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  • The Competitive Nature of Scholarships: Some Tips on How to Deal

    The Competitive Nature of Scholarships: Some Tips on How to Deal

    When you hear the word “scholarships”, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Money? Reward? Work? How about competition? Some scholarships you don’t need to compete against others, but most of the time, you do. That can be an intimidating thought. There are many different types of scholarships out there. Some are related to sports, academia, the arts, and social activism. Applying for a scholarship in any case is a time to show your best self, proving that you are a worthy candidate for the goods in store. This means going above and beyond your usual work ethic.

    If you are applying for sports scholarships, you may already have that natural competitive nature about you-this is a good thing. Scholarship applications can be time consuming and stressful. Scholarship interviews are even more taxing. You can think of it as being interviewed for a job, and there are tons of other people wanting that same job, too.

    The bottom line when it comes to applying for scholarships is that you can only do the best you can, and also hope for the best result. Don’t give yourself more anxiety than you have to- this might hinder your chances.

    Basic tips and things to remember:

    • Make sure you give yourself LOTS of time to fill out the application form. This way, if you think of something more you want/need to add to the application, you will have enough time to do it.
    • Make sure you have a few other people in your circle check out your application form, making sure everything is in the right place. One small mistake could cost you the scholarship.
    • Think out of the box. Some scholarships call for more creativity than others, so don’t be afraid to inquire about the scholarship and see if you can add something a bit extra on your application, or present in your interview.
    • Practice your interview skills. If you will be meeting with the people giving the scholarship, make sure you are chilled-out and ready to blow them away. People can sense anxiety when someone walks in the room, so take deep breaths, do meditation or “leader posing” before you enter the room. This will make you feel strong!
    • If you are applying for a big scholarship that looks over your whole high-school or college history, make sure you examine or write down all your achievements and see what else you can improve on, before you apply. Adding to your curricular repertoire will always help you in the end. So, beef it up!
    • Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer.
    • Don’t tell anyone you are applying to a specific scholarship. This may be a bit secretive or sneaky, but as soon as you tell your friends or other students, they might apply themselves and you will be in direct competition with them. It is really up to you, but this is where that competitive thinking must come into play.

    Don’t let the competitive nature of scholarships scare you; let it fuel you! Bring out your fierce and dedicated nature and you might be surprised by the results. When you hear athletes speak about competing in the Olympics, you may notice that they never doubt themselves before their competition- they MUST win. Apply that attitude and you might just beat the competition and win your just reward.

  • How to Handle Competition

    How to Handle Competition

    Competition.

    You are going to deal with it at every stage of life. Whether you are applying for a retail job at the Gap, signing up to be a summer camp counsellor, applying for a job at your neighborhood Taco Bell or even applying to university or college, you will face competition.

    Competition is a good thing, depending on how you look at it. Competition allows an employer to pick the very best person out of all the people applying for a given job. Competition allows an admissions committee to choose the brightest student out of the pool of applicants applying for a particular university or college program.

    On the flip side, competition means that the more people applying for a given spot, the tougher it will be for any one person to get that spot. Often times, there is only one or a limited number of spots available which everyone seems to be fighting for. (This is the part most people don’t like about competition!)

    Interestingly, there are some people who thrive on competition. To these people, the thought of competing among other individuals for the same spot drives them to be the best of the best. It pushes them to excel farther beyond their potential. It pushes them to improve so they stand out from the rest.

    Other people, however, find competition daunting and even debilitating. The thought of so many individuals vying for one or a few spots scares them so much that they may not even bother to compete. They may also feel that the competition is far better or has much more to offer than they do, so they worry that they aren’t good enough and bring themselves down. If you fall into this group, rest assured you aren’t alone. There are a lot of people who find competition nerve-wracking. Since you can’t avoid competition (it’s part of life, after all), here are three tips that can help you handle it better:

    1. Forget about the competition — This may sound crazy to you at first, but hear me out. Focusing on who your competition is can sometimes negatively affect you and bring you down. Don’t think about all the people applying for a job at the Gap, for example. Instead, focus on you and what you have to offer to the Gap store manager.

    2. Do the best you can — The key word in this statement is “you”. Everyone’s best will differ. Don’t focus on trying to be better than someone else – it can be stressful and hard to match. Instead, focus on being the best you can be. For example, do whatever you can do to be the best applicant for the camp counsellor position this summer or to be the best candidate for the college/university program you are applying for.

    3. Keep pushing forward — If you got the job or university/college spot you were applying for, then great! If you didn’t, that’s okay too. Unfortunately, you can’t win them all in life. Every successful person knows this. Every successful person also knows that it doesn’t mean you stop trying – you have to keep pushing forward. Apply for a job at another retail store or fast food outlet, apply to another school or apply next year to the same program. Always pick yourself up and keep pushing forward!