Most students participate in academic competitions because they love the thrill of a challenge, and find competitions more engaging than the typical classroom. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t appreciate the benefits offered by these programs. And when it comes to college admissions or scholarship applications they can be hefty. Participation in student competitions can help you stand out among your peers and showcase a student’s unique skills, motivation, and academic grit!
This ability to stand out is becoming more and more important in your applications. Particularly with scholarships and college admissions. According to Sallie Mae’s “How America Pays for College” report, in 2017 on average 35% of college costs were covered by scholarships or grants – the largest share of costs in over a decade! This is great news for upcoming applicants; however, it also means that more and more students are going to be applying for these opportunities.
So, in honor of National Scholarship Month, we thought that we’d share a few tips to help upcoming college or scholarship applicants highlight their competition experience to increase success rates in these applications.
Focus on the Effort.
Scholarship reviewers love to see a sense of drive and dedication. Rather than just focusing on what award you received, try to really highlight the effort it took throughout the program. Discuss how you built up to being able to compete. Did you practice night after night? Did you ever reach a point where you thought you couldn’t push ahead? Your application should tell a story, and this is a great opportunity to highlight your work ethic via an exciting anecdote.
Discuss Specific Challenges you Overcame.
There’s nothing we like more than an underdog. If you faced a challenge that appeared insurmountable but eventually overcame it, you should include it in your application. It will show that you don’t back away from a challenge, and that you can set achievable goals over time. It also shows the reader that you’re able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and act on them. Even if it didn’t seem like a huge deal to you at the time, if you think back on it and can identify the specific hurdle, others will see that you had academic grit, in overcoming the challenge. Remember to also demonstrate how you grew from the challenge. What did you learn from addressing the problem, or learning from the failure.
Highlight the Real-World Lessons You Learned.
Just because you competed as a high schooler doesn’t mean your experience wasn’t important. At the end of the day, college admissions officers don’t care if you were a start math-lete or spelling bee champion. They care about the skills you gained and the lessons you learned from the experience. If you can highlight the real-world lessons you learned—like the value of handwork, the struggles of cooperation, or the importance of leadership—it will make you stand out among the crowd.
Demonstrate Your Initiative.
Scholarship providers want students who are go-getters. When they imagine their dream applicant, they picture someone who decides what they want and fights for it. If at any point in your competition experience you took initiative, describe that moment. Did you realize that a peer needed help so you set aside time to help them? Or did you decide to organize an extra training day when you saw the team slipping behind? Anything can work!
Participating in academic competitions can be great fun and provide powerful academic benefits, but don’t forget about these opportunities to help advance your applications. This is one of the greatest ways your high school competitions can support your future – they help you get in, and get scholarship!
If you’re in high school today, your parents can probably remember when good grades were enough to get you into college. Sadly, those days are long gone. When admissions officers review your college applications in 2017, they’re looking for an edge. With many top schools now accepting less than 10% of applicants, a good GPA just won’t cut it anymore. Colleges don’t just want a student who will do well in class—they want someone who will stand out when compared to peers at rival schools.
That’s why we’re seeing a larger importance placed on extracurricular activities and individual accomplishments over GPAs and test scores. Many colleges these days are even adding a “student portfolio” to the application package, requiring students to share information on extra-curricular activities and programs that they have taken part in.
One great way to give yourself an edge in the admissions process and to have a great portfolio is to participate in academic competitions. There are competitions for every interest. Not only can you gain great skills that will benefit you once you’re at college, your participation could be the difference between acceptance and the waitlist.
- You can meet representatives and alumni from colleges
As much as we’d like to believe that college admissions are based solely on merit, the people you know can have an impact on your success. Developing relationships with people who either attended or currently work at a college you’re interested in can be a step up in the admissions process. Whether they put in a good word for you or give you inside tips, knowing them will be invaluable. And luckily, both of these groups frequent academic competitions as mentors, judges, volunteers, and sponsors.
- They allow you to demonstrate agency
Agency is a scientific term for the ability to make your own decisions and be a self-starter. Most students go through high school simply doing what they’re told; however, when you get to college, you’re left to make a lot of decisions on your own. Colleges want students who they know can act independent, and participating in academic competitions shows that you’re a self-starter. It sends a sign to admissions offers that you’re serious about your education. This is a skill important not just for colleges but for your future careers as well. Every company wants employees who will be able to move forward with little day-to-day oversight.
- Competitions display problem-solving and leadership skills
It’s easy to list problem-solving and leadership as skills on your resume. It’s a lot harder to prove that you actually possess those skills. When colleges see that you participate in academic competitions, they know first-hand that you not only possess those skills, but have consistently used them to succeed. Some competitions are specifically geared to highlighting and developing these skills, so pay attention to finding at least one of these to help you bring them forward in your applications.
- Awards can include scholarships and prize money
At the end of the day, finances can play a major impact on whether a specific college is within reach or not. Participating in academic competitions can be rather lucrative if you perform well, with rewards that could easily help you cover tuition and application costs.
- They indicate an academic drive & love for learning
Top college admissions officers receive many many more applications than they have spots to give out. That means that you have to be more than a good student —you have to be driven. Joining an academic competition shows that you care about learning outside of the classroom, and have a genuine desire to grow as a student. It shows that you are demonstrating an interest in specific topics and that you will bring that passion to the university. Admissions officers need something to demonstrate you are different than the other 90% of applicants with a great GPA. Your demonstrated passion for particular academic topics will do this.
- They demonstrate an ability to establish media buzz
Last, but certainly not least, colleges love a good story. If you’re already succeeding in academic competitions in high school, they know they can use your skills and experience to generate media buzz in the future. There’s nothing better for an academic institution than a feel good story. If you can help bring that media buzz to a college, you’ll be a shoe-in for admissions.
Academic competitions continue to grow in prevalence and importance in college admissions, and the educational system as a whole. Although nothing can guarantee admissions to your school of choice, finding the right academic competitions to get engaged in will certainly give you a leg up on the other millions of applicants clambering for the few spots at your ideal school. Don't miss out just because you didn't find the right academic competition for your passions. With over 450 competitions available to high school students, we're sure you can find at least one to help you get into college and have a little fun while doing it!
As we turn the corner on the summer, rising high school seniors across the country are already dreading the upcoming college application season. Not only does the simple question of whether or not they’ll get in weigh on students, but now more than ever, students (and their parents) have to worry about just how they’ll pay for the soaring costs of their favorite college. Even with financial aid, students can still end up saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in college debt by the time they graduate!
But, even with the soaring costs, the data is clear that a college education is good to get in the long-run. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “in 2014 the median earnings of young adults with a bachelor's degree ($49,900) were 66 percent higher than the median earnings of young adult high school completers ($30,000).”
So rather than give up on the dream of going to college, let’s think of ways to help aspiring young adults get the support they need to pay for college. And there are ways you can get help. One of the ways to lower your college debt burden that is particularly near and dear to us at ICS is through academic competitions. To help you take advantage of these opportunities, make sure you get your free ICS account. We help you keep track of all the available academic competitions and find the programs most-likely to engage you or your students.
A little known fact is that competitions provide more than $27,000,000 in scholarships and awards to K-12 students each year (according to an ICS industry analysis of over 450 competitions).
In fact, participating in academic competitions can help you pay for college in a number of ways beyond just giving you financial awards! We’ve summarized 5 key ways to use academic competitions to help pay for college here.
- Winning Awards with Cash Value
Of course, the first and most obvious way educational competitions help you pay for college is by directly awarding you money. Many competitions offer financial benefits to the winners as direct college scholarships or even free-use cash awards. The ICS database of competitions alone includes more than 450 competitions with prize money as awards, but we don’t even have every competition listed yet.
Top prizes can earn students upwards of $100,000, but even regional or local prizes can be in the thousands of dollars. There aren’t many of the very top awards given out each year, but there are thousands of smaller awards and regional/local prizes for you to grab. Never underestimate yourself in jumping into a competition. Go for the gold, and you just might be surprised at what awards and scholarships you can turn up.
The highest awards don’t come easy. They require a lot of hard work, but the results are worth it, especially when, along the way, you can earn smaller regional awards. And any amount of money will help lower your college tuition burden. If you’re not competing for academic competitions, you’re leaving good money on the table for someone else.
- Improve your financial aid applications
So maybe the educational competition didn’t have a cash prize, or you didn’t win overall. Your participation alone though is still a key way to help you earn money. It shows your hard work, skill, and drive, which are essential qualities that universities look for in a prospective student.
Financial aid applications to universities are often given out on merit (how well they think you’ll do in college). Having demonstrated a self-starting attitude by participating in academic competitions in high school can show the financial aid reviewers that you are a student they want to have at their school.
Put your involvement in competitions on your college applications, resume, and financial aid applications to distinguish yourself from other classmates. Universities can offer you financial aid based on your merit and abilities in specific fields. Just like athletic scholarship, but for the exceptional academic athletes. You just need to show it, and there’s no better way than joining strong academic competitions.
- Get outside independent scholarships
There are thousands of academic scholarships floating around that aren’t directly tied to a college. It seems almost every month new ones pop up on our radar as well (check out Modeling the Future Challenge for one). You can look outside universities for financial help. There are different foundations, clubs, and businesses that offer scholarships to students for a variety of specialties.
As a participant in education competitions, you are familiar with working under pressure and excelling in your field. Some grants based on different contests—like essay writing—can be entered with the same mindset as you would when competing. Use your education competition experience to showcase yourself and earn money from different scholarships in your particular subjects.
- Raise money directly to continue your competitions in college.
Entering educational competitions are a good way to earn money directly, but they can also help you gain support from others as well. You can look to followers to help you raise the money to continue competing in college and to even get help to cover some of your other college expenses. If you show a strong desire to do good, change the world, or build cool stuff, people will support you. Especially if you have a concrete goal like winning a specific competition.
Use social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to get your network involved in supporting your academic competition teams. There are also online funding platforms like “GoFundMe” that provide a platform for you to raise funds for specific needs. Setting up a team profile here and making a request of your followers can help.
Your friends and family members can help you succeed in raising money or finding connections so that you can continue to participate in competitions while in college. Especially if you demonstrate a specific plan you want to follow to win the collegiate competitions.
- Find company sponsorships for your teams
Use your educational competitions and contacts to network with different companies. Employers such as Apple, Google, or Facebook are difficult to reach, but competitions provide a setting that allows you to connect with them and others by showing your skills directly to their employees (who often participate as judges or mentors of these competitions).
Local companies also love to help students from their home towns. If you demonstrate a plan to participate in specific academic competitions and have a way to give the company some recognition for their support of your team you’ll have a great shot at getting companies to sign on as sponsors. Just like with athletic competitions, academic competitions can help these companies market their brands while helping you pay for college.
All it takes is a little drive, a plan of action for what competitions you’ll be doing, and a proposal for how the company will benefit (branding and publicity-wise) from sponsoring you in the competitions. If you have those three things, you can start to market your academic competition teams for sponsorship and you’ll be well on your way to covering those college expenses!
Don’t let the opportunity pass you by – Get in the Arena!
There are academic competitions for every interest. Whether its history, marine science, mathematics, mock trial, or even politics, there’s a competition for you. Don’t let the opportunity to earn your academic creds pass you by. College is expensive but competitions can help. Check them all out on ICS’s Competition Database, and make sure to signup for your free account with ICS to get the updates on all the action and opportunities available for you or your students.
