Applicant Timeline

The best way to make yourself competitive for prestigious scholarships and fellowships is to make a long range plan. Most of the scholarsips for which the OES advises students are for post-graduate study, but you can start preparing for the application process as early as your first year. You'll notice that some of the advice for first-year students is the same for sophomores and juniors: this is no mistake - a big component of your resume for scholarships will be consistency.

First-Year Students

Your opportunities are open and flexible at this point in your career. Take advantage of that...explore your options. Become involved in different campus and volunteer organizations, find out where your passions lie, began to take on leadership roles. You should also begin keeping a list of activities and accomplishments to make building a resume/vitae that much easier later on.

Begin looking to the future: next semester, next summer, next year. Research internships, study abroad opportunities, and other scholarships/awards.

Also start looking at your course plans for the next few years: don't just plan to take the requirments for your major...go beyond the required course minimum. Doing so will enrich your college experience and allow you to meet different people.

Get to know faculty members. Form relationships with faculty outside the classroom. They can help inform you about research opportunities and internships, and later they can write recommendation letters for you. The best letters always come from those who know you well, and the Rhodes application, for example, requires 5-8 letters of recommendation, so the sooner you begin making contacts, the better.

Keep your grades up! A strong academic record is a pre-requisite for any prestigious scholarship. Good grades won't make you, but bad grades will definitely break you.

Last but not least, come see us. The OES will be glad to help you design a long-term plan. Call or email us to make an appointment.

» Interested in service and thinking of going abroad for your junior year? Consider applying for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors