Our first question is about applying for scholarships.  It was asked by a participant at Twinbro’s “Developing a Scholarship Mentality” event at North Surrey Secondary.  We hope it is helpful!

How much should I ‘beg’ in my scholarship application?

The quick and easy answer is… do not beg in your application.  Begging can easily come across as whiny, desperate or rude.  If you were a scholarship judge, would you want to award money to a person like that?

We know that having money is an important part of being able to attend post-secondary school.  A better strategy than begging is to make the scholarship money part of your plan.  Remember, scholarship judges want to see that you are going somewhere and have a promising future.  Perhaps write about the great contributions you wish to make and how receiving that scholarship will enable you to focus on your studies, leadership and volunteer work so that you can continue to have an impact in your community.

Twinbro at North Surrey Secondary

It’s been a busy week!  We spoke at 3 different events, reaching over 300 students and parents with information on accessing post-secondary education and funding it through scholarships.  A huge thank you to Julie, Connie and Hardip for organizing!  Read on for the summaries, our suggested next steps, and a sneak preview of what’s to come on our blog!

Here is the run down…

North Surrey Secondary hosted Developing a Scholarship Mentality on Oct 20th.  It was  great to see so many students taking the initiative to get informed about scholarships.  The event was also a fundraiser for the schools own scholarship!  Congratulations to Sukhman P. who won a copy of the Twinbro Scholarship Strategy Guide as a door prize from her school.  We hope it’s helpful to you – let us know how it goes!

People were busy learning over the weekend too!  Twinbro’s Executive Director, Shawna Lum, spoke at a Paying for Post-Secondary Education workshop as part of the Vancouver School Board’s Continuing Education.  The workshop, run by Connie Gibbs, Financial Aid and Awards Advisor at BCIT provided information on student loans, grants and scholarships.  It was fantastic to see parents with children from all grades – the earlier you get informed the more helpful it will be!

Thank you to Johnston Heights Secondary who also hosted Developing a Scholarship Mentality this week.  We felt honoured by the turn out, and loved that you had lots of questions.  Thank you too for liking us on Facebook and Twitter!

Next steps…

So you’ve seen our presentation, now what?

• Check out our website for free application examples!  Remember, these are the real applications that won $10,000+ in scholarship money!
• Check back often for updated resources, new blog articles, and Facebook posts.  See our website to subscribe to our newsletter or RSS feed.  You can also track us through Facebook and Twitter.
• If you would like a step-by-step, comprehensive guide to winning scholarships and getting your snowball of success rolling, please contact us to purchase.  We will gladly accept cheque or visa.
• Take action!  Yes, applying for scholarships can take some time and effort – but (and we hope that you’ll agree!) it’s well worth the investment!

And on a more personal note…

Thank you everyone for all your enthusiasm, laughter and your questions!  There were some fantastic questions and you have inspired us to start a new thread: Ask Twinbro.  Here we will answer your most pressing post-secondary, scholarship, and community involvement questions.  Stay tuned for our first article on “Should I beg in my scholarship application?”

Taking in the spirit at We Day

It’s not every day you’re in the company of 18,000 youth.  It’s especially not every day you’re honoured by the presence of 18,000 cheering, chanting, dancing and inspired youth ready to take on the world.

It was enough to give anyone goosebumps.  Probably a warm fuzzy feeling, a bounce in your step and a perma-grin too.  As a volunteer with We Day in Vancouver, I was no exception.  I’d heard about this “We Day” event before but had no idea just how huge and amazing it was.

“We Day” is an annual celebration of youth and their power to change the world.  Created by Free the Children, it kicks-off the year’s “We Schools in Action” program in which students take action on local and international issues.  With moving speeches and performances, youth are energized and inspired to lead themselves, our communities, and our world.

As a Parking and Transportation volunteer I got to jump on buses, greet people, wave signs, and help get the energy started.  It was quite the sight as 18,000 students and teachers lined up around Rogers Arena waiting for the gates to open.  There were We Day crowd pumpers running around in neon spandex and capes.  Students with  matching outfits, colourful signs, and an infectious spirit.  Random cheering erupted from around corners, down stairways and out of the skytrain station.  I was on Abbott street helping with buses and pretty excited when the first bus that pulled up in front of me was my old high school, Port Moody Secondary!  As more buses rolled around, I got a sense of just how big this event was.  There were bus loads of students with sleeping bags as this was an overnight trip for them!  Groups from all over, including Vancouver Island and even Manitoba!  Everyone was cheerful and cheering… and it wasn’t even 8am.

The energy only got bigger and louder with the official start at 10am.  Hedley, Craig Kielburger, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson, Colbie Caillat, Barenaked Ladies and more.  I don’t know how else to explain it but intense.  Intense in a good way.  Intense in a deafening, powerful, magical way.  You only had to walk into the bowl for a moment to realize the incredible energy in the arena.  There’s something about a group of people all coming together both physically and in spirit, the sharing of emotion and the celebration of empowerment, that makes you feel elevated to another planet, yet so in the moment.

The buzz continued as everyone flooded out at the end of the event.  There were high fives, the We Day dance and smiling all around.  People were touched, moved and inspired.  I hope now that we take action.  Youth have every power to create change in this world.  They are not the leaders of tomorrow, but the leaders of today.  If all 18,000 youth and 700 volunteers were to take one small step in tackling social change, imagine the effect it would have.  It would be a movement, a youth-led movement.  I’m excited to see it all unfold.

At twinbro we are all about seeking out informational resources that can help us as individuals and also as a community. We are going to be on the hunt for other inspiring, educational and simply cool videos. If you think you have one that we should post on our blog or Facebook sent it to us at info@twinbro.com so we can share it with others.

Cheers and enjoy

Congratulations on taking the steps to create an exciting and fulfilling post secondary experience! As a scholarship winner, judge and active alumni participant I encourage you to think about a few necessary steps to ensure you can create an application that reaches all the requirements and exceeds the judge’s expectations.

As a scholarship judge for many years we are taught to look for a few key categories such as innovation, excellence and leadership. Of course these categories may vary slightly depending on what type of scholarship you are applying for. Therefore, look at the objectives the outline is asking for and make sure you give clear and specific examples of these traits and/or experiences throughout your application. Rather than writing about the same one or two experiences throughout your application, consider highlighting a few diverse stories from different life experiences to demonstrate how much you have to offer and the uniqueness of you! Make it clear to the judges why it would be a disservice for the organization to not consider you for their scholarship.

My suggestion is to create a dynamic story about your life journey and how you see yourself in the world. We are all parts of micro and macro systems that make up our family, community, country and world. How do these systems interrelate in your life? Has being from a large ethnic family made it challenging to afford post secondary? Do your school and community offer services which empower you to help others? Does being a Canadian spark some inner desire to create a society where all children, youth and families feel excepted and valued? Does being a youth make you question the environmental consequences of our world leaders? Whatever angle you are keen on, use it in your application. Describe how you are connected to these areas of your life and what you want to do and change in the world. As a judge we want to feel your passions, interests and the direction you may pursue as you go on to do extraordinary things in your future.

Connections to your community, faith, non profits, schools and political parties are valuable to your applications. This is not to say that “who you know” makes your application successful. Rather what type of connections in general do you make with others? Are you an animal lover that volunteers at the SPCA and runs winter fundraisers to keep stray and lost animals homes? Tell us about it. Do you sit on a youth advisory committee at school? We want to know this. Your future and how you connect with the world as a whole tells the judges a lot about your personality and what sets you apart in a crowd. Everyone including you, yes you, have unique and necessary qualities in forming a society of empathy, respect and community responsibility.

In conclusion seek out scholarships that suit your individual interests and talents. Be proud of whom you are and what you want to accomplish – this will shine through in your application! It is a pleasure and very motivating to read thousands of young leaders’ applications. You have the power to seek post secondary funding and achieve your goals. Reach for stars!

About the Author:

Erin Arnold graduated with distinction from UVIC in Child and Youth Care Counselling with a specialization in Child Protection. As as a  Millennium Laureate, she received a Canadian Millennium scholarship, attended national conferences and training, and participated on the Millennium judging committee for many years.  She is now a Program Manager at the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General helping victims of crime and trauma. Erin volunteers countless hours to community groups both locally and internationally. Her passions are children’s rights, crime prevention through social development, international volunteering, travelling and building a safe and connected community for children and youth.

The Chair of the Scholarship panel looked around the long table. Stacks of applications were piled up in front of each of the four panel members. The room was silent except for the sound of papers shuffling.

“We have to eliminate five candidates in this final round. Please read these applications with the closest attention. You have forty minutes.”

The stakes were high for this award of $10,000. What made the scholarship even more attractive was that it was renewable for up to three years. Once you won the award, you could continue to get $10,000 each year, as long as you maintained your marks and volunteering.

There were five awards to give out and ten good candidates in this final round of elimination.

When the time was up, the discussion began.

Sliding an application across the table to the Chair, one of the panel members said,

“I’ve circled a few typing and grammatical errors on this one.”

Everyone agreed. The application was placed on top of the mound of rejected applications in the centre of the Board Room table. One down, four to go.

“The person who wrote this reference letter forgot to change the salutation. It looks as though it’s a recycled reference letter that no one bothered to proof.”

#2 joined the other rejected applications.

“This applicant has a ton of volunteer experience, but it’s all over the map. Plus, she doesn’t seem to have played a leadership role. I don’t see as much initiative here as the donor wants to see.”

Silence, as the third rejected application slid across the table.

The next two were eliminated on the basis that the reference letters lacked specific examples of the candidates’ leadership and initiative.

The five rejected candates had done well to get to the short-list. They would never know how close they came to winning. They would receive the identical rejection letter that the other 80 rejected applicants would get.

It can be an intensely competitive process for the major scholarships. A scholarship coach might have made the difference between winning and losing.

A good scholarship coach has an eagle eye to proof your application for spelling and grammar mistakes, or sloppy mistakes like incorrect salutations. A good scholarship coach knows your strengths and will make sure your application fully reflects them in the written statement you provide and in the reference letters. A good scholarship coach knows who you are, what you’ve done and where you want to go.

A good scholarship coach can be: a teacher, a sports coach, a parent, a friend, a brother or sister, a community member. You need at least one other set of friendly but critical eyes on your application before you send it in, to be sure some little mistake doesn’t cause your application to fail.

A scholarship coach might be the person who writes your reference letter. Find someone who wants you to succeed. Find someone who has the skills and patience to devote to your application and is willing to make suggestions for improvement.

You could have more than one scholarship coach. Maybe you have a teacher who is a stickler for proper English. Ask him –nicely-to proof read your essay.

Maybe someone else knows your talent in extra-curricular interests, like a team coach.

Can you think of someone who could be your scholarship coach?  Imagine how you might approach a potential scholarship coach.

And make sure you do something nice for your coach after you open the envelope and scream:

“I WON!”

About the Author:

Connie received her undergraduate education at Simon Fraser University and completed a Master’s Degree in Education at the University of British Columbia.  She’s advised university and college students for over 25 years. Connie is currently a Student Financial Aid and Awards Advisor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).  She is passionate about helping students to access post-secondary education and teaches seminars on how to fund your post-secondary education.  Connie has sat on national and provincial scholarship adjudication committees.

Megan, a second year student majoring in Natural Resource Management, worked hard to pull all the pieces together for her application to a major scholarship. She took time to carefully write the personal statement required, describing the steps that had brought her to this stage in her life. Her transcript looked solid.  She had used a tutor to bring up her marks in Math. She’d kept up her volunteer commitment to a River Rehabilitation project in her community. Her references were positive and enthusiastic. Everything looked good.

A month later she opened the letter from the donor. She had not won! Megan was crushed and called her best friend for support.

Why didn’t Megan win?

The answer: her application just needed a little more attention to be successful.

Megan needed a scholarship coach. A good scholarship coach would have spotted and corrected the weak places in her application.  That little bit of help would have boosted her application up a notch and pushed it into the winner’s circle.

So what happened when Megan’s application was reviewed by the scholarship committee?

On the first review, the adjudicators agreed Megan was a good fit with the criteria the donor had set: solid marks, a commitment to the environment, volunteer community service. Megan made the first cut. There were six scholarships of $2,500 and seven remaining candidates on the short-list. The adjudicators were under pressure. They examined the applications more closely, trying to decide which one to eliminate.  The differences in quality among the candidates seemed paper thin but they had to find a reason to eliminate one of them.

They went over the donor’s criteria yet again. Leadership qualities were part of the community service criteria. They reviewed the seven candidates once more, zeroing in on this requirement.

One of the committee members noticed that Megan mentioned leading a salmon enhancement project in her personal statement. The committee members scrutinized the letter from the Director of the community agency where she volunteered. The Director commended Megan’s enthusiasm and commitment, mentioned her ability to work as team member, but there didn’t seem to be anything about her abilities as a leader.

Her application was eliminated.

A scholarship coach who knew Megan might have spotted this discrepancy . Megan had worked on the application alone and communicated with her references by e-mail. She had not made sure they had a written copy of the criteria. She had not reviewed the reference letters against the donor’s criteria. It’s easy to miss something.

Scholarship decisions are confidential and final so Megan never got feedback on why her application didn’t win.  What should she do now?

The worst thing Megan can do is become discouraged and decide never to apply  again for scholarships. The best thing would be for her to find a scholarship coach and keep applying!

Next up:

Who is a scholarship coach?

How do you find one to support and help you through the scholarship application process?

How can you leverage one scholarship to win another?

About the Author:

Connie received her undergraduate education at Simon Fraser University and completed a Master’s Degree in Education at the University of British Columbia.  She’s advised university and college students for over 25 years. Connie is currently a Student Financial Aid and Awards Advisor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).  She is passionate about helping students to access post-secondary education and teaches seminars on how to fund your post-secondary education.  Connie has sat on national and provincial scholarship adjudication committees.

The air is getting crisper and costumes are up in stores – must be back to school time! With this time of year comes the return of some familiar routines but also new experiences. Here at Twinbro we are incredibly excited to build on the old and introduce the new. This fall is going to be a big one and we are excited to share it with you!

1) First up, welcome to our new website! It will be a continual learning process as we dot our i’s and cross our t’s. Let us know if you have any feedback! A huge thank you goes out to Duncan (www.codeistry.com), our web developer extraordinaire, for creating our awesome site!

2) Thanks for reading our new blog! Check back often as we will be posting helpful articles, interviews, news and other exciting tidbits.

3) With all the new additions, we haven’t forgotten about one of our (and hopefully your) old time favourites!  The ‘Developing a Scholarship Mentality’ presentation is back and ready to go!  Contact us at info@twinbro.com to arrange a date for your school or group!

4) There’s much to look forward to on twinbro.com!  In particular, we will be posting free application examples!  Successful scholarship and graduate program applicants have donated their applications for others to learn from.  Also coming soon is a ‘How to Win Scholarships’ guide book written by the Twinbro staff and some special guests. We’ll keep you posted!