Understanding how and why individuals and agencies offer scholarships will greatly increase your chances to win them.

In the seminars we offer to help families to prepare for applying to and winning scholarships, we ask: "why are you applying for a scholarship?". In practically a few seconds everyone seems to know the answer. Then we ask the second question: "why do companies and agencies offer the scholarships?" The audience seems a bit confused as to what the answer to this less obvious question might be.

After many years of helping students complete their scholarship applications, a common error I repeatedly see is that applicants complete applications only from their own personal point of view and concern. A common approach, telling the scholarship agency that they 'want to go to college and that they don't have the money to attend alone', does not work to win scholarships. In fact, the agency already knew that just by receiving the application.

It is important to remember that persons and companies offering scholarships do not give them out as a charity or free gifts to those that don't have money. They establish scholarships as a form of investment toward the betterment of the community where they do business and live in. They invest their money to the community through the students that show the greatest potential of succeeding in college and demonstrate that they are going to give it their best to excel academically, and that there is a also a high level of probability that once theygraduate, that they will continue to use their expanded knowledge to bring additional positive changes in their own communities and perhaps, even better yet, throughout the world.

Thus, to increase one's chances of winning scholarships, an applicant must be ready to demonstrate very clearly and precisely how their potential benefactor's investment in a form of scholarship will ultimately better prepare the student to bring about positive change to their community. Each applicant must examine what talents they have and show how they will expand them with the help of a college education in order to improve the world we live in.