Give scholarship candidates the choice of a PDF or paper application form.
Launching a scholarship project is one of the most satisfying endeavors you'll ever undertake. Recipients will pursue their ambitions. Society reaps the benefits. You earn the right to say that your efforts helped to bring everything together. Once you set up your fund and take care of the legalities, you'll need an application form that's both comprehensive and easy to use, but it must also be a legally binding contract, so make certain your application design covers all bases.
Instructions
1. Reserve the first section of your scholarship application for a mission statement. If one already exists, replicate it at the top of the application form and add language that covers candidate search criteria. Alternately, draft a statement of 150 words maximum explaining why your scholarship is being offered, who inspired it, if applicable and the qualifications a candidate must possess to be a contender.
2. Establish fields for vital statistics: the applicant's first and last names, home address, campus address if applicable, telephone numbers (home, cell and campus) and one or more e-mail addresses. Ask for a birth date if scholarship applicants must meet age criteria. Don't ask for Social Security numbers.
3. List supporting document requirements in the third section of your application form: school transcripts, an essay or personal statement explaining why the applicant believes he deserves consideration (provide a word count), financial data and a cover letter. If you're verifying income, request tax returns. Applicants can use this checklist to make certain they're submitting required backup materials.
4. Include a legally vetted declaration of consent in the fourth section of the application. This section, in sum, allows the applicant to attest to the truthfulness and accuracy of the information provided. This section of the form also acts as a consent form, giving you permission to pursue additional background checks if necessary. Place lines for a signature, printed name and application date beneath this section.
5. Set aside a portion of the application form to describe more than one scholarship if you're using a single application form for more than one type of scholarship. List each by name (for example, Rhodes Scholarship: Applicants must be female, between the ages of 19 and 25, pursuing a biology degree; Jones Scholarship: Applicants must show financial need). Add an icon beside each scholarship description so that applicants can indicate their preference. Add an application deadline to each.
6. Proof the final form to make certain it's both relevant and efficient. Take the advice of the Financial Aid website: "The application form should be designed to reflect your selection criteria ... collect information you need to choose winners ... and only that information. Questions should be relevant to the goals of your award. Try to focus on quality, not quantity. If one question will do, don't ask three. Why request four letters of recommendation, when two will work as well?" Produce the final form on letterhead as both a PDF for online applicants and a paper version.
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