sending your scholarship

You must Beat the Stack.

March 26, 2008

Once you read this section, it’ll seem very obvious, but most people completely overlook the advantage you can give yourself by paying great attention to the way you physically package your essay. Remember Rule #1: Competitors are everywhere, and you must put your best foot forward. Your essay’s packaging is one way to do this [...]

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Submit your essay in a large envelope.

March 26, 2008

Preferably a 9″x12″ or even a 10″x13″ envelope so that you don’t have to fold or otherwise crumple your essay to get it to fit. After all, you’ll be going to a lot of trouble to make sure your essay has a very nice appearance, and you don’t want to let it all go to [...]

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Don’t use clear plastic page protectors

March 26, 2008

Don’t use clear plastic page protectors, and for that matter, the long triangular binders that come with them. First of all, these are a pain to read — it makes turning the pages difficult, and as far as that goes, trust me, staples are just fine! More importantly, though, a plastic cover for every page [...]

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Send your essay in a folder so the papers stay crisp.

March 26, 2008

Remember when I said that using high-grade paper was one of the best dollar-for-dollar ways of making your essay stand out? Well, this tip is in the same category as that one, but this one may be even better. Let’s examine what happens to your essay after you drop it in the mail (or even [...]

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Use high-quality paper.

March 26, 2008

OutlawStudent.com is replete with advantages big and small, but this is one of the best, dollar for dollar. After years of administering scholarship programs, I’d say that 95% of all paper essays we’ve received have been printed on “copy paper” – basically, the cheapest and lowest-grade paper you can stick in a printer. For most [...]

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Example B: Sending your essay the wrong way, in the wrong format, to the wrong place, to the wrong person, etc.

March 26, 2008

Back in the days when we required our scholarship applicants to send in paper applications (we now do it all via email), we posted a very clear statement in the instructions: “Please do not send your essay via signature-required delivery.” By signature-required delivery, we simply mean when places like FedEx, UPS, DHL and the U.S [...]

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