Ripdaman had everything he needed to succeed in the college admission process on his own. The grades, the extracurriculars, and the confidence were all there.  However, procrastination and a busy schedule got in the way. Here’s how he took a chance in the scholarship process and won over $75,000.

Written by Adam Griffiths and Ripdaman Malhans

There are certain moments in life that make you feel proud and amazed at what you did when you can’t help but think Wow… I really did that”. There’s a good chance you, the reader, have experienced or will experience this. It’s moments of pride and success or even embarrassment and failure that make you think this. Personally, I had a few instances of these moments throughout my high school life. 

One of them was joining GrantMe. 

I never really had any major aspirations for winning tons of scholarship money. I knew that I could do it, but like many others, I had fallen victim to procrastination. Being an IB student, I could not afford to fall for this trap, but it got the better of me. 

I was around a month into Grade 12, and I had practically no idea what I was going to be doing in terms of scholarships. 

Then near the end of September 2019, my dad came to me and told me about something called GrantMe. I heard it, and instantly I thought to myself, “I don’t need that.” I was an excellent student; why would I need extra support?

I felt that if I let someone help me, it would not be my personal work.

That was one of the reasons why I felt I didn’t need GrantMe. Trust me, that was a bad judgment. Up till that point, I had always felt that I never got lucky. 

What I didn’t realize was the amazing opportunity that had just arrived at my door. 

After signing up and paying for the yearly subscription fee, things stayed relatively the same in terms of extracurriculars and scholarships. Then all of a sudden, in November, I got an email saying that I was eligible for an interview for the GrantMe Academy program, and I was overjoyed. 

All of a sudden, things started to click. That day my dad told me something that I would never forget:

“You’re only lucky if you take more chances. The more chances you take, the luckier you get.” 

He was basically saying to apply for every scholarship you can to get the most out of all of them. So that’s what I did. I started applying to quite a few scholarships. From the Schulich to the Vimy Pilgrimage Award, I tried to apply to as many scholarships as possible while handling IB, robotics at the international level and multiple clubs. 

Having GrantMe present as a support system made my job a lot easier. 

Not only was I able to learn the most effective ways to write scholarship essays, but I was also able to get professional feedback that helped me understand the mistakes I was making so that I did not make them the next time I wrote an application. 

To be honest, the first time I submitted an essay for editing, I thought I would only get compliments. Let’s just say I have never seen that many comments on a Google Doc in my life. The whole essay was essentially one continuous highlight. In a sense, this humbled me, and I slowly realized that I made the right choice sticking with GrantMe.

GrantMe will show you what you do wrong but make it nearly impossible for you to make that same mistake again once you see it.

Alongside all of the edits I received for my essays, the monthly webinars and various mentorship calls I was a part of helped me polish my personality academically and even socially. 

I got to meet some of the most talented, friendly and intelligent individuals in all of Canada. 

Getting countless tips on how to prevent procrastination and find the motivation to excel in everything I do truly helped me become a better version of myself. 

By winning around $75,000, I gained priceless knowledge and experience that I can apply to my studies at the University of British Columbia.

I can pursue my passion for STEM through Biomedical Engineering because of the decisions I made and the opportunity I took advantage of. Whether you decide to use GrantMe or not does not matter at the end of the day. What matters is if you are pleased with your decisions and are making an honest effort to grow. “Your success is in your happiness.” 

My future could have been completely different had I refused my dad’s request to look into GrantMe in September 2019. 

If there’s one thing I can say from all of this, it’s to seize the opportunity. Only then will you get lucky.

---

Ripdaman Malhans is a 2020 GrantMe Academy program alumnus and a former GrantMe Mentor.

If you want to achieve success like Ripdaman, GrantMe can help. We provide personalized scholarship matches, essay editing, and mentorship from past winners to maximize your success. Complete our short scholarship eligibility quiz to learn how GrantMe can help you achieve your post-secondary goals.