How to Apply to Scholarships without Burnout

If you find yourself constantly running out of time, and feeling extremely tired when applying to scholarships, you may be experiencing burnout - it's more common than you think! Here are our top tips on how to apply to scholarships without feeling burnout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOX2pfTcqL0&ab_channel=GrantMe

Think Ahead

Ever handed in a scholarship essay at 11:59 PM? The stress in submitting scholarships last minute not only reduces your chances of winning a scholarship as the quality of your application is reduced, but also contributes greatly to scholarship burnout. Planning your scholarship deadlines ahead of time will keep you from scrambling for a last minute submission so you can successfully apply to scholarships without burnout.

Stay Organized

Everyone has a different method of organization and planning. The most common method is to keep a physical planner, and input all scholarship deadline dates in the planner as early as possible. One of our students also recommends keeping a whiteboard at your work station so that your scholarship deadlines are always visible. Remember - out of sight, out of mind!

If a physical means of organization does not work for you, online planners and calendars are your best friend! Choose one of the following ways to set up your scholarship deadline alerts:

• Google Calendar: Google Calendar is a GrantMe favourite - it's what our team uses, and what we recommend to our students! Google Calendar not only integrates your events, but you can also input tasks and set up reminders! Here's a tip: Invite a friend to co-work with you. Add their email to a Google Calendar invite and use the Zoom add-on to keep each other accountable!
• Notion: Notion's user-friendly interface provides a wealth of ways that you can set up your planner. Use a to-do list, or set up a calendar - it's entirely up to you!
• Phone reminders: Using your phone's task/reminder function is by far the easiest way to plan ahead. All you have to do is open your reminder or tasks app (the name depends on what phone you have, the purpose is the same), tap a few buttons, and you're on your way to being more organized than you were only moments ago.

Take a Break

Now, this may sound counterintuitive, but it's true! Working for long periods of time without a break is the main reason for burnout. If you take more frequent breaks, you'll actually end up working for much longer than you would be if you were to work the entire time without breaks! Our favourite way to execute this is to use the Pomodoro method.

To use the Pomodoro method:

1. Choose a task
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes
3. Work on the task for 25 minutes
4. Take a 3-5 minutes break
5. Repeat the 25 minute cycle
6. After 4 cycles, take a 15 - 30 minute break

Get Help in Finding Scholarships

Writing scholarships is hard, but finding them is half the battle! To apply to scholarships without feeling burnout, enlist your friends and family to find relevant scholarships for you. Check internal high school and university scholarships, affiliate organizations, and remember to make a spreadsheet to track all of your scholarships (the ones you've applied to, will apply to, or those that you're just keeping an eye on)!

Alternatively, you can use GrantMe's Scholarship Matching App to do this for you. GrantMe's Scholarship Matching App uses data-driven technology to find tailored scholarships, includes a tracking sheet, toolkits, webinars, a resume creator, as well as our expert essay editing team! To find out how you can avoid scholarship burnout with GrantMe's help, click here.

For more information on the features of the GrantMe platform, check out our video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEsOq5MnlqE&t=6s&ab_channel=GrantMe

Use an Essay Template to reuse material

• A common tactic we use here at GrantMe is reusing scholarship material. At GrantMe, we use the help of the Essay Wizard, which has over 80 templates and in-line word recommendations. However, to manually create your own essay template, focus on the following steps:
  • Hook: Avoid using general statements and cliches for your hook. The more personal your hook is to your experience, the better
  • STAR model: STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.
    • Use STAR for every experience that you use in your essay!
    • Situation — place, time and context (1-2 sentences).
    • Task — your role in the story, what was the goal? (1 sentence) Action — 80% of your paragraph. Critical steps that you took to help complete the goal or volunteer initiative. You want to be specific here (3-4 sentences).
    • Result — What was the outcome? What did you learn? Provide a self-reflection and quantify your results where you can (2-3 sentences).
  • Conclusion: Make sure your conclusion discusses the impact of your experience. Whether that's the impact on the community, or a self-reflection for yourself, discussing impact is an effective way to establish the importance of your experience, and role!