Take advantage of your break

While it may be tempting to just couch surf over your Christmas break, the couple or more weeks off provide a great opportunity to work on and submit the last of your college applications, as well as scholarship applications.

While you won’t win every scholarship for which you apply, you definitely WILL NOT win any for which you do not apply. Increase the odds, senior: get as many done as you possibly can. If my small-town students can win big, national scholarships, so can YOU!

Here are some tips for winning scholarships. I feel confident in sharing these, because my own four children won more than FIFTY scholarships.

• Your best odds are local scholarships. Do those first, because a few number of students are applying for them.
• Answer each question thoroughly.
• Use formal language but be real and personal.
• Use specific examples to explain your claims. Don’t just speak in generalities.
• Don’t exaggerate who you are, but definitely think through your own personal history and try to connect with the organization.
• If there are optional questions, answer them.
• Spellcheck your essay. Ask someone else to read it over and offer suggestions. It needs to sparkle to rise above the pile of ho-hum submissions.
• If the organization asks for an essay of say, 100-300 words, use the whole 300 words, which gives you that chance to show you are the right person.
• Double-check the requirements before you mail or submit the application. Make sure you have met all the basic requirements.
• Do not pay to enter a scholarship–that’s a ripoff.

Remember: Doing a little each day to work toward your college and career goals makes what might seem like an overwhelming task quite reachable.