Scholarship Management 101

How to Create a Seamless Scholarship Application Process

Hannah CameronContent Marketing SpecialistFluidReview

Sean O’DacreOnline Marketing SpecialistFluidReview

@getfluidreview#FluidProcess

● Student survey: Scholarship Application Pain Points

● Common scholarship application problems

● 5 key best practices

● Q&A

Total Time: 30 Mins and 10 Mins for Q&A

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Today’s Agenda

Student Survey

Scholarship application pain points

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Student Survey

● Survey: Full-time post-secondary

students at major Universities and

Colleges in the U.S

● We asked them about their

experience applying to scholarships

● Over 450 responses

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of students have difficulty finding scholarships that they are eligible for81%

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of students find it difficult to apply for scholarships73%

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of students have abandoned in-progress applications due to overly complex requirements and processes50%

Common application problems

Students are unclear if they are eligible for scholarships

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1

Application processes are often disjointed, involving a mix of paper, email, and online forms

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2

Applications are long, time-consuming and complex

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3

Students have difficulty tracking submitted applications

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4

How do we improve the application experience for students?

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1. Move from paper to online

BetterOutdated Ideal

Paper, mail & fax Online forms & email

Online student application portal

● Ensure an accessible online application experience

● Keep all information centralized in one place

● Increase the number of completed applications

● Save on paper costs and manual processes

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1. Move from paper to online

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2. Implement an eligibility quiz

Are you eligible?

Example questions:

Are you currently a resident of the United States?

Do you hold a bachelor’s degree at the time of this application?

Is your selected major in the social sciences and humanities?

If applicant meets requirements, continue

application

If applicant does not meet requirements, exit

application

● Allow students to confirm eligibility prior to completing the full

application

● Quickly disqualify students that don’t meet requirements

● Save students time by requiring one eligibility check for all available

scholarships

● Improve the quality of incoming applications

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2. Implement an eligibility quiz

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3. Escalate requirements by stage

Eligibility check

Stage 1:Application form and

supporting documents

Stage 2:Collect

reference letters

Stage 3:In person interview

Stage 4:Final decision

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3. Escalate requirements by stage

Break your application process into stages, and only ask for the

information you need to move the applicant to the next stage.

● Creates a more efficient application process

● Won’t intimidate or overwhelm students

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3. Escalate requirements by stage

Eligibility check: 1000 applicants

Stage 1: 550 applicants

Stage 2: 250 applicants

Stage 3: 100 applicants

10 scholarship recipients

Create an application funnel

● Give clear instructions and implement validation

● Utilize one common form for multiple scholarships

● Ask and display only what is needed

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4. Use smart application forms

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5. Communicate with applicants

Eligibility check

Stage 1:Application form and

supporting documents

Stage 2:Collect

reference letters

Stage 3:In person interview

Stage 4:Final decision

Notification

Notification

Notification

Notification

Automate communications (notifications and reminders) at key stages

● Eliminate administrative questions

● Keep students in the loop and on track

● Ensure the timely completion of applications

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5. Communicate with applicants

Key take-aways

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Summary

Move from paper to online1

Implement an eligibility quiz2

Escalate requirements3

Smart application forms4

Communicate5

An improved student experience =

More applications

Higher quality applications

Less questions

So what’s next?

Join us for Scholarship Management 102:

All About the WorkflowLearn how to drastically simplify your

administrative workloads

July 7th, 2016 @ 2 PM Eastern Time

Book a free 15 minute consultation call with our experts to learn how to begin simplifying your

scholarship process with FluidReview!ymonkey.com

Q&A

Submit your questions in the chat box, orreach out on Twitter with #FluidProcess

Thank You!