You don’t necessarily have to provide a lot of cash for every submission for this approach to be effective. Consider how long the average application takes and offer a dollar amount that is reasonable based on the effort required.
Even $5 may be enough to motivate your child to apply for scholarships more regularly. Just make sure that the amount you offer is affordable for you and is enticing to your student.
3. Connect Them with an Accountability Buddy
Sometimes peer pressure can work in your favor. In The Scholarship System, we provide students with a process for working with an accountability partner.
An accountability buddy is someone who almost functions as a partner in crime, though the goal is positive instead of risky.
If another person in your child’s class is also on the scholarship hunt, have them keep each other on target. They can have regular check-ins to monitor their progress and help each other find exciting opportunities.
It also gives them someone to bounce ideas off of who is in a similar position, which can be a great way to motivate your child and the other student to discuss their thoughts and form stronger essays as they apply for scholarships.
Ultimately, being accountable to someone other than a parent can be a big motivator. Most children don’t want to let their friends down, so, if they make a promise to someone in their social circle, they may be more likely to keep it.
4. Motivate Your Child with a Scholarship Party
In most cases, your child isn’t likely excited about the scholarship application process. However, if you create a fun event based on applying for scholarships, you might be able to build some momentum.
Consider coordinating with your child’s classmates and host a gettogether where they all come over and apply for scholarships. Have food and beverages available and a comfortable space for everyone to sit and work together.
The idea is to make applying for scholarships a social but productive activity. You can motivate your child and other students by providing refreshments while also keeping an eye on their progress. Every so often, host a “game break” and allow everyone to do something fun to recharge, ensuring that their stress levels stay low.
If you want to gamify the entire event, consider offering a reward, like a gift card to a restaurant, to the student who completes the most applications. A little friendly, low-stakes competition can keep everyone inspired. Or, you can provide them with a group incentive, like a trip to the movies once everyone submits a certain number of applications.
Even if you don’t want to do a big party, having a “Scholarship Sunday” with just the family can sometimes be enough. Grab some snacks and sit down around the table to knock out some applications!
5. Offer Them Cash Equal to Scholarship Awards
Another financial incentive that can encourage students to apply for scholarships is offering them a cash reward equal to the number of scholarship dollars they receive. In this scenario, you only provide them with money if they get a scholarship reward, which may motivate them to increase the quality of their applications.
The only risk of this approach is that it can add up fast. If your child really strives to land a lot of scholarship awards, you could be on the hook for thousands of dollars.
Make sure, if you motivate your child to apply for scholarships this way, that you have a suitable option for providing the incentive. While you could always back out of the deal, that would be a big breach of trust and could do long-term damage to your relationship.
6. Help Them Apply for Scholarships
One way to encourage students to apply for scholarships that doesn’t cost a dime is to help them during the process. You can perform scholarship searches, discuss essay topic ideas, assist them with organization, and be their cheerleader.
Sometimes, knowing they have support can have a significant impact on how your child perceives the scholarship process. Just make sure that you don’t cross from being helpful over to doing all of the work, as that usually doesn’t work out in the end.
If you want to know just how involved you should be while your child looks for scholarships, here is an article that discusses the topic in-depth: How Involved Should Parents Be in the Scholarship Process
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