Feb
25
Can you believe that we are almost to March? Spring Break is only three weeks away. If you’re anything like me, then I’m sure you are super ready for a vacation or a trip home to get away for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love OU; but we all need a break sometime!
With that being said, spring is literally right around the corner. It seems that every email I get is giving me an application for a leadership position or an award application to fill out. For me, it has been overwhelming with so much homework already and trying to produce solid scholarship or applications essays at the same time. Not that I am a master at applications or anything, but I have filled out my fair share of them this past year, so I have a few tips that others have shared with me and that I’ve discovered on my own:
- Be creative! Whoever is reviewing your application is also looking at dozens—maybe even hundreds—more. You want to show the reader that you are unique and irreplaceable, that you are perfect for the position or award.
- Be yourself! For some reason students think that they need to control who they are when they are writing an application. But within reason, you should be yourself. Yes, you need to keep it professional. But if you are a Whovian or a Potterhead and you can make that pertinent to the question you’re responding to, then go for it! This will make you seem real and not like some robot who is filling out these applications just because they have to.
- Be proactive. Give yourself plenty of time to get everything just right. Try not to wait until the day of a deadline to write an essay or fill out the application; that leaves too much room for little mistakes to happen.
- Be diligent. Before you turn in the application, my biggest piece of advice is to have someone you trust look over everything. Have a new set of eyes look for any grammar or spelling errors, but most importantly, let them make sure your response is fluid. If something is worded awkwardly or there are structural issues with your essay, hopefully it will show up here. Don’t take offense to any corrections that someone may make, if they are looking over this for you then they obviously want to help you win! Also make sure you didn’t write wrong address or something similar; that could be embarrassing!
These are basically the checklist I use anytime I fill out an application. I hope this is useful for you with so many things coming out to apply for in the next couple of weeks!
Just a tad bit of random advice for those of you in the Greek world… If your chapter has taken in Spring New Members, you should introduce yourself and get to know them! Being a new member right now myself, I know how nice it is for someone to simply introduce themselves! Get to know the new members in your chapter; you might find another great friend.
College is supposed to be lots of fun so make sure you aren’t stressing yourself out too much!
Boomer Sooner,
Taylor Freeman, Events Committee
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