Check out our scholarship prep checklist that our students use to win millions in scholarships annually in Jamaica and overseas by making a strategy on how to approach this semester - and follow it.
My Scholarship Prep Checklist
Make a strategy on how you will approach this semester – and follow it.
This Scholarship Prep Checklist is a strategic composition of best practices that we recommend to our students from vast research complied over the years of our service offerings.
Back-to-school has passed and enduring-Fall-semester is on the way! So, you are already thinking about paying for your next semester or paying for the next academic year. You are probably wondering: What should I be doing to prepare for my next scholarship applications? Well, this scholarship prep checklist will help you conquer the this game.
Here are some suggestions of what student scholarship applicants can work on to help move along their scholarship search process this fall – a matter of fact, year-round; as you can never be too early in your scholarship search process. Our suggested scholarship prep checklist are as follows:
Start evaluating how you will pay for school
First up on your scholarship prep checklist, you start start applying for scholarships now, it will be a lot easier to pay your tuition later! Begin by organizing your scholarship search, and then apply for as many scholarships as possible. Talk to your family about your budget for university so that everyone is on the same page and you can have specific financial aid goals in mind.
Be realistic regarding your college choices and tuition prices, however, if you have your heart set on a specific university or college, you’ll simply have to work a little harder to achieve the funding. Don’t worry, any amount is possible to achieve with hard work and determination. The following will outline how you can go about designing a strategy in identifying, applying and winning scholarships to cover your full tuition cost.
Start your scholarship search
There is so much to do! So many places to look for scholarship opportunities! But we know you can handle it. This includes evaluating different scholarship options, sources, attending scholarship and college fairs, exploring new financial aid listings online and in print.
We recommend that you create a list of at least ten (10) to fifteen (15) of the best scholarships that you are qualified for and fit your need. Some of these scholarship opportunities can be sources on our website by selecting your field of study our Latest scholarships page or by reviewing archived media reports in the JamaicaGleaner.com and JamaicaObserver.comabout annual scholarship awards.
Once you have created your scholarship prep list, work on ordering your list and narrowing it down by prioritizing the awards based on scholarship value, due dates, requirements, sources and ease of application.
You can also do this by comparing your list to criteria you are looking for in a scholarship and seeing which scholarship awards on your list that best match up to your criteria. You can then cross off scholarship awards that does not meet your criteria and bump up awards that meet all or most of your financial needs.
Sign-up for ScholarshipJamaica and other donor websites newsletters
A proactive scholarship applicant is a happy camper! You can sign up for our scholarship newsletter at scholarshipjamaica.com to receive weekly scholarship opportunities and tips first. Scholarshipjamaica.com will keep you inform of the latest scholarships, grants and other financial aid sources as they become available. Our newsletter will also remind you of deadlines and offer application help services to help you win your scholarship.
Signing up to other donors, foundations, colleges and companies that offer scholarship awards mailing list will also keep you in the know. You will be able to uses these mailing sources to your advantage as source of information and direct contact to the various financial aid donors. Signing up to newsletters and mailing list is easy and most importantly free!
Apply to as many scholarships as possible
There is no limit to the amount of scholarship you can apply for. What matters is the effort you put in each application. Throughout our consultations with hundreds of students and their parents, one important advice is that it’s best to comprehensively apply for one scholarship than half-ace applications for ten. It’s equally a waste of yours and the donors’ time and efforts.
The most important thing about applying for a scholarship is that you are qualified. See Who qualifies for a Jamaica Scholarship? To see what it means to be qualified for a scholarship.
Start out – and stay in – great scholarship application shape
Academic is a very important factor in scholarship qualification and donor reviews and requirements. Therefore, do your best in high school and on your semester exams to obtain the best GPAs as possible. It’s your scholarship currency!
Make a strategy on how you’ll approach this semester – and follow it. A strict semester game plan helps ensure you’ll stay focused on achieving your best. As you know, your high school grades matter and any slip up are really difficult to recover from, especially in terms of your cumulative grade point average.
It’s not impossible to recover from a slump, but why give yourself the extra anxiety? If you stay on top of your grades, you won’t have even more pressure than you already do!
Need money to pay for college? Use Your Scholarship Prep Checklist
Every semester, ScholarshipJamaica helps thousands of students pay for school by matching them to scholarships, grants and awards for which they actually qualify. You’ll find scholarships like the Edna Green $25,000 Back to School Scholarship, and Development Bank of Jamaica Scholarship valued at over $250,000.
