I Uncovered the Roadmap to Winning a Scholarship to Your Dream University

Want someone to give you a direct roadmap to get a scholarship to the university or college of your dreams?

It’s no secret that humans are competitive creatures by nature.

We all want to win something.

Always.

And for pretty much any high school student, receiving a scholarship to attend a top-tier university is a dream come true that is highly respected by many around them including friends, parents, teachers, and many others.

These awards can significantly ease the financial strain of pursuing higher education, making it more attainable and affordable for many families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to make it happen for their children without huge sacrifice.

However, winning a scholarship, especially a large, prestigious one to a top college or university, is extremely competitive and difficult.

Not just anybody can win one of these scholarships, and more often than not, it takes a lot of commitment and dedication throughout one’s years in high school in order to be in contention for one of these awards, let alone win it.

But I want to help you, as a reader of Grad Excel, to win the scholarship you want to your dream university.

That’s why in this article, I’ll be uncovering the top, most important things you need to be doing in order to win one of these scholarships, so that you can reap the benefits.

How to Win a Scholarship to Your Dream University

If you check all of these boxes, I’d be pretty surprised if you didn’t land a scholarship to university!

Excel in Your Academics

Firstly, you need to ensure that you can maintain a strong academic record.

You need to ensure that you’re always receiving top grades, and are constantly working hard in your studies to ensure that you’re scoring in or near the top of your classes, consistently.

Your GPA (Grade Point Average), or its equivalent in your country (such as the Australian ATAR or the New Zealand rank score) is crucial if you want to win a scholarship to a top university, anywhere in the world.

So always strive to achieve excellence in your studies and make sure you’re working hard in every class to achieve the best grades possible.

Having a strong academic record is going to help you open up more possibilities when it comes to scholarships that you can apply for and are eligible for, so always make sure you’re coming out on top with strong results.

If you need help learning to stay on top of your grades, check out this article here that teaches you how to work hard and be as productive as possible in your student years.

You do not want to find yourself nearing the end of your high school years and wishing you’d worked harder to achieve better grades.

I’m telling you now, do whatever you have to do to receive the top marks that you want.

Even if this means:

• Getting a private tutor
• Studying harder and longer than others at your school
• Giving up distractions like wasting time on social media

Do whatever you have to do, because winning that scholarship is going to make it all worth it for you if you truly put in the effort.

Actively Participate in a Range of Extracurriculars

Another way to boost your credibility and likelihood of receiving a scholarship to university is to actively get involved with the extracurricular activities that your high school offers.

Joining a sports team, club or taking or a leadership position is going to signal to university and scholarship committees that you take school seriously, and also that you’re capable of doing more than just getting good grades.

Because chances are, you’re not going to be the only one in the school with good grades.

So, you can further distinguish yourself from the other students competing for these scholarships by taking on more leadership positions and doing more around the school.

This will also highlight your ability to multitask and handle more on your plate than other students can, which is certainly something that university scholarship committees are looking for.

The student who was able to achieve top marks, or near top marks, whilst being very involved around the school and taking on leadership positions in two or three clubs, will be more impressive than the student who may have slightly better marks, but doesn’t do anything else outside of academics.

So, do be sure to take on leadership roles and participate in all the different clubs and events around your school, as it will send a strong signal to the university scholarship committees that you mean business..

Engage in Community Service by Volunteering

This one goes hand in hand with the previous point, and applicants who are committed to giving back to their local communities through volunteering or social actions are encouraged by many scholarships.

If you really want to give yourself the best shot at winning a scholarship, make sure you’re getting busy volunteering and making a positive impact not just on yourself, but also the people and local communities around you.

Build Strong Relationships

Make sure that you’re able to maintain a positive relationship with your teachers and school leaders (such as your principal).

These individuals will often be asked to write letters of recommendation that provide insights into who you are, your character, work ethic, and potential for success in higher education.

Often times, scholarship selection can be significantly influenced by these letters.

I’ll tell you a story.

In high school, I had a friend who was not the brightest, and certainly wasn’t bringing in the best grades for himself.

However, he was extremely involved all around the school, taking on lots of different clubs and councils, and practically going to meetings every single day during recess or lunchtime.

The teachers loved him for this, and he ended up getting a scholarship to one of the top universities in the country, despite being severely outclassed by many of the other applicants in terms of academic performance.

So yes, involvement in extracurricular activities can have a significant impact on your likelihood of receiving a top scholarship.

Get involved.

Prepare for Standardized Tests

It may be required for you to take standardized tests like the SAT or ACT to qualify for the scholarship you want.

Be sure to prepare for these tests to achieve your best possible scores, as remember, you want to excel academically as much as possible if you want to win a scholarship.

Browse All the Scholarships

Your scholarship search should begin pretty early on in high school.

Scholarships are available for a wide variety of backgrounds and interests, and you’ll likely need some time before you can find all of the ones that suit you and your background/interests.

For information on local, national and international scholarships, use scholarship search engines and consult your guidance counselor. You are more likely to find scholarships that match your goals and qualifications if you explore more scholarships and put yourself in a position to apply for them.

Learn to Write Compelling Scholarship Essays

Scholarship applicants often need to submit formal essays or brief personal statements in order to be considered, especially if you’re applying for a large, prestigious scholarship.

It’s definitely worthwhile to invest time and effort into writing well-written, thoughtful essays that reflect your personality and aspirations. These essays provide you with the chance to showcase your experiences, goals, and qualities that make you a strong candidate.

You could be the most fitting person to win the scholarship, but if your essay or personal statement isn’t up to standards, the scholarship committee might not be able to see it!

Stick to the Scholarship Application Deadlines

You might think this sounds really basic, but trust me, applying for scholarships can be one of those things that we just ‘cannot be bothered to do’, and put off until the very end.

You have no idea how many times I’ve heard a student say that they were going to apply for a scholarship later because there’s still a month left before the deadline, and then realize that they’ve run out of time and wish they had done it sooner.

You need ensure that you keep track of the deadlines for each scholarship you’re interested in and ensure that your applications are submitted on time by keeping a calendar or spreadsheet.

Missing deadlines is one of the most common reasons for scholarship application rejection.

Apply for as Many Scholarships as You can

If you don’t apply for a scholarship, you won’t even give yourself a chance to win it.

If you want to open up the possibility of winning a scholarship as much as possible, make sure you’re applying for as many scholarships as you’re eligible for, and give yourself the best shot at winning.

It’s like the saying: if you never ask, you’ll never know.

Always just apply, because there’s no downside, except maybe the couple of minutes you might lose spent applying for each scholarship.

You won’t regret applying for more scholarships.

Final Thoughts

All in all, I hope you’re starting to see how winning a scholarship likely is going to require more than doing well in school.

Gone are the days where any doing well in school and getting good grades is all you need to secure a scholarship.

Instead, you’re going to have to look beyond simply academics, and look for other ways to distinguish yourself from the other candidates who want the scholarship equally as badly as you do.

If you’d like more help learning how to do this, and how to become the highest performing student you can be, beyond simply academics, check out the rest of our Medium publication, Grad Excel!

Best of luck to you and your scholarship applications!