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Tips and Information
SCHOLARSHIP
LITERATURE DISPLAY RACK
- The scholarship application display
rack is located in the lobby of the Foundation Office, administration
building, first floor, room 111.
- The main DVC Scholarship Program
application encompasses a variety of scholarships. It is available
beginning November 1, 2008.
- Numerous scholarship opportunities are
available throughout the academic
year. Check the Scholarship Display Rack on a regular basis during the
filing period.
- A criteria sheet is stapled to the
front of each application. This will help you determine whether or not
you meet the criteria for a particular award.
- Scholarship sponsors include specific
instructions on all required documents needed to compete for their
awards. Follow their instructions! You will be ineligible for
consideration if your application packets are not complete.
ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPTS
- You're DVC Academic Transcripts will be
obtained by the Scholarship Coordinator to be included with your
application.
LETTERS
OF RECOMMENDATION
- The DVC Scholarship Applications require two letters
of recommendation from faculty and/or community members. At least one recommendation
for the DVC Scholarship
must be a faculty member. If possible, it is best to get a
faculty in your major field to write a recommendation. A parent, relative or another
student may not be used as a reference.
- Recommendation forms are generally
enclosed with each application.
- The Scholarship Program Office suggests
the following:
- Ask the recommender to use the
recommendation forms as a guideline in writing their recommendation
but to submit it on letterhead stationary. The
scholarship sponsors favor written letters as opposed to standard forms!
- Letters should be addressed to
"Dear Scholarship Committee" You can use this same letter for most
scholarships and you won't be
requesting numerous letters from the same people over and over again.
There will be some exceptions to this rule. A few sponsor organizations
insist that the recommendations be written only on their forms.
- Write a brief biography for the person
writing your recommendation letter. It helps them to write a better quality letter for you
especially if they don't know you well. Provide them with relevant information such as
areas
that should be highlighted or special scholarships, i.e. leadership,
creative problem solving skills, community service, etc.
Suggested information
to include in a recommendation letter:
- How long have you known the
scholarship applicant?
- Under what circumstances have you
known the applicant?
- What is the applicant's academic
potential?
- What are the applicant's personal
strengths?
- Evaluate the applicant in as many
areas as possible. Ex: Discuss such traits as
independence, maturity, sense of humor, ability to get along with
others, leadership, integrity, and initiative.
- How would you rate the applicant's
motivation and initiative in pursuing his or her academic and career
goals?
- Any additional comments that you are
aware of that recommend this candidate for a scholarship. Ex:
involvement in school activities, community involvement, employment,
special talents, etc.
- How strongly you recommend the
candidate for a scholarship: Ex: Strongly recommend,
recommend, recommend with reservation or not recommended.
- Request that the letters be
returned to you to submit with your complete application packet. DO
NOT have recommendation letters returned to the Scholarship Program Office.
- All scholarships require that you all
required documents be submitted together in the application packet.
SCHOLARSHIP
ESSAYS
Most scholarship applications require a
written essay about your educational goals, career goals, and your
financial situation. It is important that the essay be well-written and
interesting to the reader. Do not merely prepare a list of factual data.
This is a competitive process!
Educational and Career Goals:
- It is important to convey clearly
focused educational and career goals.
- Expressing your individuality is
important in preparing your essay..
- Essays are judged on originality,
grammar, and focus on your goals.
- Each application states the essay
topic and the length of the essay. Compositions are generally one page
in length. Some organizations require essays limited to 250 words
while
others require a three-page autobiography.
- Organizations and individual donors
hesitate in awarding scholarships to students who have undecided goals.
They do not want to assist you financially while you "find yourself".
Financial Situation:
- Student expense budgets are available
at all college Financial Aid Offices. Obtain a copy to complete the budget
section of your application. It impresses the scholarship sponsors to
demonstrate that you have researched the
cost of education, especially at your school of transfer. It shows
that you are planning ahead.
General Essay Information:
- Final Essay Copy: Essays may be block
style: single-spacing the body and double-spacing between paragraphs
(unless otherwise specified in the instructions). You are able to
provide more information in this format.
- Scholarship sponsors sometimes include
specific instructions on all required documents for their scholarship.
Follow the instructions! You will be ineligible for
consideration if your application packets are incomplete.
RESOURCES
FOR GETTING HELP WITH YOUR SCHOLARSHIP ESSAYS
- Double-space your essay draft before
asking anyone to review it. It makes it easier for the evaluator to
read and to make suggestions or corrections.
- Tutors are available at the Learning Center.
Their main focus is to critique the content of your essay.
- The Learning Center is located in LC Room
105
and is open
Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Fridays from
8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Their telephone number is (925)
685-1230, extension 2446.
- It is necessary to schedule an
appointment several days in advance.
- The staff will help you with the
technical aspects of your essay, i.e. grammar and composition.
SCHOLARSHIP REFERENCE BOOKS
- The DVC Library Reference Desk has several
scholarship research books available to DVC students.
- The library also provides books for writing
quality scholarship essays.
- Research topics such as your ethnicity, your
college major/minor, hobbies, e.g., equestrian, bowling, golf; organizational
membership, left-handed, re-entry student, religious affiliations, disabled,
learning disabled, graduate studies, etc. Research all topics that
relate to you.
- You should compile a list of scholarships
sources to contact for applications.
- Apply for all scholarships in which you meet
the criteria.
LOCAL
LIBRARIES
Most libraries have scholarship research
books in their reference section. Check the publication date before doing
research. You don't want to be researching a 1976 edition ~ the
scholarships may no longer be in existence. This research could be a
costly process if the mailing addresses and telephone numbers are no
longer in service. Your time is also very valuable isn't it?
DVC
COUNSELING AND CAREER RESOURCES
USING
THE INTERNET AND ON-LINE COMPUTER SERVICES
The internet and on-line services have a
wealth of information. But, as with any other source of information and
advertising, there are services that promise much more than they deliver.
When researching scholarship service on-line remember to investigate and
beware.
Key words to use when searching for such
sites on the Internet are: financial, aid, scholarships,
student, and
college.
DVC does not endorse any specific service
or organization. There are hundreds of web sites on-line.
WEB SITES
The following sources are just a few that
can be found on the internet free of charge:
- http://www.fastweb.com
Free scholarship search. This is called a
"search-engine" that allows you to match your specific
situation with available scholarships. It allows you to make a
self-tailored search. Don't overlook this one per KTVU News Consumer
Editor Tom Vacar. With more than $1 billion in scholarships,
FastWeb is the largest, most accurate and most frequently updated
scholarship database.
- http://www.collegeboard.org/
Nonprofit student aid advisory committee; there is a scholarship
search engine under the tab "Paying for College." Locate
scholarships, loans, internships, and other financial aid programs from
non-college souces that match your education level, talents, and
background.
- http://www.campus.net
- http://www.csac.ca.gov/
California Student Aid Commission web site. This site
contains a wealth of information on State, federal, and institutional
financial aid programs. All of this is intended to aid you:
the student, parent, or school staff member as you search for answers on
how to fund a post-high school education.
- http://www.fie.com/molis/scholar.htm
Free search for minorities
- http://www.freschinfo.com/index.phtml
FreeSch offers free scholarship
search service. Click "Search for Scholarships on the left side of
the page.
- Peterson's "The Educational and
Career Center: offers institution and financial aid searches for US
citizens and international students. http://www.petersons.com
CollegeQuest is the scholarship search engine.
www.collegequest.com
- http://www.srnexpress.com
Scholarship Resource Network(SRN) Express contains a database of over
8,000 programs with a distribution of over 150,000 awards for
undergraduate and postgraduate students worth a total of more than $35
million! SRN is a valuable research tool that can be accessed by students
free of charge.
This database offers information on college scholarships, fellowships,
work, grants, and educational loan programs with a focus on private
sector non-need based aid. Click on SRN Express in order to run your free
scholarship search.
America On-Line Sites
In addition to the above, the DVC
Scholarship Office has a list of Internet sites to use to search for
scholarships.
WEB
SITES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
The following list of web sites for
international students is provided by the DVC International Student
Program Office.
- gopher.csc.fi
WWW Menu: NEXUS 1 & 2 Directories of Advisors in Other Countries
plus scholarship listings.
- NASFAA - Financial Aid Information
Page (click on International Students)
http://www.finaid.org
- http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/ii/
Guide to Resources from the International Institute
- Student Service - Search under the
listing for international students. http://www.studentservices.com/
- National Research Council: Fellowship
Office; Search for the fellowships which are open to international
students, such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Pre-doctoral
Fellowship in Biological Sciences.
- Peterson's "The Educational and
Career Center: offers institution and financial aid searches for US
citizens and international students. http://www.petersons.com
- National Science Foundation World Wide
Server http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants.htm
America On-Line Sites
SCHOLARSHIP
SEARCH FIRMS - BEWARE
Beware of any scholarship search service
that guarantees that you will win a scholarship or they will refund your
money. Some students have received a report of matching scholarships but
after the application process, were not selected as the recipient. You will
find it extremely difficult to qualify for a refund from the search firm
even if you aren't awarded a scholarship. If you do receive a refund, it
may be in the form of a U.S. Savings Bond, which is worth only half the
face value if you immediately cash it. BEWARE of any company offering you
a guarantee. DVC does not endorse any scholarship search company.
SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS
If you have to pay money to get money, it
may not be legitimate. Every year, several hundred thousand students
and parents are defrauded by scholarship scams. The victims of these
scams lose more than $100,000,000.00 annually. Scams operations
often imitate legitimate government agencies, grant-giving foundations,
education lenders, and scholarship matching services, using
official-sounding names cand containing words like: "American,"
"National," "Federal," "Foundation," or "Administration."
In general, be wary of scholarships with
an application fee, scholarship matching services who guarantee success,
advance-fee loan scams and sales pitches disguised as financial aid
"seminars."
The following organizations can help you
determine whether an offer is legitimate. They will tell you whether they
have received any complaints about the company or whether the company is
currently under investigation.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB): The BBB web
page includes a directory of BBB's in the US and Canada. Send email to BBB@bbb.org or call 1-703-276-0100 for the telephone number of your local
BBB. You can also write to the National Advertising Division of the
Council of Better Business Bureaus, 845 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022
- National Fraud Information Center at
1-800-876-7060. This is a hot-line operated by the National Consumers
League. The NFIC passes information along to the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) and the appropriate Attorney General's Office, so you don't need to
contact the FTC directly. They also have a web page at the URL http://www.fraud.org/
SCHOLARSHIP
INTERVIEWS
Some of the scholarship representatives
require candidates to participate in scholarship interviews.
- It's helpful if you can find a partner
with whom you can rehearse "mock" interviews. Tape recording
your practice sessions is a useful tool. You will be able to hear any
static or filler words that you may use, i.e. saying "You
know" after each sentence, or "um" before you answer
each question. Verbal static takes away from the message you are
trying to convey.
- Generally the interview questions will
be based on the information that you supplied on your application.
Interviewers usually ask questions related to your educational and
career goals, reasons for your interest in your field of study, your
financial situation, and your community service experience.
- Convey to the interviewer that you are
committed to completing your education
and that you are focused in your
educational and career goals. Check with the Scholarship Program Office
if you have any questions.
- Prepare questions to ask the
interviewer about the scholarship or the donor organization. It is
common practice for the interviewer to ask you if you have any
questions near the conclusion of the interview.
LISTS OF SCHOLARSHIP WEB SITES
- Web site information charts are
available in the scholarship program office literature display rack.
- .Thousands of scholarships are listed
through this resource. You will find criteria, award amounts, and
application filing periods.
THANK
YOU LETTERS
- It is extremely important to immediately send a
thank you note to the sponsor of a scholarship that you have
been awarded.
- Thank them for contributing to your
education. Tell them how much their support will help you to achieve
your educational goals. Mention your major and briefly talk about your
educational plans. Handwritten thank you cards or notes are more personal
than typewritten ones.
- Note: The DVC Scholarship Program Office does
not release award disbursement checks until after the recipient has
sent a thank you note.
- It is also just as important to send a
thank you card to a donor directly after a scholarship interview.
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