GATHERING YOUR RESOURCES and DEVELOPING THEM WITH a FOCUS ON SCHOLARSHIPS

Purpose of the Presentation Getting Started All activities require planning to increase the possibility of success Starting with the application is a bad idea It may be your only option Starting a scholarship search in Grade 12 is a bad idea Starting in Grade 11 is a better idea If you start early in Grade 11 Starting in Grade 10 or earlier is a much better idea

What Steps Can You Take What steps can you take right away? Where do you want to go to school? How much will it cost? Scholarship services (studentawards.com, scholarshipscanada.com, fastweb.com, etc) Why? Check for opportunities through parents and relatives with corporations, unions, religious organizations, Chamber of Commerce, the military, etc.

Analyzing the Situation What have you done? What do you want to do? What have you learned? How have you changed? What do universities and colleges want? What do scholarship committees look for? How do I put it together? When do I start?

When Do You Start? By being here, you have made a start. In practical terms, you need to start no later than the beginning of Grade 10. What can you do at that point? Enter contests, especially those that involve writing such as The Begbie Contest, Royal Commonwealth Society Contest, Remembrance Contest, various essay contests Why do this?

When Do You Start? 2. Enter other contests that promote creativity Art Contests, Remembrance Day and Canada Day Contests, Video and Multimedia Contests, etc. Why do this? 3. Work on your Personal Profile Your Personal Profile is a work in progress. Start early and add to it and review it regularly. It is a source of ideas, facts and interpretations when you need them 4. Read as much as you can 5. Talk to people 6. Revise, Re-think, Re-confirm or Change your position as necessary

What You Need  In Broad Terms There are three basic criteria that you need to address and a fourth that frequently is a factor The three criteria that apply to most (almost all) major scholarships are: Academics Service Leadership The fourth is financial need.

Let’s Get To Work Before you submit an application for a scholarship, there are a number of steps that you will, in most cases, need to take. One of these is to request a Letter of Reference The are multiple purposes of the Letter of Reference, specifically: To provide support, generally, for your application. To provide specifics of your achievements. To provide specific informed (expert) information or to provide character information. To address a specific application or to provide a generic response usable in multiple situations.

Asking for a Letter of Reference aka A Letter of Recommendation Who do I ask? Basically, someone: Who has known you for a realistic period of time Has observed you in a number of different situations Who is willing and capable of providing a strong reference This is not always possible – teachers often only know their students in a classroom setting Take time to decide who you could or may ask.

Asking For a Letter of Reference Who you ask will often be decided by what you need said in the letter Use the Request for a Letter of Reference form that is being developed to help you determine the information that you would like included Use the Student Profile form to organize information, provide an interpretation for and give meaning to your activities Provide an organized package for the writer

Letter of Reference Request Some basic information Ask early – this means at least three weeks before it is needed and preferably longer Don’t be shy about asking – those who you ask to write a letter have asked themselves Again – pick your referee (the name generally given to the letter writer) carefully Avoid asking for “nothing” letters – a general template letter that is needed because you need ‘x’ number of reference letters

Letter of Reference Request How to get a good letter Ask for it from a teacher/person that knows you From a person where you have distinguished yourself through your level of effort, helpfulness, participation in and outside of class, enthusiasm How to get a better letter Ask for a letter from a teacher/person with whom you have worked Clubs, teams, activities, etc. The one-on-one contact provides the writer with additional personal observations that add to their endorsement of you in the application

Letter of Reference Request How to ask for a letter Ask either in person or by email – be certain to indicate the purpose and some idea of the material that supports your application Be certain to ask something along the lines of, “Would you be comfortable writing me a strong reference letter?” Getting the letter written Everyone is busy – send reminders Should you do your own draft? Offer help indirectly – have material available

Letter of Reference Request What material should you provide? Consider the following: - What can the referee truthfully and reasonably say about you? - List specific examples of your involvement with the referee that support the application - What specific points are you hoping the referee will make – what image do you want to project – what should the reader learn about you - relate the points and image to the requirements of the application?

Your Personal Profile Step 2 – another step that you need to take is to create a Personal Profile to: Have available an updated list of your achievements and their place in your life Have available an assessment of what you have learned, how you have changed, and the developments that have occurred in your life Have available a basic, thought-out, developmental evaluation of the benefit of your activities in the areas necessary for success in a scholarship application

Your Personal Profile Your Personal Profile Form basically follows the format of the information required in a scholarship application Academics All scholarships require some level of academic success Your information must go beyond what is evident in your marks transcript Many universities provide scholarships based simply on the calculation of your GPA for admission purposes These awards are ‘automatic – you do not need to apply

Your Personal Profile Your academic record: Needs to show your commitment to academics – do you take your studies seriously? In some cases, scholarship committees will look simply at the GPA that your record shows In many cases – increasingly – the committee will look at the breadth and depth of your studies The committee will frequently consider Your class rank, Honours or AP courses Awards that you have received Letters of reference on academic promise In many cases weak academics are offset by extracurricular activities (the “well-rounded” student)

Your Personal Profile “Service” - You need to consider In school activities Activities in the general community In School Activities include a variety of areas such as: Student Council Clubs Fine Arts Volunteering Sports

Your Personal Profile “Activities in the General Community” include activities in such areas as: Volunteering Part-time Work Involvement in specific organizations What are scholarship committees looking for in your non-academic activities? Initiative Commitment Citizenship The impact of your involvement

Your Personal Profile The third quality looked for is “Leadership” Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective in a way that makes the group more cohesive and coherent – one definition anyway. It is a quality that needs to be reflected in your academics, work, community service, activities ….

What you need to show Curiosity Motivation Initiative Commitment