Applications
How to stand out beyond debate and volunteering
August 18, 2026 · 2 min read
Debate and generic volunteering are on nearly every application. Here's how to take the same instincts further.
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More from the archive
- Applications
Scholarships for students who transfer
Transfer students are underserved by scholarship coverage and still have real options.
September 30, 2025 · 2 min read
- Applications
How to describe your extracurriculars
Committees read hundreds of activity lists. Specificity is what separates them.
August 5, 2025 · 2 min read
- Applications
Why applications get disqualified
Most rejections are about content. A meaningful minority are about paperwork.
June 10, 2025 · 2 min read
- Applications
Scholarships for students who work
Employment is an asset on an application, not a gap to apologize for.
April 1, 2025 · 2 min read
- Applications
How many scholarships should you actually apply to?
There's a point where more applications stop helping. Here's roughly where it is.
January 21, 2025 · 2 min read
- Applications
The scholarship interview
Larger awards often finish with an interview. It's usually about fit, not testing.
December 10, 2024 · 2 min read
- Applications
Applying to scholarships as an undocumented or DACA student
Federal aid is closed, but a meaningful number of private and state programs are not.
October 15, 2024 · 2 min read
- Applications
Making a scholarship resume that isn't a job resume
Scholarship committees want different things than employers do.
August 6, 2024 · 2 min read
- Applications
What to put in the 'additional information' box
Most applications have one. Most students leave it blank, and that's usually a mistake.
May 28, 2024 · 2 min read
- Applications
Scholarships that don't require the FAFSA
With federal aid delayed, privately funded awards became the reliable option.
March 5, 2024 · 2 min read
- Applications
How committees actually score applications
Most use a rubric. Knowing the categories tells you where to spend effort.
October 31, 2023 · 2 min read
- Applications
Asking for recommendation letters in September
Everyone asks in the same three weeks. Here's how to not be the fifteenth request that day.
September 5, 2023 · 2 min read