Scholarship Magazine » Tips and Tricks

How to Identify Scholarship Scams

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:12:52 +0000

Now that you’re applying for scholarships, we wanted to share some of our best tips for applying for scholarships and fellowships on internet.

How to Identify Scholarship Scams ! Tips from Scholarship-Positions.com
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Tips for Writing Letters of Recommendation

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:30:19 +0000

As a college professor, many students approach me for letters of recommendation. Writing these letters is one of the most challenging aspects of my job. How do you fit a comprehensive profile and assessment of a student into a 1-2 page letter? How do you ensure that students provide you with all the relevant information that will help you to write the best letter than you can? How do you protect yourself from liability in writing letters of recommendation? This article takes a closer look at tips to help you in writing letters of recommendation.

Inform Students
Students tend to be uninformed about their needs and responsibilities in seeking letters of recommendation. Guide students by providing them with a detailed list of what will assist you in writing a letter on their behalf.

Many professors create a handout or web page listing the desired information. Here are some suggestions:

Explain the purpose of the letter
Desired focus of the letter (e.g., discuss my research skills and experiences in your lab, or discuss my responsibilities as a teaching assistant in your class)
Useful skills (e.g., computer, statistical, or interpersonal skills)
Related experiences (extracurricular, work experience, clubs, volunteer work)
Courses taken with the faculty member, with grades and sample work (e.g., term paper)
Reasons for pursing graduate study
Resume
Transcript

Think About It
Do not immediately agree to write a letter on behalf of a student. Instead, take a little bit of time to think about it and reflect on your experiences with the student.

Be Honest
If you don’t know a student well or cannot write a positive letter on his or her behalf, explain your reservations to inform the applicant. If he or she insists, you can refuse, write a neutral letter, or include negative evaluations with supporting behavioral examples.

Get Permission
Obtain the student’s written permission (the signed recommendation form included in admissions packets for most graduate programs is suitable).

Be Specific
Use specific examples to support your statements. Specific examples will enhance the value of positive comments and will protect you from legal action. If you choose to include unfavorable information, you must include specific examples to illustrate your point.

Organize the Letter
An effective letter of recommendation is structured. Begin your letter by indicating for whom you are writing, what they are applying to, and an overview of the tone of the letter. Indicate to what extent and length of time you have known the student. Your next step should be to review grades and your records regarding the student.

Next, provide specific examples that illustrate the student’s intellectual ability, capacity for independent and original thought, knowledge of the field, or attitude and motivation. Close by reiterating your overall recommendation and its strength.

Beware of Ambiguity
Letters of recommendation tend to be overwhelmingly positive. Because most letters are inflated, readers examine them as if they were written in code. Recommendation letters thus become a projective test wherein any ambiguity is questioned. Any equivocal information might be interpreted in a negative light, even if you did not intend so.

From Tara Kuther, Ph.D.

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Tips for Writing an Application Essay

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:16:05 +0000

Writing an application essay is no easy feat. It takes time and hard work, but it’s well worth the effort. A good essay will compliment your application and set you apart from other applicants.

Before you get started, read the list of do’s and don’ts shown below.

Do’s

Do start with a good plan. Come up with an idea, theme, or focus before you start writing.
Do create an outline. This will help keep your essay organized.
Do use real-life or well-researched examples to support your theme.
Do start your essay with an interest-grabbing sentence, paragraph, statement, question, quote, or anecdote.
Do come up with a good ending that works with the rest of the essay.
Do read your essay aloud as you write it. This will give you a more accurate assessment of how the essay flows.
Do proofread very carefully and do it at least three times.
Do have someone else critique your essay. Choose someone who will be brutally honest. (In other words, don’t choose someone who loves you.)

Don’ts

Don’t start your essay with something boring like “I was born” or “My name is”
Don’t write an autobiography or resume that has been disguised in prose format.
Don’t think you can get away with using your first draft. You can’t. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
Don’t be afraid to throw out your work and start fresh. Some ideas just weren’t meant to be.
Don’t use your essay to explain your SAT scores, GPA, etc.
Don’t use wishy-washy cliches, i.e. from the bottom of my heart, more than life itself, etc. Be creative and original.
Don’t ever completely rely on your computer for spell checking. Your computer does not know the difference between it and if, fried or friend, etc.
Don’t use a fancy font or colored paper. Your essay should be neatly typed and easy to read.

From Karen Schweitzer,Your Guide to Business Majors.

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8 Strategies To Pass TOEFL

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:57:26 +0000

The TOEFL is the Test of English as a Foreign Language. Almost one million students from 180 countries, including us, register to take the TOEFL every year at test centers throughout the world. Some of us do not pass the TOEFL because we do not understand enough English. Others do not pass it because we do not know the strategies.

The following strategies will help us to pass the TOEFL, i.e:

1. Use our time wisely. The TOEFL is timed test. We must work very quickly and efficiently to finish all of the questions in the time we are allowed. The skill strategy practice will we learn to budget our time on section of the TOEFL. In addition, we should bring a watch to the TOEFL so that we can keep track of our time.

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