GETTING ORGANIZED    (2)

Thank you for coming to this portion of the Money Book webpage. We hope that you will look at each block of the site as each numbered block tells important information.  The previous section, entitled Scholarship Savvy (1) , is beneficial in giving you an overview of where/how you can learn more about the scholarship process.  This portion, called Getting Organized (2) , will prepare you for the process of scholarshipping!

Before you begin to gather scholarships that are suited for you, you will need to get organized!

At the Career Center, we suggest to students, that they either buy a large three-ring binder, or a portable file box, inwhich to keep paperwork in order.  Within the binder/box, you should keep category dividers inwhich to place your papers.  The list below suggests how to label each section.

• INCOMING--in this section place those scholarships that have upcoming due dates.  We suggest that you pencil in the due date in the upper right hand corner. Then place them in chronoligical order--begin with those that are due first on top, descend to those with later dates.  This way you can work on them one by one, which is far less overwhelming.

• OUTGOING--keep a copy of at least the title page (that with the checklist) of each scholarship that you have sent.  Make certain that the portion that you keep, has a mailing address on it for later use, when you send your "Thank You" notes!  Also, make sure that on that upper right hand corner, you pencil in the date that you sent it! 

• RECOMMENDATIONS --keep a hard copy of each of your recommendation letters if given persmission by the writer, so that you may refer back to them when completing upcoming applications.  Choose the letter that is most appropriate for each particular scholarship.  As needed, ask the writers if they could change the dates, the addressees and make minor changes to the body of the letter as needed. Generally, they will allow you to make multiple copies for your scholarship packets.  The writer or the recommendations should be asked to keep the original letter on their computer for editing purposes, updates etc..

• ADMISSIONS--If you choose to use the 3-ring binder for both Scholarships and Admissions, you should add an appropriate section entitled, Admissions.  A transcript in the back of the organizer book, will be beneficial for times when you are asked to reflect back on how your high school classes have led to your career choice, etc.

• TRANSCRIPT-- Place a transcript in your organizer to refer to when necessary for each particular application.