A Common App for Scholarships: Not So Common

This could be you! (photo courtesy ronocdh via Flickr)

College applications are so predictable across the board that long ago, The Common Application was created.

The Common App (as it’s commonly known) offers students a one-size-fits-all application that asks for academic achievements, SAT/ACT test scores, an essay, recommendation letters, basic demographic information, completed courses, declaration of major… the basic things most schools want to know.

It’s accepted by more than 400 schools and was used by more than 2 million applicants as of 2010 in an effort to prevent the repetition of submitting the same info over and over again to an array of schools. Each school may require some extra stuff (e.g. an essay about why you want to come to their campus, specifically), because they need some sort of litmus test for how strongly students feel about their institution.

As “how do I get in?” quickly turns into “how will I pay for it?” come spring semester, another question arises:

Why doesn’t a Common App for scholarships exist?

Scholarships come in myriad forms: school-specific grants, government funds, private foundation awards, performing arts residencies, research fellowships, study abroad opportunities and scores of whimsical competitions, like the Duck brand duct-tape-prom-dress contest.

But are they all similar enough to warrant a consolidated app?

In terms of basic information, yes. Nearly all scholarship applications ask for the same basic information (name, address, academic background, etc). Filling out the same information for each different scholarship form can be tedious and time consuming, factors that can discourage students from applying. However, many scholarships tend to focus on one, specific aspect of the student’s life, and thus, the amount of supplemental materials may far exceed the ones usually required for college admissions.

It may be useful to split scholarships into two loose categories: need-based and merit-based (and duct-tape inspired) scholarships.

• While nearly all scholarships look at a student’s merit, some require the extra condition of proof of financial need. Perhaps need-based scholarships would be best served by a common app, as this would allow students to fill out tedious financial details (family income, projected expenses, etc.) all at once. The consolidated app-perhaps one day merged with the FAFSA-could be sent as a baseline application for multiple need-based scholarships.

 

• For strictly merit-based awards (regardless of students’ financial situation) a common app may not be so simple. Super-specific scholarship eligibility can range from being part of a particular ethnic group to fluency in the Star Trek language, Klingon. Even letters of recommendation for specific merit-based awards often require unique tailoring, so a common app might only serve the most basic information.

Even so, a single, common scholarship app could encourage students to get on the scholarship bandwagon in the first place. One of the most common reasons I hear from students about why they don’t apply for scholarships is, “I don’t have time.” A one-stop app for basic information might squash the entrance barrier for students who have lots on their minds. Time isn’t cheap, and neither is college.

The enticement of a single app may saturate the applicant pool, but I say go for it! More competition means a higher standard for prospective scholarship winners, which may not be a bad thing.

And even if tons of students submit a common app for an array of scholarships, it doesn’t mean they’ll all take the extra step to provide the scholarship-specific letter of recommendation, specific essay or, in the aforementioned example, a duct-tape prom dress.

As they say in Klingon, Qapla’! (Sucess to you!)