The Most Basic and Fundamental Rule
Please, please, please: Just follow the instructions. Many of the tips you’ll read about in this book are very specific, but this one I’d consider more as a very general “rule to live by” – at least as far as scholarship applications go. It’s a cliché that rules are made to be broken, but don’t be tempted; the rules that a committee places on a scholarship are not there to be broken. They’re there for you to follow, and for good reason.
Did you ever wonder why, for example, most scholarship essay contests put a word limit on the essays you have to write? Is it simply a test that rewards the most succinct of writers? Not really. It’s something much simpler than that. Essays have word limits to make the task of reading all of those essays manageable for the busy committee members.
Now, you may read the title of this section and snicker at its minimal title to simply “Follow Directions.” Duh. Of course we know to follow directions, you say. We’re not stupid. Who would actually waste their time going to the trouble of filling out a scholarship application just to ignore the instructions?
A good question, and four years ago, I would’ve been as incredulous as you. But not now. The answer to that question is: Thousands and thousands of students do exactly that, every single month. They either screw up or thumb their nose at the instructions in dozens of ways. And by now, even though I’m used to it, it doesn’t cease to amaze me. Want some examples? Good, because I’ve got plenty:
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Example A: The length of your essay.
We’ll start with this one because it’s commonly abused. While I’ve never met a scholarship judge who actually sat down and counted every word to ensure that an applicant didn’t go over the limit, you still must stick to that limit. If an essay calls for 750 words or less and you send in five single-spaced pages, you either didn’t read or simply didn’t care about the instructions. When you do that, you’re sending us one or more of the following messages, none of which makes us happy.
What you’re saying: I feel my essay is perfect, and any alteration of it would soil its perfect form. It simply cannot be edited further.
What the judges say: Even the world’s most accomplished writers — Pulitzer Prize winners, best-selling authors, etc. — have editors. One task these editors must perform is to cut out words, paragraphs and pages that aren’t necessary. It’s hard sometimes, but it has to be done. If you can’t do it, get a friend, parent, teacher, English major, or someone else to do it. But it can and must be done, because otherwise, your application gets thrown in the trash. And we don’t mean it gets thrown in the trash like your 3rd grade teacher would threaten to do if you forgot to write your name on your paper — we really, honestly throw it in the trash. Actually it’s the shredder, since it’s got your personal information on it. But you get the message.
What you’re saying: Yes, my essay is too long, but that’s too bad, because I have some REALLY important things you need to hear.
What the judges say: Most of the people who apply for this scholarship have some really important things to say, and they say those really important things within the allotted word limit. That’s what you have to do, too, if you want a chance to win. Think of the rules like a basketball game: regardless of how badly you want to win, you can only have five people on the court at one time. You can’t throw two or three extra people out there, because then you’d have an advantage that no one else has. That’s cheating and it’s not allowed.
What you’re saying: I didn’t realize I submitted an essay that was too long; I didn’t read the instructions.
What the judges say: If you’re not going to read the instructions, then we’re not going to read your essay. Sorry.
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Example B: Sending your essay the wrong way, in the wrong format, to the wrong place, to the wrong person, etc.
Back in the days when we required our scholarship applicants to send in paper applications (we now do it all via email), we posted a very clear statement in the instructions: “Please do not send your essay via signature-required delivery.” By signature-required delivery, we simply mean when places like FedEx, UPS, DHL and the U.S Mail make you sign for a delivery. If this sounds unimportant, believe me, it’s not.
Remember that many scholarship programs get thousands and thousands of applicants. We understand that you’d like to make sure your essay arrived safe and sound, but there’s a reason we prohibit this: If even a few students per day require signature delivery on their application, then that’s several daily interruptions for the unlucky soul who’s getting the applications. Imagine if every day, DHL rang your doorbell at 9 a.m. and made you sign for three envelopes, and then at 1 p.m., UPS rang your doorbell and made you sign for three more, and then at 2:30, FedEx came by and made you sign for five more. And then, worst of all (big surprise here) is the U.S. Post Office. If a signature delivery is sent to a PO Box (which is often the type of place we like to have you send your scholarships, to separate them from other business at our workplace), then you actually have to take a number and stand in line to retrieve the mail. If you live in a rural area, this is not a big deal; however, if you live in anything even close to a large city, you know that these lines can easily spell a 30-45 minute wait. Sometimes longer.
So, to recap: sending signature-required mail equals a DHL visit, a UPS visit, a FedEx visit and a possibly maddening visit to our local post office. Every…single…day, until the application period is over. Remember Rule #2, Judges Are Busy People. Sending signature-required mail when you’re specifically asked not to is a sure way to get your application discarded. As for our company, we simply stopped signing for the packages, and therefore they were either sent back or discarded by the delivery company.
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Example C: Sending information you weren’t asked to send.
This one is less clear to the layperson, so I’m going to lay down the law for you right here and now, so there’s no confusion. If you aren’t asked or invited to include additional information with your application such as transcripts, photos, newspaper clippings, artwork, CDs, letters of recommendation, trinkets you’ve whittled out of driftwood or anything else, don’t include it.
Why not, you ask? Wouldn’t it be something extra to help swing the judges’ opinion in your favor? Perhaps so, and if the instructions invite you to do so (for example, by telling you that you may include “any other information you feel is relevant” to the award), then do so. But if the instructions say, basically, “fill out the application and return,” then that’s not an invitation to stuff the envelope with photocopies of every accomplishment and award you’ve won since the third-grade spelling bee. Everything we mentioned above, we’ve received, and then some (OK, not the driftwood – that was a joke). I’m not saying you shouldn’t be proud of things like this (because you should), but they don’t belong in scholarship applications where they aren’t required.
Example: We once got a CD from a student who apparently was quite accomplished at playing the piano, and he’d played all the songs on the CD. I’m sure they were nice songs, but I can’t tell you for sure, because we didn’t listen to it. And to be honest, even if we had listened to it, I wouldn’t have known whether the guy was a good piano player; I’m not in a position to judge. I can’t even play “Chopsticks.” Point is, our scholarship was an essay contest, and because of that, we feel obligated to judge our students by their essays, period.
The first problem with “envelope-stuffing,” as I’ll call it, is Rule #2: Judges are busy. When they sign on to judge a scholarship competition, they’re expecting to evaluate the applicants based on the criteria of the contest. If it’s an essay contest, we expect to be reading essays, and that’s it.
The second problem is that submitting additional items is unfair to the other students who actually followed the rules. How fair would it be that the rule-breaker gets to submit an envelope full of additional support for the committee to consider, but the students who follow directions to the letter are only judged on the application itself? This site is all about giving you an “unfair advantage,” but it’s a fine line; if you take too many liberties, you’ll alienate the judges and get tossed.
BOTTOM LINE: Whether it’s the length, topic, or format of the essay or anything else, observe the instructions faithfully.
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