Recently a young lady shared with me that she was not applying for scholarships because she knew that others with higher grades were also applying and that she felt it would be waste of time competing against them.

I shared with her that it is never a waste of time to apply. One learns many things about oneself as one prepares to write one’s own biography. Additionally, as we have mentioned in other articles scholarships agencies do not always award their funds to students just because they have higher grades. What one does in addition to school time can also help the applicant become a top contender.

The other factor that one must understand is that not all grades have the same value. Just because someone has high grades it does not mean that they have better grades. In other words, not all “A” grades have the same value. On the surface they may all look the same but look at them more carefully and see the big difference.

When a scholarship agency looks over the applications they definitely search for evidence that the student can do the work of studying demanding and harder topics. Scholarship application readers also take into account at what kind of courses the student has been taking. Agencies are pretty good about realizing that some students have lower grades but that they are still more capable of succeeding in college than others.

Students that got a “B” grade in Calculus or Advanced Literature are considered much better candidates than someone who got an “A” grade in basic mathematics or regular English courses. Agencies look at more than just one’s grade point average (GPA). Someone can have a lower grade point average but has been taking much harder courses. A 3.5 (B+) grade average while taking college preparatory and advance placement courses mean a great deal more and are taken into consideration over someone who has a 4.0 (A) grade average but taking only basic high school courses.

One cannot assume that because someone else has a higher grade point average than you do that that means they will automatically win. It really depends on what kind of courses you were taking and what else you are doing with your extra time. Again if your personal time is being used constructively like in helping your parents, taking care of your brothers and sisters, active in student government, or competitive sports then it is easier to understand why you have slightly lower grades than someone who has basic courses, higher grades and can not demonstrate how they use their personal times wisely.

While getting high grades is important they are not the whole factor that scholarship agencies use to decide who will finally wins their money.

Thus, never discourage yourself from applying. Don’t disqualify yourself without first applying and if you do get turned down by the agency then keep working and trying harder to win them.