.
- Adoption of Right Attitude: You should start your conversation with a polite tone whether it is through emails or direct interaction. There are a lot of highly qualified and well-deserving candidates applied for the scholarship which reduces your chances of getting selected. So, be professional and respectful, and don’t use any arrogant statements. Your tone will describe your attitude and approach towards the program and decisions.
- Maintain Strong Academics: Academic factors impact the whole decision of the scholarship. If you have strong academics, then you can compete with others. You have to maintain a high GPA to align with the requirements of the scholarship. Also, try to score good marks on standardized tests like SAT and ACT because it will enhance the chances of securing merit-based scholarships with more amount.
- Showcase Your Talents: If you have any specific talent that you haven’t mentioned at the time of application, then highlight that as it may impact positively on your scholarship amount decision. The skills include community services, sports, responsibilities, commitment, specific achievement, leadership, etc.
- Strong Letters of Recommendation: Students have to seek a letter of recommendation from a person who can speak about his achievements, abilities, and character. The recommender could be your mentor, senior, teacher, or an authorized person. The individual should provide examples that support your commands because the models directly impact the decisions of the scholarship providers.
- Prepare Specific Applications: Prepare applications according to the specific requirements and criteria of the scholarship, avoid submitting the same generic application for all the scholarships. Highlight all the achievements, experiences, and certifications as per the requirement.
- Apply Early: If you apply earlier, it increases the chances of getting a scholarship, and you can negotiate for the amount with ease. On the other hand, if you apply late, the chances of getting the scholarship are low because already a lot of applications are there to consider and each school offers a certain number of scholarships.
- Follow up: If you haven’t received any response from the providers in a reasonable time frame, then give them a gentle reminder and ask them about the update. Don’t overdo it by continuously disturbing them. Sometimes, the admitted students don’t accept the offers and in this case, you are lucky enough because your chances of getting additional funding may increase.
- Stay Persistent: The process of the scholarships is very competitive and if you face rejection in any of the scholarships at any institution, then don’t discourage yourself. Use that discouragement as your motivation and start applying for other scholarships that offer you extra money with modified applications.
- Attend Scholarship Workshops and Seminars: To get a proper insight into the scholarship application process and requirements, attend institution-specific workshops and seminars. It provides you the valuable tips and tricks that help you in the application and negotiation for the extra money.
- Show Gratitude: Don’t forget to express gratitude for the scholarship to the institution, Thanks a lot for considering my application and for offering me the scholarship. Send them a thank you note and end the conversation on a positive note even if you are not getting a good amount of scholarship. It helps you in the future as you may get other opportunities from the same institution.
- Proofread your Application: Before applying and before negotiating for the extra money, proofread your application as it helps you find grammatical errors and other mistakes. Proofreading can be performed by experts, teachers, and seniors. The individuals who have specified degrees and can find errors are suitable for proofreading.
Therefore, these are the points that will help you in getting more scholarship money. You can use these strategies to ask for more money and you can negotiate with the providers with ease.
Conclusion
Students can secure more scholarship money by applying and negotiating strategically. They have to use a proactive approach that will help them conduct thorough research through which they can make their applications effective. Students have to mention all their accomplishments and achievements with evidence as providers analyze all the details first and then make decisions. By showing your strengths, unique talents, and other skills, you can contribute to society and the institution’s growth. You should use a polite tone while communicating with the providers whether by email or face-to-face as it describes your attitude. If your attitude is positive, your chances of securing scholarship opportunities will be maximized.