This 2008 Scholarship Guide will give you step by step directions on how to apply for scholarships for the next academic year 2009-2010. If you are a junior, you are getting started just on time. You should be searching for scholarships at the same time you are deciding on which colleges to apply to. If you are a senior, you should already have a personal statement started and be ready to prepare an academic CV or resume. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student already, you can use the personal statement you submitted when you first applied to colleges.

The most important point for you to understand is that starting your scholarship applications early in the calendar year will give you a competitive edge. The scholarship process takes six to nine months. This means the scholarship applications that you submit in early spring will most likely be reviewed late spring, you may not find out if you have been selected as a recipient until early summer, and funds may not be distributed until early fall. Basically, if you need money for college in September, you need to apply to several scholarships six months in advance.

Unless you get started right away, you may not know which college or university you can actually afford to attend. Additionally, many of the best four year scholarships are offered to high school seniors. So if you put the most work in now, in your senior year, you may benefit for the next four years.

Of course, your immediate goal is to prepare and submit the best scholarship applications for the best scholarships available. Best scholarship applications mean complete applications, submitted before the deadline, with every word polished and significant, no elements rushed or missing. Best scholarships available mean scholarships which match your profile, which can include academic scholarships for your GPA, cultural scholarships for your background, specific field of study scholarships for your major, and extracurricular activity scholarships for your other areas of interest.

Grant opportunities are an extension of what scholarships and grants are best for you to apply to, except they are specifically based on need. This does not mean they are exclusively based on need, you still need to emphasize your academic strengths, unique cultural background, specialized fields of study, and special interests. In addition, you may need to provide a statement of need or most likely file a FAFSA form for Federal Student Aid. This extremely important deadline is March 2, 2009. Do not miss it. If you plan to file online, make sure you have the required pin, which may need to be sent to you in the mail.

The first step in applying for scholarships and grant will be to prepare all the necessary elements of a scholarship package: You will need a 1-2 page personal statement, a 1-2 page curriculum vitae, 1-3 letters of recommendation, official high school or college transcripts, copies of your FAFSA application, a scholarship calender to keep track of when scholarships are due, and a folder to keep your scholarship applications together.

The second step is to gather a list of scholarships you want to apply to for the 2008-2009 academic school year. You will apply for academic or merit based scholarships, grant or need based scholarships, cultural background scholarships and special interest scholarships. Essay or writing awards might also be available, but tend to be a little more time consuming. If you are serious about applying to scholarships, you should find 10-12 scholarships to apply to over the next few months. Let's get started...

If you are at least a junior or senior in high school, you should already have a personal statement to use for your scholarship applications. It may be a personal statement you through together a few hours before the application deadline, or hopefully, a more refined draft of a personal statement you have labored over. You will be competing in the application process over the later.

Take the personal statement you used for your college applications, and modify it to include three different elements: Your academic strengths, your cultural background, and your extracurricular activities.

A solid five paragraph personal statement will follow a clear structure:

1. Introduction: In your introduction, you should make a strong first impression by providing specific biographical information.
2. Academic Strengths: Highlight your academic interest and accomplishments, if you do not have an overall A average, write about one course in which you have excelled to the top of the class. Show that your passion is as important as the actual grade you received.
3. Cultural Background: Distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicants, address the most unique aspects of your background, and don't be afraid to include any adversity that you have had to overcome.
4. Community Involvement or Extracurricular Activities: Select 1-3 activities which you have been actively involved in, this is a good opportunity to show how passionate and determined you have been in serving your community or working as as a team player.
5. Conclusion: In your conclusion, you should match your above accomplishments with the purpose of the scholarship being offered. You should specifically ask the scholarship committee to select you for the scholarship and provide three specific reasons.

You should expect to spend at least 2-3 days on perfecting your personal statement. Ask one of your parents, one of your teachers and a counselor or community leader to read it. Encourage them to return it all marked up in red corrections. Remember the perfect personal statement could win you a $4000. scholarship, for the next four years, that's $16,000. total. The personal statement you start with can be modified over and over again for each new scholarship application.

You academic curriculum vitae or resume will include each and every scholastic accomplishment and extracurricular activity you have participated in since high school. Although you may not have more than a couple of jobs to include in your work history, your resume will tell the scholarship review committee many interesting facts about you.

Your resume should include your career objective, educational background, employment history, internships and work-study positions, community involvement, extracurricular activities, clubs and organizations, honors and awards, hobbies and sports, technical skills, references, standardized test scores, etc.

1. Header: Start by placing your name, address and contact information at the top of your resume. Use your full name, no nick names or abbreviations.
2. Career Objective: State your career objective clearly, do not list several careers you may be interested in pursuing and do not write that you are undecided about your future. Know that you can write with confidence what career you are interested in, and still have the ability to change careers down the road. The important characteristic to show in this section is a true passion for the specific area the scholarship is being offered in.
3. Educational Background: Add each school you have attended since high school, include your GPA and class standing if they are in the top 25%. Think about taking a college class online or at a local community college to enhance your resume. This impresses review committees.
4. Employment History: Think about the type of jobs you would like to include on your resume. An academic opportunity to mentor three hours a week makes as good an impression as working for a retail chain for twenty hours a week. List detailed accomplishments for each job.
5. Internships and Work-study Positions: Ask your career services office if you can do an internship for credit in your senior year. Volunteer at the career services office an hour a week if you need to enhance your employment history. If you commit to volunteering for the semester, you can list it on your resume now. You can also ask to work at your parents, family or friends office as an intern.
6. Community Involvement: List any church or local community activity you have worked on, including singing with the choir, helping prepare food baskets, donating books to a favorite charity, coordinating a can drive, etc. It's never too late to become active in your community and even if you do it to enhance your resume, it makes it no less useful or meaningful.
7. Extracurricular Activities: Can be listed as Clubs and Organizations, Honors and Awards, Hobbies and Sports. Include even minimal participation in school activities, consider classes you may have taken for credit. For example: Three years of Spanish conversation and culture.
8. Technical Skills and Interests: Update computer skills and other technical proficiencies, including website design, photo-shop editing, audio visual technology, etc. This area can distinguish you from other applicants.
9. References: Include at least three academic advisers, advance placement teachers, work supervisors, and church or community leaders. Verify name, address, phone numbers and emails are current.

You will update your academic curriculum vitae or resume several times through out your academic career. Every minute you invest in creating an impressive CV will prove to be profitable. Initially your curriculum vitae will fill only one page, but it can extend to two pages if you are a high achiever.

Many scholarship applications now require at least one letter of recommendation. Scholarship and grant awards for thousands of dollars may require three or more letters of recommendation to be submitted with the application. The letters should be sent in at the same time as the application, definitely before the application deadline. If you plan on applying for several schoalrships and grants, (as you should), you may need 3-6 recommenders who are willing to write several letters each.

It is extremely important to think about who you want to write your letters of recommendation. If you have built relationships with your teachers over three or four years of high school, and turned in your work on time, and proven that you are one of the best students in the class, you should be able to ask for a letter of recommendation and not worry about what it will say. But many students slide in just under the radar, manage a low A or a high B with little effort and no real interaction in class. If you are the type of student that exerts minimal effort, keeps to yourself and tries not to stand out, this step may be a little more difficult for you.

Throughout your scholarship search, you will find the best scholarship opportunities may not always provide adequate notice of scholarship deadlines. You may find the perfect scholarship to apply for on a Friday afternoon, with a deadline the following Monday. This can present a serious obstacle for a majority of applicants who have not planned ahead. This letter of recommendations step creates additional work for the scholarship applicant: Needing a letter of recommendation with a scholarship application may discourage half the individuals who would otherwise apply for the scholarship.

1. Make a list of recommenders/references: You will need letters of recommendation from several recommenders throughout the scholarship application process. Recommenders should be able to address your academic stregnths, your cultural background, and your unique interests. Consider asking your favorite teachers, coaches, mentors, career counselor and community leaders who know you well.
2. Ask for the recommender's support: A soon as you begin your sholarship search, you want to personally ask each recommender if they will able to write you a letter of recommendation this month. Tell them you will be applying for several scholarships, and it would be great if they could write one letter that could be readdressed over and over again. Let them know you will give them a list of the scholarships that you plan to apply to and can provide pre-addressed envelopes.
3. Confirm the recommender's commitment: Make sure you have the recommender's best contact information, as least a phone number and email. Send a confirmation email to the recommender, to confirm and thank the recommender for agreeing to write you a letter of recommendation.
4. Submit a copy of the scholarship application to the recommender. Download a description of each scholarship you are applying to, print a copy of your personal statement and resume, and take them to your recommender in a bright color folder or envelope. Let your recommender know what you would like them to emphasize about you. Mark the deadline in bold letters on the envelope.
5. Provide a pre-addressed envelope for the letter: It is best for you to arrange to pick up a letter of recommendation from the recommender and include it in the scholarship application package that you submit. Many scholarship offices accept complete applications only. They may receive thousands of applications which can make it impossible to match up late letters of recommendation with the original application. A few scholarship committees will have your recommenders send in letters of recommendation separately. In this case, you will also want to provide prepaid postage on the envelope. All letters of recommendation should be sealed, with the seal signed and clear tape placed over the signed seal.
6. Remind the recommender of the deadline: You will want to remind the recommender of the deadline date. And, ask to pick up the letter of recommendation two weeks in advance. If the deadline to apply is May 1, you should request the letter of recommendation be complete by April 15. Send an email only five days in advance as a reminder.
7. Thank the recommender for the letter: Immediately after you mail out the scholarship application package, send a thank you email to your recommender. Let the recommender know that you just sent out the application, that you could not have done it without them, and that you hope its okay to ask them for another copy of the letter next month. Keeping this communication open through email will help you in an emergency situation, when you need a letter of recommendation in a pinch.
8. In an emergency situation: You will still need to allow 24-48 hours turn around for a recommender to update and print a letter. Be reasonable and fair.

Start a scholarship application calendar to keep yourself on track. Set specific dates that you will have your application materials complete. The best way to look at this is as a part or full time job. The more hours you work at it, the better it will pay off. Initially, plan to spend at least 10-12 hours a week working on scholarship application.

February 15, 2008 Prepare Personal Statement, CV or Resume, and Initiate Letter of Recommendation Request.

March 1, 2008 Search for Scholarships and Grants, Print Applications, and Mark Deadlines of Scholarship Calendar

March 2, 2008 FAFSA Deadline, Make Sure FAFSA is submitted, Make Extra Copies to Send in with Grant Applications

March 15, 2008 Complete Scholarship Applications (1-3)

April 1, 2008 Complete Scholarship Applications (4-6)

April 15, 2008 Complete Scholarship Applications (7-9)

May 1, 2008 Complete Scholarship Applications (10-12)

May 15, 2008 Follow Up on Scholarships Submitted

June 1, 2008 Send Out Thank You Letters for Scholarships Received

June 15, 2008 Contact Financial Aid Office About Funds to Be Received

You should continue your scholarship search for scholarship deadlines over the summer. However, scholarships offered over the summer and early fall may not be available on time for you to start college. Once you are selected, you will receive an award letter, the letter should advise you when you how much you have been awarded, when it will be distributed and how it will be distributed. Smaller awards are often paid directly to the recipient, where as larger, multi-year scholarships are usually paid directly to the financial aid office and counted in your financial aid packages.

You should never pay to search for scholarships. There are hundreds of free scholarships available.

Academic Based Scholarships: Academic based scholarships, also known as merit based scholarships, specify a certain required grade point average. They generally start at 2.5 overall GPA and go up to a 4.0 overall GPA. Official or unofficial transcripts may be required. Send a copy of official transcripts unless otherwise specified.

Cultural Based Scholarships: Cultural based scholarships, also known as minority scholarships, consider an applicant's diverse background. These scholarships are not limited to Hispanics, African Americans, Asian and American Indian applicants. Scholarships are offered for every background. Must address cultural background in personal statement.

Subject Based Scholarships:Subject based scholarships, also known as major or minor scholarships, apply to the student's course of study. Science and engineering are popular fields to find scholarships support. Art and filmmaking are more difficult fields to find scholarship support. Undeclared students can lean interests in favorable direction.

Interests Based Scholarships:Interest based scholarships, also known as extracurricular activities scholarships, include intramural sports, clubs and organizations. These scholarships may be offered on the local and national levels. Important to explore all activities you have participated in, band, bowling, sewing, cooking, etc.

Need Based Scholarships/Grants: Need based scholarships, also known as grants, require a statement of need or qualification for federal financial aid. The most needy applicants may qualify for these scholarships regardless of having the highest grade point average or not. Copy of FAFSA may be required.

Essay Based Scholarships: Essay based scholarships, also known as writing competitions, offer awards for specific types of writing to be submitted. These type of scholarships may take a little more time and effort, but they may not have the same academic or need based requirements. In other words, if your parents make too much money for you to qualify for financial aid, but not enough money to pay for your education, you need to start writing essays. The same goes for low grade point average students, who can write well, but may have not proven it with their grades.

There are a few good FREE scholarship websites, and hundreds of scholarship scams. Start by searching on fast-web, finaid.org and scholarships.com. Be careful about information you provide, don't list your cell phone, instead list a parent's home number if required. Be prepared to take an hour for each search, it will produce hundreds of results. You will need to search through the results to see which are scholarship opportunities are most applicable to your academic goals.

Essay and Writing Contest are often a great way for non-need based students to find extra funds for school. For students who fall in the unfortunate position, of not being poor enough to qualify for grants and not being wealthy enough to afford college, winning a couple of essay contests can be one of few options to raise college funds.

Apply for FAFSA before it's too late. You will know if your qualify for financial aid right away. This step is critical in the scholarship and grants process. It will not only determine what financial aid you qualify for, but may also impact your federal work study and student loan eligibility. Below are three links for the FAFSA application, how to complete the form, and how to apply for a pin. If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to send me a comment. The best job I ever had in college was working at the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center for two years.