http://www.givemescholarships.com Free Advice From a Real Scholarship Judge. Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:27:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Sometimes, the best story you have to tell a scholarship committee will involve explaining some of the worst or most embarrassing moments from your past. Maybe you hurt or insulted someone close to you. Maybe you had an addiction or even went to jail (actually, If you’re still hurting your loved ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/31/dont-be-afraid-to-admit-your-past-shortcomings-and-explain-how-you-turned-things-around/ Over the last few years, the media has been telling us that America is a society where, to be blunt, kids are a lot slower to become independent than they used to be. Apparently it’s no big deal to graduate from college and move right back in with your parents ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/do-not-under-any-circumstances-have-your-parents-write-essays-letters-or-anything-else-on-your-behalf/ There are many ways to make a bad first impression, but I can’t think of a worse one than making the committee pay money for the privilege of reading your essay. When in doubt, add an extra stamp or two. I hate wasting stamps as much as the next guy, ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/do-not-send-your-essay-with-postage-due/ Yes, this actually happens, and more than you’d expect. We suspect the writer begins bolding certain passages here and there, and then before long, decides to shoot the moon and bold the whole thing. Don’t do it. Bolding text here and there adds emphasis to certain words, setting them apart ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/do-not-print-your-essay-in-all-boldfaced-type/ Seriously. No excuses and no exceptions – everything. Here’s a little yarn about why it’s important to spell things correctly. My company once managed a very large online events calendar for a major news website in one of the largest cities in the U.S. It was a very important job, but ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/spell-everything-right/ Now that computers are omnipresent, this seems obvious; however, we continue to receive a steady stream of handwritten essays. There are exceptions to this rule: for instance, many of our applicants from Africa and other underdeveloped nations have very limited access to computers, and have no choice but to use ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/type-don%e2%80%99t-handwrite-your-essay/ In fact, if anyone asks you to submit sensitive information, I’d advise skipping that scholarship altogether, because I know of no reason why a reputable program would be asking for your sensitive personal information. First, let me clarify what I mean by “sensitive personal information.” I’m talking about things like your ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/do-not-include-sensitive-personal-information-that-you%e2%80%99re-not-asked-for/ Hey, we told you this section was dedicated to the painfully obvious. We wouldn’t write about this stuff if it didn’t actually happen. On occasion, we’ve had essays sent to us that were printed on the back side of personal letters, scratch paper, and other gently-used documents. In one case, the ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/don%e2%80%99t-print-your-essay-on-a-used-piece-of-paper/ Go ahead and laugh, but our committees tell us that about 1 out of every 20-25 essays that we receive has no name on it. And some of them are pretty darn good essays. In fact, I know of at least two times in which committees that I actually served ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/make-sure-your-name-is-on-the-essay/ I debated including this one in the “painfully obvious” section, because hundreds of people have done it over the years, and it’s not as indubitably boneheaded as some of the other things in this section, like sending your bank account information or having your mom write your essay for you. ... http://www.givemescholarships.com/2008/03/26/don%e2%80%99t-use-a-cursive-or-novelty-font/