Taking the Lottery Out of Scholarship Applications

Today we have a special feature. My daughter provided today’s post as promised last week. It is hard to capture the work she did in preparation to winning all those scholarships and the pitch contest. She practiced in front of anyone who would sit still long enough for her to get it out. She honed her presentation until it was as smooth as silk. I even tried to interrupt and distract her as she practiced so she would be prepared for anything.

A few notes are in order. When Heather says the pitch conext was organized by a local bank, local business owners and the college, know I was not involved in any way with the program and had zero influence over the results. I listened to Heather practice, but did not attend the event. I didn’t want to be a distraction.

I want to point out Heather mentioned hard work. Sorry to say you can achieve great things as long as you are willing to do the work necessary to succeed. Another point I hope people don’t miss is Heather’s encouragement to never give up. If one thing doesn’t work, research and study more and reapply. The prize frequently goes to the consistent and persistent.

Taking the Lottery Out of Scholarship Applications

by: Heather Schroeder

I’ve never been comfortable with bragging. I wouldn’t go around telling people I got the best grade on a math test or that I got accepted into one of the best colleges in the United States. This is something I just can’t get myself to do. So, when my dad asked me to write a blog post about a recent success I had, I had to tell myself that it’s OK to be excited about winning something.

I struggled when I was in primary school. I was in a special reading class as I couldn’t read at the level I needed to be at and I was equally horrible at comprehension and writing. My reading disorder continued throughout my middle school career and I thought, based on my experiences, that I would never be able to read. Once I entered high school and wasn’t forced to read, I willingly picked up a book at my high school library. In less than a year, I had read more than twenty books and suddenly I knew how to write. This was the starting point that has led me to where I am today—an entrepreneur, a mentor, and a teacher.

I’m currently a student at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin. Fox Valley Technical College has a 94% employment rate, the highest in the area. This was the first year that the college had a pitch contest for FVTC students. A local bank, several entrepreneurs in the area, and FVTC staff all supported and funded the pitch contest.

Naturally, I felt a need to sign up, but even though I signed up, there was no guarantee that I would be picked to be one of the eight finalists. Three months after I signed up, I got the email stating I was accepted as one of the finalists. I was rejoicing, and I felt like I was on top of the world. There was only one problem, though—I had a lot of work to do because my business was not what the judges were looking for. And if I wanted to win the grand prize, I needed to switch from being a solopreneur to an entrepreneur.

Think about it. I started a tutoring business with the intention of being the only employee and taking on as many clients as humanly possible. This worked great and was a nice way to have some extra cash coming in on the side; yet, I wasn’t making enough to survive. This is one of the reasons I decided to go back to college. I knew I needed an education, no matter how little or how much, to be taken seriously as an academic tutor.

I had one month to come up with a 90-second pitch for the Fox Trap Pitch Contest in hopes of winning the grand prize. First through third place were guaranteed a financial award. This is something I was bound and determined to win.

My adrenaline was pumping as I entered the room full of judges and FVTC staff. My entrepreneurship teacher was also running the show. I had to make him proud as my entrepreneurship teacher is the reason I’ve come so far. My pitch went great and the judges seemed interested in my teaching style I created and the opportunities for people in the valley and around the world to become employed by me. I’m an ambitious little thing that doesn’t let my size determine how big my dreams can be.

I won first place at the Fox Trap Pitch Contest. This was one of the first times I’ve seen myself succeed at something and then be told that I need to continue with my plan. I learned many things when I prepared and presented my 90-second pitch. The most important thing I learned was that writing a pitch is nearly identical in writing an essay for a scholarship.

When preparing my pitch for the contest, I had to identify a problem, identify the target market, identify the solution or solutions, and determine how my idea will make money. I also had to identify what I was going to do with the winnings. This outline is exactly how many scholarship essays should be written.

All scholarships follow the same general rules including determining the winners by how creative the applicant is, how well written the essay is, the quality of the information, and determining if the applicant is a right fit for the scholarship. When writing an essay for a scholarship, follow these simple rules.

1. Identify the problem or identify the topic

When writing essays, research reports, and personal memoirs, the stories or the introduction introduces the audience to the situation. Research reports are the easiest when determining and solving a problem. With my pitch, I determined the problem by stating startling statistics and examples of why it’s important to help “at risk” students and students in special education succeed.

2. Identify the target market or who you are trying to reach

Scholarship essays usually want applicants to write about issues that are affecting others in the United States. One scholarship I run across yearly is the drinking and driving scholarship that requires applicants to write about and videotape themselves on describing how they think they can help make people aware of the risks that come with drinking and driving. With my pitch, I determined my target market by identifying who I wanted to help. My target market is “at risk” students and students in special education. The target market for the drinking and driving essay could be people who drink often and take the risk of driving or college students. According to the college drinking prevention website, “1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes.”

3. Identify the solution or what you think could be done in the future

When writing a scholarship essay, determine what you think could be done to solve the problem. My solution for my pitch was offering academic tutoring services for “at risk” students and students in special education and teaching these students by utilizing my teaching style, which has so far been a success.

4. Identify what you will do with the winnings

Like with the pitch contest and writing scholarship essays, judges want to know what you will do with the winnings. I determined in my pitch that if I won I would use the winnings to go to China to determine if my business idea can work globally. With scholarships, determine how you will use the winnings. I usually state that I would use the winnings for housing, tuition, food, and supplies.

The last piece of information I can give is to research how to write scholarships outside of reading this blog post. I have given some valuable information, but there is so much more available online. I suggest looking on YouTube and searching for videos on pitch contests. These contests have great insight on how to reach your audience and make a difference in lives of others.

I wish you the best of luck.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

Endnote: Once again I encourage you to reach for your dreams. Heather is 23 years old and living her dreams. She is on her way to China for a month to teach in a few weeks. More opportunities are coming her way as a result. I don’t like to travel; she does. I never asked my kids to live the life I expected of them. I always encouraged they walk their own road. There will be bumps and even painful experiences. It’s part of life. But the journey is all worth it.

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