SCHOLARSHIPS

Maximize Scholarship Opportunities
Here are a few tips to maximize your scholarship opportunities:

• Apply early: The peak time to apply for scholarships is January through July for the upcoming school year. Remember the early bird gets the worm!
• Check for scholarships frequently: Check your department, college, and the Scholarship List for updates to scholarships.
• Get Involved: While some scholarships do not require involvement, it does help showcase who you are as a person. Also, being involved helps identify your involvement within your community i.e. campus, local, church, sports.
• Complete Your FAFSA: ALL FAU specific scholarships require a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application to be submitted online.

Write an Award-Winning Scholarship Essay
Many times students do not apply for scholarships that involve writing essays. However, scholarships that require essays do not usually have many applicants which may increase your chances of earning a scholarship. Please note that all FAU scholarships do require an essay between 250 and 300 words.

Here are a few tips to write your award-winning essay:

• Tailor your essay for your intended audience: While writing your essay, it is important to stay focused on the topic and specifically address the essay question. Also, make sure you are addressing the specific scholarship to which you are applying.
• Target your audience by using keywords: Identify the goals of the donor as well as identifying why you should be selected for the scholarship.
• Stand out: Make the committee interested in who you are by grabbing their attention. Give the committee something different, so brainstorming will be very important before you begin writing your essay. Grab the reader’s attention with your essay and make the reader want to learn more about you.
• Introduce yourself: Explain who you are, what your goals are, and how receiving the scholarship will help you accomplish your educational objectives. Scholarship committees often make decisions on awarding scholarships and want to know more about you, so using the essay is a good way to introduce yourself to the committee. Examples also include campus and community involvement as well as any hobbies you may have.
• Avoid negative messages: Don’t assume that a sad story will make the committee sympathize with you. Many use this method in hopes of being selected for a scholarship. However, it may have the opposite impact and not accomplish the intended message.
• Write positive messages: In keeping with the theme of tailoring and targeting your audience, it is important to do so with positive messages. Positive messages are important when discussing negative situations. It gives great insight to you as a person, i.e., how you have overcome difficult situations.
• Proofread: Essays should be proofread several times over to ensure that there are no typing or grammatical errors. Utilize your resources at the FAU Writing Center.

Manage Your Scholarship Award
Most students entering college encounter their first real-world situations with large amounts of money. We’ve compiled information on budgeting your money, as well as other financial literacy tips.

The Office of Student Financial Aid offers financial aid packages in accordance with federal, state, and institutional regulations. Financial aid offers may not exceed a student’s estimated cost of attendance. Students who are recipients of other need based aid may not be eligible for the full amount of a scholarship that they receive. Contact your financial aid counselor if you have questions about how a scholarship might impact your financial aid package.

Avoid Scholarship Scams
If you believe you have encountered a fraudulent scholarship, visit the Federal Trade Commission website for help.

• Do not pay for scholarship searches: You have many options for free scholarship search engines as well as campus resources. FAU offers a list of external scholarships you can freely apply for listed as “Other Scholarships”.
• Avoid Scholarship Guarantees: Be wary of scholarship organizations that guarantee you will receive a scholarship based upon a small application fee. No one can guarantee you will receive a scholarship by paying an application fee.
• Avoid Giving Personal Information: Do not provide personal information such as bank account numbers and credit card numbers.
• Money-Back Guarantee: Avoid scholarships that promise your money is guaranteed to be refunded if you do not receive a scholarship.

Write a Thank You Letter
Letters of appreciation from scholars encourage our donors to continue funding deserving students like you. We ask that you prepare a brief letter describing how their contribution will help you reach your educational and personal goals.

Here are some other suggestions for your thank you letter:

• Type your thank you letter: Typed letters are preferred over handwritten letters as not all handwriting is legible.
• Address the donor: Be sure to address the donor of the scholarship and not the scholarship committee.
• Proofread: Letters should be proofread and you should have someone else proofread it as well. Again, the FAU Writing Center is a good place to ask for help.
• Introduce Yourself: You should let the donor(s) know something about yourself and the impact their generosity has had on your education and life. You should also indicate what your future goals may be.