Hey everyone I'm Lillian and welcome to my channel.
So applying for scholarships and fellowships are always very difficult.
And when I was applying for them, I found that I got a lot of generic advice, like "start
early" or y'know "set deadlines" and all of that stuff.
And while those things are important, I've found that they don't really contribute much
to the actual application.
So in this video I'm going to be going over things that I've picked up as I've applied
for scholarships and fellowships.
So for those of you who don't know me, I'm a current PhD student in Biology at Harvard
University.
And what makes me qualified to give a video like this?
I worked at the Writing Center at my college but in addition to that, I've won prestigious
scholarships and fellowships such as the Goldwater Scholarship, NSF GRFP, and the Ford Foundation
Predoctoral Fellowship.
I've also not gotten a lot of things, so I think I have a lot of experience in terms
of what made my application successful and what didn't, and what habits I've picked up
that have really started helping me out.
So yeah, let's get started.
So the number one MOST important thing.
If you get anything out of this video, it's this.
Read the mission statement of the organization or the scholarship.
Here's a bunch of people who want to find someone qualified to fulfill some goal and
in order to fulfill that, they want to give you money.
But they're not just going to give money to anyone, even if you're amazing.
They want to give money for a particular purpose.
And I still think, having read a lot of fellowship applications, that this is the number one
mistake that people do.
They don't read the mission statement.
The organization or scholarship is there to fulfill a certain need, and even if you are
the most incredible applicant in the world, if you don't fulfill that need, they're not
going to pick you for something.
So as you're putting your application package together, you really have to think about what
the purpose of the scholarship is, and what you bring to the table.
So next.
Now that you have read the mission statement (and believe me, you need to read the mission
statement), what you need to do is write the mission statement down.
Make sure that every single part of your application relates back to that mission statement.
So what do I mean by that?
If the mission statement is to fund future leaders in science, use the word "leader".
Talk about your leadership skills.
You can't just not address that.
So many sure 1) that the essays reflect back and use the language of those mission statements,
but 2) also make sure that your letter of recs reflect that as well.
It's one thing to say that you are a leader or you will encourage diversity in this field
or whatever the mission statement is.
But it's another thing for people who are recommending you to say that.
So by the time you're done with your essays and by the time you're asking for letters
of rec, you need to have that mission statement down and make sure that your letter of rec
writers know it as well and refer to it.
And when you're done with those essays, you need to go back and make sure you've addressed
it.
So that really is the most important thing.
Like really, the mission statement.
I'm going ot mention some other stuff, but really, the mission statement part, is what
made me an average applicant to an applicant that stood out and won a lot of these awards.
So.
Mission statement.
Another important thing you want to do is read sample essays for the fellowship or scholarship
you're applying to.
My college didn't have much access to sample essays for scholarships I was applying for.
Some colleges do, and if so, go to your fellowships or scholarships office and they'll have stuff
like that.
And if not, ask around.
When I was applying to Goldwater a lot of my friends knew winners of Goldwater and they
were more than willing to pass on their applications to help me.
Just know, especially for fellowships where you're proposing something, things can often
be confidential.
There may be data that isn't published yet or things that are secret that are not actually
allowed to be made known to the public.
That goes for me too - most of my applications have things that are confidential...
so sorry about that.
For popular scholarships and fellowships, you can probably find sample essays online.
And there's another thing you want to think about here.
There's sample winning essays and sample losing essays.
And I think both are important.
Obviously the sample winning essays have a little bit more weight, so if you're looking
for anything look people who have won the fellowships before.
But if you can get on some essays that didn't get funded, that is helpful as well because
you can actually see the difference between the essays that did get funded and the ones
that didn't and make sure you that you don't make the same mistakes that maybe happened
in the essays that didn't get funded.
So most people at this point would be saying things like "Make sure you don't have typos."
And... typos, yeah, you don't want to have a lot of typos, but I think i've had a typo
in every single application I've submitted and I still got funded.It was only one but
it was still there and I was so exasperated when I discovered it and thought I wouldn't
be funded but then I was.
So I'd say, yes, look for typos, but also make sure that you actually met the guidelines
and the format instructions that the fellowship or the scholarship has provided.
If you make a typo, that's not going to disqualify you.
But if the scholarship or the fellowship SPECIFICALLY said "have 1-inch margins on all sides" and
you don't have 1-inch margins on all sides, that will disqualify you.
You don't want them to think that you don't know how to follow basic instructions.
So follow basic instructions.
And the last thing I'm going to say is so cliche...
Be yourself!
Don't try to be someone who you aren't because it is easy to spot.
Present yourself as you are.
When I used to work at the writing center, a lot of people would present very grandiose
pictures of who they are and their personality was fake in these applications.
And believe me, you can tell.
It's very hard to be someone other than who you are so just accept yourself as you are
- with your limitations and your strengths.
You are who you are and just because you aren't perfect doesn't mean you are not worthy of
getting a scholarship or a fellowship.
In fact, people want to know who it is that they're funding.
And you are way more likely to get one of the awards if they have a sense of who you
are rather than who you want to be.
So yeah, that's about it.
I really think I started being successful when I discovered how to do all this.
And there isn't a straightforward way to do any of this.
Except for reading the mission statement - that is straightforward and just do it.
And successful applications are often funded after a lot of practice.
I was rejected from 15 fellowships before I ever got my first one.
If you don't get a fellowship, try and get feedback.
A lot of fellowships in particular, if you don't get funded, they come with reviewer
comments where they tell you what this reviewer thought and what could be improved in your
application.
But if for example a scholarship or fellowship doesn't come with comments, maybe you can
ask - the head of an organization and see if there's anyway they can give you feedback
on how to strengthen your application.
That being said, if it's a really big organization or if they say no, don't pester them.
You can also ask professors around you or your teachers for more advice.
Feedback is the #1 thing that has helped me the most when it came to rejected applications
and turning those into successful ones.
And if you get a rejection?
That's life.
It's a part of the process and it's very common for people to get rejected.
It doesn't mean that you are deficient in any way.
It could mean that one of the reviewers was just having a bad day.
A lot of it is luck, so just remember that.
That being said, just because luck is a huge component of this does not mean that you shouldn't
do your research.
Make sure that your application is specifically tailored to meet the needs of that scholarship
or fellowship.
They are going to give money to people who they think will fulfill their goals.
So yeah.
Those are really the basics, I think, for how to get a successful application.
Everything else is just practice and luck.
I'm going to be making specific videos about the fellowships and scholarships that I've
received as they're rather competitive and it can be difficult to find advice about them
online.
So if you learned anything at all from this video, please like it and subscribe.
I'll be making a lot more videos like this in the coming weeks because IT'S APPLICATION
SEASON.
And I want to give back all the help I've received.
If you have any other advice to contribute, please leave it in the comments section.
Not only would I be grateful because I'm always looking for more advice, but I'm sure other
people would be grateful as well.
So yeah, thanks for watching.