4 Reasons Why You’re Not winning scholarships

Don’t lose hope just yet! Here’s how you can strengthen your scholarship strategy to put you on the path to success!

You decided to give the “scholarship thing” a try, but now you’re knee-deep in applications that have either been ghosted or outright rejected. 

You were told that the scholarship process was a way to win free money but so far all you’re getting is free headaches and empty promises. SO WHAT NOW!?

First, take a deep breath. One of the most difficult parts of the scholarship process is staying sane and motivated when things don’t get your way.

Next, understand that rejection is part of the process. It sounds corny and it may be the last thing you want to hear right now but doesn’t make it any less true. You’ll “lose” more than you win, but you only need a few wins to start making a dent in your tuition.

So the most important thing for you to do is to KEEP GOING while also pausing to reevaluate your current scholarship strategy.

So, why are you not winning scholarships?

1. You haven’t developed a solid scholarship strategy

If you want to win scholarships you need a winning strategy. The good news is that it’s pretty simple. You need to prioritize scholarships that are:

• A. Local to your city/state

• B. Super specific to your background

• C. Require essays or other deliverables

• D. All of the above

2.You’re not being consistent

Many students will get inspiration to apply to scholarships and then quickly lose steam when they don’t immediately see any wins. If you’ve applied to dozens of scholarships and haven’t heard back the best thing you can do is:

• Set a monthly goal and consistently meet your target.

• Track the scholarships you’ve submitted

  • Additionally, check if the scholarship organization lists the date that the scholarship winner will be announced

• Finally, be patient! Focus on putting in the work rather than seeing an immediate return on your efforts.

3. You don’t have your story straight

Ultimately when you’re writing scholarship essays you are trying to get someone to invest in your future. To accomplish this you need to be able to create a pretty convincing pitch! 

The good news is that you CAN learn how to become a more persuasive writer by:

• Revisiting old essays and seeing how you can improve

• Asking for a second opinion for constructive feedback

• Continue to write essays to gain more experience!

4. You gave up already!

I often get comments from students that say scholarships do not work. Their proof is that they applied to a few, didn’t win, and just stopped together.

But look at your options like this, either you:

Keeping applying to scholarships and other opportunities to see if you can win free money towards your education

Or you:

Give up now and accept that you’re going to have to put in work to pay off students loans in the future

When I was a junior in high school, looking at these choices made continuing the scholarship process a no-brainer. Not winning money wouldn't change my situation, but earning enough scholarship money to pay for college would change everything.

So, I got to work!

Still feeling stuck? I discussed the above list in depth to further explain how to strengthen your scholarship strategy! Tap into this video to learn more.