The Scholarship Workshop

1. The ScholarshipWorkshop The Delson Scholars Present:

2. The Delson Scholarship: A Brief History • “The idea came out of my (Brad Delson) experience at Nimitz Middle School. When my friend invited me to speak to her class, I chose to focus not only on my music career but on my experience in college and how that helped me to be successful. I think it’s important to get kids at a young age to start thinking about college, because that will inform their experience inhigh school and give them something to work toward.”

3. More History: In 2004, Brad Delson, the guitarist from Linkin Park, and his wife Elisa established the DelsonScholarship Fund at UCLA, which annually awards four-year scholarships to extraordinary students from Huntington Park and Bell.

4. The Delson Scholarship • How much? • $32,000.00 total; $8,000.00 per year • Requirements? • Bell or Huntington Park High School graduate with a minimum 3.0 H.S. GPA • Demonstrate financial need based on UCLA Financial Aid Office standards • Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident • Write a 500-word essay • Applications must arrive at the SRC no later than April 6 • Contact Info. • Hannah Lee : HLee@college.ucla.edu • Scholarship Resource Center: (310) 825-6216 • Expectations? • maintains a minimum cumulative 2.70 GPA at UCLA • perform a total of twenty community service hours during the academic year at Nimitz Middle School, and Bell and Huntington Park High Schools; • Participate in Spring Quarter UCLA fieldtrip (Nimitz students)

5. Types of Scholarships • College-Specific Awards Colleges often have scholarship money available that is used to develop the financial package offered to an applicant who has been granted admission. These scholarships are available under a variety of terms that may include maintaining a certain GPA, pursuing a specific major, etc. • Merit Based. Made popular by colleges. They are the scholarships you receive for achieving a certain GPA/test score combination. The higher your GPA and test scores, the more merit money. Your college application serves as your scholarship application in this case as well. • Need Based. Once your FAFSA is filed, You'll receive a final financial aid package from the colleges you've narrowed it down to. You may notice, depending on how "needy" you are, that there are other scholarships listed in addition to your merit. These are need based scholarships, and are typically referred to as grants. • Other School scholarships. Yes, there is an "other" category. Oftentimes, colleges will have additional scholarships that require a bit more work--essays, interviews, etc. You can find these scholarships on school websites. • Promotional. You'll find a lot of these scholarships on FastWeb. Companies use scholarships for marketing purposes. By generating scholarship enquiries, they are at the same time encouraging use of their product.

6. More Types of Scholarships • Contests. Can be promotional as well, but they typically require more than just an application or essay. Scholarship contests embody a more creative outlet in finding and securing scholarships. Contests oftentimes ask applicants for their secret talent, a homemade movie, or original song lyrics to depict their qualifications for the award. Once again, look for these types of scholarships on FastWeb. • Athletic Scholarships. Granted, this is only going to apply to a select few, but athletic scholarships don't require a whole lot of brains. Rather, the importance lies in physical talent and drive. • Artistic Scholarships. There are plenty of art-specific scholarships available for students who do the research. Additionally, artists can use their skills to apply for non-artistic scholarships. Oftentimes, judges are looking for creatively convincing applications for "average joe" scholarships--think film, dance, song lyrics, paintings, etc. • Minority Scholarships. These scholarships are typically reserved for students from financially unprivileged backgrounds and ethnicities. Though these scholarships are not necessarily based on grades, they do require community service or athleticism--anything that sets you apart from the crowd. • Employee Scholarships. If you think your summer job is just a way to finance your love for video games or fashion, you're wrong. Many employers, whether yours or your parents, offer scholarships to students just because of the relationship that exists between the two. • Random Scholarships. There are scholarships out there that are random enough for any college student. It just requires a little legwork in finding these scholarships. And by legwork, we mean typing "wacky scholarships" into a search engine.

7. Searching for Scholarships There's no single, comprehensive source that can list for you all of the scholarships you're eligible for. So I recommend that you treat this like a research project, and consult several sources. »  Books Scholarship books may be general references, or more targeted ("Scholarships for Women," or "Scholarships for Engineers," for example). Most books of scholarship listings will have several indexes (sorting scholarship listings by academic discipline, geographic location, or sponsoring organization).»  Database Searches I recommend that you try a few different databases, since none of them are comprehensive. (Examples are the SRN database hosted in the SRC office–see their workshop listing for their current schedule–and the list of outside free databases on their webpage.) You'll give the database information about yourself (background, career goals, academic interests, hobbies, etc), and it will find scholarship matches based on your profile. Since many of the sites will send you e-mail updates, it's a good idea to set up a separate e-mail account just to handle your scholarship information.

8. Searching for Scholarships (cont.) »  Ask your College Counselor Your college counselor is a very resourceful staff member that may know about many scholarships you can apply for. »  Search Online In addition to the free searchable databases of scholarship information, you can find a wealth of information online. The key is focusing your search, so that you won't be frustrated by the terrifying amount of information, and so that you can avoid disreputable sites and scams. Also search for scholarships in college websites. The Delson Scholarship was listed in UCLA’s website.»  Think Broadly Take note of your interests, hobbies, ethnic/religious background, affiliations, etc. There are scholarships based on many, many characteristics that have nothing to do with grades or financial need.

9. Scholarship Websites • http://www.fastweb.com • http://www.hispanicfund.org/ • http://www.scholarships.com/ • http://www.google.com/ • http://www.horatioalger.org/ • http://www.freemason.org/ • http://www.studentcity.com/ • http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/src/ • http://www.uclalumni.net/Scholarships/apply/home.cfm • http://www.uclalatinoalumni.net/site/ • http://www.hsf.net • http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/OurScholarships.cfm • http://www.scholarships4students.com/scholarships_for_college_students.htm • http://www.finaid.org/ • http://www.petersons.com/ • http://www.ja.org/

10. Scholarships may be time Consuming The 1st time around • Plan to spend A LOT of hours searching the web, entering profiles into databases, reading scholarship directories and searching newspaper archives. There’s really no way around this time commitment. • Remember, in the end, it’s all worth it! • Once you finish your first application, your next applications will probably be a breeze

11. By the Way • Scholarship judges are very critical and know what they are looking for. If they are asking for an applicant who has three legs, yet you have two, don’t bother applying. Perhaps that was just a little bit exaggerating, but in real scenario, if the application is looking for a student with a 3.5, and you have a 3.4, don’t apply. • Also be SURE to meet the scholarship deadline. A day late will probably eliminate your application. Yet if your application is late, you should contact the scholarship chairman to see if he/she can make exceptions.

12. SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS • General Rules of Thumb 1.  If you must pay money to get money, it might be a scam.2.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 3.  Spend the time, not the money. 4.  Never invest more than a postage stamp to get information about scholarships. 5.  Nobody can guarantee that you'll win a scholarship. 6.  Legitimate scholarship foundations do not charge application fees. 7.  If you're suspicious of an offer, it's usually with good reason.

13. Compositions of the Typical Scholarship Application • Scholarship Essay • Personal Statement • Interview • Personal Assessment • Letters of Recommendation

14. Be Organized!!! • Create a Calendar with all scholarship deadlines • Make a checklist of all the requirements • Plan ahead; compile a list of potential questions • Make several photocopies of all the forms you receive.  Use the copies as working drafts as you develop your application packet. • It is always best to type the application.  If you must print, do so neatly and legibly. • Proofread the entire application carefully.  Nothing is less impressive than an application with misspelled words or grammar errors.  Ask a friend, teacher or parent to proofread it as well.

15. The Delson Scholarship Application Essay Question: • Write a 500-word essay (approximately two double-spaced pages maximum) which focuses on the greatest challenge that you have overcome, how the Delson Scholarship would help you, why you want to be a UCLA graduate, and any extracurricular/ community service involvement.

16. The Scholarship Essay • Understand the Purpose of the Writing and the Motivation of the Askers • Your essay will typically be used as a writing sample • Analyze the question or topic • Do you have to do research first or is this a question that is strictly about you that will come from an analysis of yourself • Analyze the Organization • Create goals for the writing • Develop a Theme • Outline Your Response • Make the introduction extra INTERESTING • Get your essay peer-edited by at least 5 people. • Make use of your resources at your respective high schools. • RECYCLE! Many applications ask for similar questions. Give your essays a little tweak.

17. Interests and Attributes Checklist • Ethnic Background • Hobbies/Special Interests • Religion • Volunteer Work • Extracurricular Groups and Clubs • Leadership Positions • Special Courses of Study • Awards/Recognition • Career Interests • Parents Employers/Organizational Affiliations • Sports • Jobs you have held

18. Letters of Recommendation Who Should you Ask? Choose your recommenders carefully.  Think of the letters as an integral part of a package that will present an accurate and complete picture of you and your qualifications.  Scholarships such as the Regents' Scholarship considers not only academic achievement, but leadership ability and community service as well.  While maybe one letter of recommendation should be from an academic source, at least one should address your leadership abilities and commitment to the community. Develop good relationships with professors, T.A.’s, academic counselors, organization Presidents, and supervisors. What is the Ideal Letter? The letters should address the qualifications sought.  Recommenders should address only those elements of your application on which they can comment confidently. How should you ask? Start early.  Discuss your plans with your recommenders now, before the application is even available.  Let them know what you would like to study and why you want to apply for the scholarship.  These discussions can help you clarify your goals and plans as well. Meet with them over lunch and discuss what you would like included.

19. The Interview • Prepare in Advance. Create flash cards with possible questions such as; -What are your greatest strengths? -What are your career goals? -Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? -Tell me about a personal achievement that makes you proud. -Tell me about a mistake that you made and what you learned from it. -Who has influenced your life and why? -Why would you be an excellent recipient of scholarship? -Etcetera

20. The Interview Pt. 2 • Know the Organization. • Be Presentable • Be ON TIME!!!! • Be confident • Look the interviewers in the eyes • Follow up your interview with a “Thank You Letter”

21. Final Tips; • Stay Organized • Apply for as many scholarships as you can. • Proofread your entire application to make sure you haven't made any careless errors/typos. • Be sure to meet all deadlines • Ask for required documents in advance; such as transcripts or letters of rec. • Stay determined when looking for scholarships • Apply only if you are eligible. • Identify the sponsor's goals. • Complete the application in full and follow directions. • Neatness counts. • Ask for help if you need it. • Be confident • Take it into your own hands and learn more about scholarships.