What do scholarship committees look for in applicants?

The characteristics that scholarship committees look for in applicants will vary depending on the scholarship. The first thing that scholarship committees do, is check to make sure that applicants are qualified for the award. For example, there are many scholarships that are only awarded to Boy Scouts, and other scholarship funds grant exclusive scholarships to members of minority groups or to students with disabilities. No matter how high a student's GPA is, a committee offering a scholarship to exceptional blind students will not look kindly upon an application from an individual with 20/20 vision.

Assuming that a student meets the minimum scholarship requirements, there are several characteristics that nearly every scholarship committee looks for. Committees like seeing particular dedication and passion to a specific subject, sport, interest, or hobby, especially if it is relevant to the scholarship. For example, a student who helps organize local chess tournaments, teaches classes, travels to compete in regional tournaments, manages a chess blog, and maintains a high GPA would not only make an attractive candidate for a chess scholarship, but also might be attractive to more general scholarship committees.

This does not mean that students should commit to only one thing in life. Scholarship committees also like to see balanced individuals who excel in school, participate in community events, and have work experience. Leadership qualities are also important. The student in the example above is an attractive scholarship candidate because he not only spends his time practicing to become a nation champion, but he also teaches and organizes related events. Another area that is often overlooked by students is the application itself. Most scholarships require at least a short essay, and doing a rush job will not do the applicant any favors. Typos, mixing up "their" and "they're," run-on sentences, and other grammatical errors will communicate to the scholarship committee that the student does not care much about their application or the scholarship.