**How to maximize ur financial aid letter for scholarships?**?

Question

I mean, I composed one that was pretty good in my opinion.. I really did feel like it was convincing enough..

But i was just wondering if I left something out that would've made me get a better shoe in.. Like, what really convinces the reviewers that you're in real need for financial aid (personally).. I'm not talking about "Oh just tell them ur 'estimated family contribution' or something".. I'm talking about, what else?!

I've already explained (in my previous letter to a scholarship) how my family strived hard to come to the US & how it was hard on EACH of us to adapt, not just financial-wise either..

But yah, if any of y'all were able to write a good letter, give me suggestions.. cuz the last one I wrote for a region scholarship, i didn't get.. and I even included REALLY impressive accomplishments I've done (such as being Valedictorian, captain/commander/president of numerous things, big on community service, and so forth).. so PLEASE help me out!

Answer 1

it sounds like you did a great job on your essays, but then again, your the one reviewing them.

you have to have a few other people read them for you (such as a teacher/prof you are on good terms with, friends who will be open about it). some one bias, who is not affraid to 'be blunt' about things they may find that need tweeking.

you see, if we all review all of our own work, sometimes, we miss things. its nothing to take personal.

these sites for essays may help also. they have tips, ideas and examples to help.

one more thing, if you didnt get the scholarship (that you felt you were a shoe in for), also dont take that personal. God knows how many applications they had, all for those limited scholarships.

just keep trying, to any you can get your hands on... every year.
-------------------------
OVER apply; it doesnt hurt to have too many, and the extra funds can help with housing.

YOU MAY NEED ADOBE READER:
(yes, its free)
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

TESTING & PRACTICE TESTS
(SATs, PSATs, ACT, GRE LSAT, MCAT, GMAT,TOEFL, etc)
http://www.kaptest.com/college
http://collegeboard.com/splash/
http://act.org/
http://lsac.org
http://toefl.org
http://www.ets.org
http://www.gre.org
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat
http://www.gmac.org

TURNITIN
(don’t copy papers, teachers/professors
DO check your papers with this)
http://turnitin.com/static/home.html
http://plagiarism.org/

INFO
NACAC & COMMONAPP
http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/
http://commonapp.org/
http://nsse.iub.edu/index.cfm

DVD TOURS OF COLLEGES
http://collegiatechoice.com/

CRIME STATS, DATA OF COLLEGES
http://ope.ed.gov/security/search.asp

OTHER BENEFITS
http://www.govbenefits.gov/govbenefits_en.portal
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Benefits.shtml
http://www.grants.gov/aboutgrants/eligibility.jsp

SCHOLARSHIP LIST
http://scholarshipamerica.org/
http://www.lifebridge.org/gran-list-alph.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/njcomputerchick/school.html
http://www.chrome.org/scholarshiplist.html

MORE SCHOLARSHIPS, HELP & INFO:
http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/servlet/scholarshipsearchservlet?SS_ACTION=DB_SEARCH&pageIndex=1
https://www.collegedata.com/cs/search/scholar/scholar_search_tmpl.jhtml?Referrer=OvScholar
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-jobs.htm
http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/other.phtml
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/
http://www.back2college.com/library/scholarships.htm
http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/
http://www.scholarshiphelp.org/
http://www.findtuition.com/scholarships/
http://www.collegeconfidential.com/
http://college-scholarships.com/
http://www.statefarm.com/about/part_spos/grants/grants.asp
http://www.gmsp.org
http://www.gmsp.org/gmsp_web/(nb5ctd55gavpfi55bb3a3j45)/scholarships.aspx
http://www.sfa.ufl.edu:16080/scholarshipcafe/
http://www.edsf.org/scholarshipAwards.cfm
http://www.fafsaonline.com/
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
http://www.feea.org/
http://www.greenzone.org/
http://www.salliemae.com/
http://www.ed.gov/finaid/landing.jhtml
http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/
http://www.educationplanner.com/ss/code/Profile1.asp?level=u®ion=s&mode=EDIT&sponsor=2859&volume=SS&e&h
http://www.studentawards.com/
http://www.collegeanswer.com/index.jsp
http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/
http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/Detailed/Scholarships/Meta_indexes_and_other_scholarship_directories/Women_s_and_Non-traditional_students_scholarships_meta-directory_126.php
http://www.akaeaf.org/programsandinitiatives/
http://www.schoolsoup.com/
http://www.blackexcel.org/link4.htm
http://www.dellscholars.org/
http://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org/
http://www.jackierobinson.org/
http://www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4212
http://www.wilsonfund.org/scholarships/scholarships.shtml
http://www.uncf.org/
http://www.socxfbi.org/login.asp?reason=denied_empty&script_name=/cgi-alumni/adir2.dll&path_info=/search&sitename=FBI&scroll=10&p=1&S=scholarships&x=0&y=0
http://www.finaid.org/
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp
http://www.act.org/recognition/clients.html
http://www.act.org/kfcscholars/index.html
http://www.kfcscholars.org/
http://www.rhodesscholar.org/
http://www.collegedata.com/
http://www.fastweb.com/
http://www.getreadyforcollege.org/gPg.cfm?pageID=139
http://www.policylink.org/EDTK/AH101/Financing.html#4
http://www.hud.gov/grants/index.cfm

MISC FIELDS OF STUDY
http://www.arts.ucla.edu/support_ucla/primary.htm
http://www.act.org/goldwater/yybull.html
http://www.act.org/recognition/clients.html
http://whereyouheaded.com/
http://luth.org/schools.htm
http://www.nwboatschool.org/
http://soloschools.com/
http://www.nols.edu/wmi/
http://etruscanfoundation.org/

NURSING / CAN
http://www.legion.org/?section=community&subsection=com_edaid&subsection2=com_scholarships&content=gi_eightfortysch
http://www.scholarships-ar-us.org/grants/nursing.htm
http://www.dar.org/natsociety/edout_scholar.cfm
http://nursingworld.org/nursecareer/edfund.htm
http://www.medi-smart.com/finaid.htm
http://www.discovernursing.com/nursing-scholarship-search
http://www.ncaa.org/about/scholarships.html
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/DSA/nsl.htm
http://www.nsna.org/foundation/
http://www.4cnas.com
http://www.choosenursing.com/
http://www.minoritynurse.com/
http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subptyschol.inc
http://www.straightforwardmedia.com/nursing/
http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/scholarship/

BECOMING A TEACHER
http://www.siemens-foundation.org/TeacherScholarship/
http://www.aft.org/teachers/jft/becoming.htm
http://www.fseog.com/
http://www.childcareservices.org/ps/teach.html
http://www.act.org/recognition/clients.html

CHILDREN OF MILITARY
http://www.legion-aux.org/Scholarships/TalSamsung/index.aspx
http://www.legion.org/?section=community&subsection=com_edaid&subsection2=com_scholarships&content=gi_samsungsch
http://www.militaryscholar.org/about/about.shtml
http://www.mcsf.com/site/c.ivKVLaMTIuG/b.1677655/k.BEA8/Home.htm
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm <-do search for ‘scholarships’
http://www.milspouse.org/Educ/Fund/MilFScholar/
http://www.aerhq.org/education_dependentchildren.asp

INTERNSHIPS
http://www.fasttrackinternships.com/
http://www.internprograms.com/
http://www.brillstreet.com/
http://ceri.msu.edu/

DEPENDENCY or NOT
http://www.salliemae.com/get_student_loan/apply_student_loan/understanding/financial_aid/dependency/

LOAN FORGIVENESS
http://www.pheaa.org/loanforgiveness/healthier_futures.shtml
http://www.aft.org/teachers/jft/loanforgiveness.htm
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/cancelstaff.jsp?tab=repaying
http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml
http://www.aessuccess.org/manage/cant_make_payment/Federal_Teacher_Loan_Forgiveness.shtml
http://www.staffordloan.com/repayment/forgiveness.shtml
http://www.educationplanner.com/ss/code/Profile1.asp?level=u®ion=s&mode=EDIT&sponsor=2859&volume=SS&e&h

STATUS OF LOAN OR AID
http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/

IF YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR PIN yet (for your loan / aid status) apply for one:
http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp

ESSAY HELP
http://essayedge.com/
http://www.scholarshiphelp.org/
http://www.gradesaver.com/resources/scholarship.html
http://www.collegeadmissionsessays.com/
http://www.nataviguides.com/broke_essay.html
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/apply/articles/process/essayjump.asp
http://www.scholarshipessay.us/
http://www.freschinfo.com/tips-brainstorming.php
http://www.freschinfo.com/tips-topic.php
http://www.korepetycje.com/Essays_Articles/scholarshipessay.html

GRANT SCHOLARSHIP SCAM LIST
(if you find a scam report it here too)
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer/media_psas_classads.html
http://www.actstudent.org/finaid/scholarshipscams.html

LOANS
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html
http://www.acteducationloans.com/
http://www.finaid.org/loans/educationlenders.phtml
http://www.financialaid.com/plus/index.cfm?id=plusloans
http://www.alternativestudentloan.com/
http://www.parentplusloan.com/
http://www.financialaidpodcast.com/about/
http://www.myspace.com/financialaidpodcast
http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

GRAD LOANS & SCHOLARSHIP
http://www.gradloans.com/graduate-plus-loan/
http://www.gfoa.org/services/scholarships.shtml
http://www.akaeaf.org/programsandinitiatives/

DEFAULTED STUDENT LOANS
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DCS/index.html

CONSOLIDATE LOANS
http://loanconsolidation.ed.gov/
http://www.plusloanconsolidator.com/
http://www.salliemae.com/after_graduation/manage_your_loans/consolidate_student_loans/student_loan_consolidation.htm
http://www.salliemae.com/content/privateconsolidation/index.html


TEACHER / PROFESSORS reviews, rated by students
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/index.jsp
http://teacherreviews.com/
http://pickaprof.com/

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
http://www.edupass.org/finaid/
http://www.irex.org/programs/grants.asp
http://ciee.org/
https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/home.html
http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman/index.html
http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman/resources.html
http://www.iefa.org/
http://www.iefa.org/resources/
http://educationusa.state.gov/
http://college-scholarships.com/
http://www.studyabroad.com/forum/financial_aid.html
http://www.internationalstudent.com/
http://www.internationalscholarships.com/
http://www.internationalstudentloan.com/
http://www.globalslc.com/
http://www.edupass.org/finaid/loans.phtml
http://www.abroadplanet.com/student-loans/the-global-student-loan-corporation/
http://www.salliemae.com/international/
FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
http://fordfound.org/

HISPANIC SCHOLARSHIPS
http://www.hsf.net/
http://www.scholarshipsforhispanics.org/
http://www.statefarm.com/about/part_spos/grants/hispanic.asp
http://www.hsfi.org/
http://scholarships.hispanicfund.org/applications/
http://www.chci.org/chciyouth/scholarship/scholarship.htm
http://www.bpwusa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4212

Answer 2

The main thing is to give the essay or letter a real focus to it and never make it broad. Show how each step you went through to reach the United States made you stronger through the tough times. The best thing to do before submission is to have several people spell and grammar check it along with giving you tips to improve it for clarity. Also, I have included some scholarship tip websites below. Good luck!