Be informed when to pick up the phone or schedule a meeting

Yes, emails are a quick way of communicating with scholarship sponsors and financial aid advisors or counselors. But in any case, you should never underestimate the value of a phone call or a meeting. You should know when it is important to pick up the phone and make a call.

Make your email clear and precise

It is very obvious that admission counselors, financial aid officers and scholarship sponsors receive hordes of emails. Therefore, remember to keep your email short and to the point. Divide it into short paragraphs and place the most important information in the first and second paragraphs. Do not write an email which is more than half a page. Make the emails as much readable as possible.

A 'cute' email addres is a complete no-no for important emails

Email addresses like 'findouter07@aol.com' are unprofessional. Informal emial addresses like these mar the gravity of the formal emails you are writing. Use professional looking email address like jamestomerson@aol.com. If you don't have one like this, create and new account and use it in formal and officials emails.

Follow a professional format

Do not use colored fonts, unusual fonts and formatted backgrounds in an official email. You may think that the unusual font style and formatted background will make your email stand out from others. But that is not OK with formal emails. Keep the font and formatting simple which is acceptable in formal writing.

Do not leave the subject line blank

The subject line plays a crucial role when writing formal emails. So, do not leave it blank or type a few words casually. In fact, you should choose a subject line which reflects the actual message that you want to convey to the reader. It is the very first impression of your email and should be very clear and precise.

Avoid abbreviations and emoticons

When you are writing an official or a formal email, do not use informal abbreviations like LOL, FYI and emoticons like :). These abbreviations may just be good when you are writing to a friend. But, they should be a complete no-no, when it comes to writing emails to scholarship sponsors, admission counselors etc.

Do not type in capital letters

By writing your email in all caps, you are never going to make a good impression on scholaship sponsors or the reader to who you are writing officially. In fact, writing in capital letters implies that you are shouting which may just lose the interest of readers. Apart from that, emails types in all caps also are harder to read. So, even if you want to attract the reader's attention towards a specific point, do not use caps. Instead, just make those fonts bold while writing them in small letters.

Financial Need

There are many scholarships where they select deserving candidates by asking questions prepared to validate the financial need. These programs target students who are really having trouble to pay for college. A detailed and personal account of your financial need is required to verify that you are actually in need of college money.



Questions may include :



What impact the scholarship is going to make on your education?
Write about any personal or family circumstances that affect your need for financial support.
How have you been supporting your college education expenses?



Apart from all these questions, scholarship committees and sponsors may also ask a couple of random questions to test your innovativeness and check out the sense of your personality. Now that you have known about the common essay questions and how to handle them, you can prepare yourself for the best. Do some brainstorming on writing scholarship essays and you can be a scholarship winner.

Future Plans & Goals

A candidate's vision and their motivation is also an important part of winning a scholarship. So, scholarship sponsors, judges and committees may also ask you to write about your aspirations and goals in the scholarship essay.



Questions may include :



Describe in brief about your short-term and long-term goals.
Where do you see yourself 10 years down the line?
How does the college education help shape your career?

Background & Influences

Some of the scholarships will ask you about your background - where you have been and where you come from. The committees may ask you to write about your background details and personal influences.



Questions may include :



Pick an experience from your life and its influence on your development.
Who, according to you, has influenced your life the most?
How does your family background relate to the world?
What has been the contribution of your education to what you are today?

Personal Achievements

Scholarship sponsors and judges like to reward candidates with personal achievements. So, you may be asked to brag about your achievements and accomplishments.



Questions may include :



Describe your leadership qualities both in and out of school.
Give an attribute or accomplishment that sets you apart from other scholarship candidates.
How do your most meaningful achievements relate to your field of study?
Why should you deserve this scholarship award?

Current Events & Social Issues

Scholarship sponsors and judges prefer candidates who keep themselves abreast of the current events and issues that a society may face. These questions are prepared to test your problem solving skills as well as to know how active you are in terms of social problems and issues.



Questions may include :


Which societal problem, according to you, is the most important?
Given a chance, what would you do to make a positive change to your school?
Pick a controversial college campus issue and provide a solution to the same.
What threatens today's environment the most?

Your Field of Specialization & Academic Plans

Some of the scholarship application questions are asked to find out how well you know about your field of study. Candidates need to answer the questions telling why they have the interest to pursue a particular specialization area of study.



Questions may include :



How are you going to contribute to your career plans by pursuing a major or field of study you have chosen to pursue?
Why have you chosen to become --------?
What role your selected major has to play in today's society?
Where will your selected industry lead 10 years down the line?

Make it easy

Remember people who are writing a scholarship letter of recommendation for you are actually doing you a favor. So, it is your responsibility that you give them ample time to get the best letter written. It is always advisable to give notice to the recommender three weeks in advance. Always make a formal request to the recommender you have picked. Remember to supply your recommender detailed information about yourself, your achievements and your career goals. The information your provide to the recommendation letter writer should include your complete contact information, information required for the application, full title and description of the scholarship award, a copy of your completed scholarship application, your resume, information about your achievements etc.



If you think your recommender has forgotten to write the scholarship recommendation letter you request, remind them of the same gracefully. A good way to remind the person is to ask whether they need some more information about your career goals and past achievements. And after the recommender has written a good letter for you, do not forget to send them a thank-you note for their valuable time and effort.



If you are able to keep all these points in mind, you are definitely going to have a great letter of recommendation written. A great letter recommending you can really make a huge difference by making you a deserving candidate for winning scholarship awards.

When to ask for a recommendation letter

Do not only get recommendation letter when you actually need them. These letters are require while applying at a college or for scholarship programs and the like. However, you should be smart enough to plan for these things in advance. It is a good idea to compile a file of letters as you keep getting them, rather than getting them written at a time when you need them. If you wait for the right time and do not receive a letter from the recommender when you had the opportunity, you may also run the risk of losing it. Because, after two or three years, the professor may just forget you.

Who should recommend you for scholarship?

It is quite obvious that your best recommendation from people who have known you closely. People who have worked with you and are aware of your career plans and goals can write the best letter of recommendation for you. Not only teachers and professors who have taught and known you for long, but there are a number of other people who can recommend you in the best possible ways. Employers, community leaders, clergy members and coaches are also excellent resource for getting written the scholarship recommendation letter.



For writing the letter, do not just pick anyone. Select the person wisely keeping in mind the scholarship award special criteria and the sponsor's specific interests. A letter of recommendation by the director of the homeless shelter you are volunteering at can be a good idea, if you are applying for a community service group scholarship award.



Another important thing to note is that the letter writer can actually write well. A professional may have spent long time with you and may know you and your goals quite well. But, at the same time, they should also be able to write a really good letter of recommendation. If you think they are unable to write the letter well and with enthusiasm, you should probably turn to someone else.

Continuing Receiving Federal Student Financial Aid

To be able to continue getting the federal student aid, students also need to abide by federal laws. According to the federal laws, the scholarship receiving candidate should keep on making satisfactory academic progress (SAP). The point is that if the student fails to male progress consistently, the taxpayer money used to fund the student college education is simply wasted. Therefore, students need to score at least a C average (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) to be able to continue receiving the financial aid.



If a student fails to perform consistently, most of the colleges will issue a warning, referred to as ‘academic probation'. There are some special cases where the college may decide to waive the requirements temporarily. These special circumstances behind the failure of academic progress can be personal injury, student ailment or the death of a close relative. In order to regain the eligibility for receiving the scholarship award, students will need to improve their GPA above the C average threshold. Under these circumstances, students will need to use their own financial resources or take up a private student loan.

Bankruptcy and Private Student Loans

Yes, the bankruptcy will be considered by most of the private student loans. If the borrower or the student has had a bankruptcy over the past 7-10 years, private student loans will be denied to the borrower by most of the scholarship sponsors and organizations. Previously, the scenario was different and the lenders had some exceptions in cases where the borrower had no control; conditions may include natural calamities or unbearable medical costs. Today, the leniency has vanished owing to the credit crisis.

Applying for Federal Student Aid after You Filed for Bankruptcy

Many candidates have queries like whether they are eligible to receive federal student financial aid since they filed for bankruptcy. One can not be denied federal student aid like the Pell Grant and the Perkins Loan only because they filed for bankruptcy. However, when it comes to repaying Perkins loan, college may have a look at the candidate's post-bankruptcy credit history. Yes, a students will be ineligible for federal student aid if the candidate's federal student loans were not discharged by the bankruptcy. Being not discharged by the bankruptcy means the candidate's federal student loans are currently in default.

Applying for FAFSA

Scholarship deadlines may vary from one state to another. If you are applying for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you can not submit the application form before 1st January. The financial aid program is based on income from the previous financial year, ending on 31st December. Therefore, students need to submit their FAFSA scholarship application form after 1st January, but as soon as possible. It is advisable not to wait to apply for FAFSA until you have got admission into a college or your have filed your income tax returns.