We’ve compiled five ways to ensure you attract the most qualified applicants for your scholarship or grant program, setting you up for success from the start.
1. Collect the correct information.
Your scholarship and grant application must ask the right questions to identify the most qualified applicants. For example, if your program is merit-based, you’ll want to gather information about their GPA (Grade Point Average) and grades. Or if your program is research- or interest-based, you’ll want to ask questions about that.
Critical scholarship and grant application questions should ask for the following:
- All the applicant’s contact information
- Their school
- Their transcript
- Their primary areas of interest
- Other information that is relevant to your unique criteria
2. Make sure your application is easy to understand
When writing your scholarship or grant application, ensure the language is casual and relatable while remaining professional. You can do this through shorter, simpler words, contractions, and a conversational tone.
If an applicant needs help understanding your application questions, there is a higher chance that they will give up and not submit.
3. Make the application easy to fill out
Your scholarship or grant is likely not the only one your applicants are applying for. Keep your scholarship and grant application form short and concise to maximize application completion. Few people enjoy filling out redundant questions. Evaluate your application questions to ensure you emphasize the quality over the number of questions.
Opting for a check box or multiple-choice question is better than using open-ended questions. These questions make filling out the application more manageable for your applicants and make sorting and filtering easier for your reviewers.
4. Highlight your organization’s unique values
Including your organization’s unique mission and values in your scholarship and grant application allows applicants to determine whether they’re a good fit. Being transparent about what matters most to your organization will help you attract suitable applicants. Communicating who you are is also a good opportunity for you to start forming a bond between your organization and your applicants.
In addition to outlining values, you could go a step further and include a prompt in your scholarship application, such as, “How do our mission and values align with your own,” or “Give an example of the last time you exemplified [put a value here].”
5. Force applicants to get creative
You can get to know your applicants deeper by encouraging them to show off their unique personalities. Essay prompts, and video submissions are just two examples of ways you get them to highlight their creativity.
Including an essay prompt in your scholarship or grant application gives your applicants more room to display what makes them unique. Essays allow applicants to demonstrate their individuality more than a character-limited answer box ever could.
Another way to force applicants to get creative is to use video prompts. These prompts are fun for applicants to create and fun to review! In addition, your reviewers will gain insight into each applicant’s unique personality through how they express themselves in the video’s construction. Applications with requirements like these will stand out in your and your applicant’s minds.
Kaleidoscope’s scholarship and grant management software helps your application stand out
Kaleidoscope’s scholarship and grant management software enables program administrators to configure their application forms to their unique requirements. From the beginning of the application process to the end, Kaleidoscope helps organizations set themselves up for success. Schedule a demo today.
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