Start early! These scholarship applications can be lengthy and require a great deal of thought and preparation. They are extremely competitive and you must work hard to make your application excellent and noteworthy.

Determine your goals and focus on them. Your course of study and your extracurriular activities should reflect your interests and passions. Selection for these awards is based on your entire life, not just your GPA, and those students who are consistent in their work and play have a much better chance at winning.

Develop your personal statement NOW. It is never too early to begin work on your personal statement, which is a key component for many of these prestigious awards. Keep an up-to-date resume and add to it constantly.

Research. Many of these awards require comprehensive discussions of current problems, research projects and/or courses of study. To adequately prepare something like this takes a lot of time and work, but the payoff can be great!

Stay up on current events. No matter which award you are interested in, you should be knowledgeable and conversant about current events. You should read a GOOD national newspaper every day (e.g. The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal) and at least one periodical that deals with issues a month (e.g. The Atlantic Monthly or The New Republic).

Contact people to help you NOW. The Office of Nationally Competitive Awards can help students learn about and apply for these awards. If you think you might be interested in pursuing one of these awards, contact Ann Brown at 35 Park Place, by phone at 597-1632, or by e-mail at browna@ohio.edu. She can begin the process with you. In addition, many of the awards have on-campus coordinators who can assist you. Brown can refer you to the appropriate offices for further help.

In addition, work with your professors to develop your ideas and to formulate your goals and plans. Your professors will be invaluable as you work on this project -- both for the help they can give you, but also for recommendations.