Any student can win scholarships - you just have to work smarter. Finding the right award to apply for is only the first step. How do you make your application stand out from the crowd? Use Schools in the USA's finance section to up your ante, and you may also learn something new about yourself in the process.

ANALYZE YOURSELF
Filling out a successful scholarship or grant application is all about knowing yourself. Write down any job experience, interests, hobbies, and skills that you have on a piece of scrap paper. Include volunteering, travel experiences and interesting things that have happened to you. Then think about everything you want to do during your lifetime and write it down. Now look at the two lists. Is there a pattern? Your experience, skills and hobbies help you to achieve your life goals. That's why the judges are interested in your activities.

Use these lists to write a one-page statement of your skills, experience and interests, then write another one page statement about your life goals. Get a teacher or parent to check the pages for spelling or grammar errors. You can now use these two pages to answer the application questions. If you prepare your personal statements beforehand, they will sound much clearer, and they will have fewer mistakes.

BUILD A PORTFOLIO
A portfolio is a collection of

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