"All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man has taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Have you created your scholarship resource list? Have you at least started it? If the answer is YES, then lets get going!
Goal: Determine the best resources for you
As you now know very well, there are a TON of resources available to everyone looking for scholarships. However, to be successful in this process, you need to determine which resources will get you where you want to go. Why waste time on resources that aren’t going to get you to your goal?
When researching anything, perfectionism can kick in. You want to make sure you have it all and know everything about the topic at hand. If you let this perfectionism control your scholarship process, you won’t be nearly as successful.
My advice to you: throw out those thoughts of perfectionism and remain FOCUSED!
I created this part of the workshop to make sure you keep moving toward your goal and don’t get sidetracked by trying to nail down every possible resource.
Step One: Use your list of resources to create a new document
This new document (paper or word document) should have three columns.
Column One: The Resource
Column Two: Resource Provides
Column Three: What I Need from Resource
Step Two: Determine what Resource Provides
Start at resource one and write down what that resource provides (ex. local scholarships or financial aid worksheets or young adult cancer survivor scholarships...)
And then move on to resource two, resource three, and so on.
Keep moving through your list and don’t spend too much time at one resource. All you are looking for is what each one can give you. When you determine that information, put it in column two and move on to the next resource.
Step Three: Evaluate what you need from each resource
After you have determined what information is available at each resource, you will likely eliminate some resources that don’t provide the right information for you or provide weaker information than your other resources.
Eliminate those resources from your list.
With your core list of remaining resources, what do you need from each resource? You want to make sure you aren’t getting the same information from five different resources. Determine what the resource can help you with the most and what sets it apart from the other resources. And then write this information down in column 3.
After you have filled in the three columns, you should have a nice selection of resources that provide different information. If there is any information that you feel is missing, find a resource to fill that gap. If nothing is sticking out to you, then don’t worry about it. You can always find another resource later on if needed.
Take Away Message:
Evaluate resources available to you.
Create a core list of resources and the information valuable to you from each resource.
Feel comfortable with this list and stick with it. Don’t try to keep adding to it unless absolutely necessary.
You should feel very proud of yourself. You have taken the time to personalize your scholarship search so that you can achieve success. This part of the process is not too fun, but well worth the investment!
You should feel in control at this point and no longer overwhelmed. Remember to remain focused and keep moving in steps (don’t try to do everything at once).
Coming Up:
On Wednesday, we will move on to the final day of part three of the workshop. We will use your resources to determine how to get to point B. What is point B? You’ll find out on Wednesday!
Best wishes,
Carolyn
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