For parents of soon-to-be high school students, scholarship programs can be life-changing. They open doors for children that parents may not have been able to open themselves, due to financial constraints. With high school scholarships saving parents up to $100,000 for 6 years of tuition, it’s not hard to see why they are in high demand. Unsurprisingly, the demand is far greater than the supply, with most independent or private schools handing out only a handful of scholarships per years. Unfortunately, it’s not always enough for your child to just be intelligent or talented. In order to improve their chances of getting a scholarship, it’s important to ensure your child stands out from the pack. Read on for 8 tips for putting your child on the front foot for achieving a school education scholarship.
BECOME AN ALL-ROUNDER
Some schools offer ‘all rounder’ scholarships, for students who don’t necessarily excel in one thing but are consistent performers in a range of subjects. If your child isn’t the top of the class in any of their subjects, but is consistently scoring A’s and B’s, they may be a suitable candidate for this type of scholarship. Conversely, if your child is exceptional in one subject but struggles in others, it may be worth seeking out tutoring to allow them to catch up. Most of the entrance exams for school education scholarships test for Maths, English and Humanities, so ensuring your child is an all-rounder can help improve their chances.
NURTURE SPECIAL SKILLS
Is your child excellent at playing the piano? Perhaps they’re a whiz at science or one of the strongest players on the soccer field? These special talents may be the key to them scoring a scholarship. There are many different types of scholarships beyond just academics, including those for excellence in music, performing arts, sport or STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) It’s important to identify early where your child’s strengths lie, so they can further develop these skills and stand out from the competition.
DEVELOP INTERVIEW SKILLS
Most application processes for scholarships involve an interview component. So, in order to ensure to improve your child’s chance of success, it’s important to ensure they have interview skills. You do so by setting up mock interviews at home, to help your child become comfortable with answering questions on the spot. You may also want to encourage them to participate in debating, public speaking or drama at school, to help them become develop their speaking skills.
PARTICIPATE IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Most schools aren’t solely interested in your child’s academic performance or skills. Often, it’s looked on favourably if your child is involved in extracurricular activities, whether that’s sport, music classes or another school club. This shows that your child is well-rounded, can apply themselves and if it’s a group activity, can operate as a team player. Leadership skills are also highly regarded, so if your child is a school or house captain or leader of a sports team, this may help improve their chances of gaining a scholarship.
ENCOURAGE CRITICAL THINKING
Most school education scholarship programs require students to sit either the ACER Private School Scholarship test or Academic Assessment Service (AAS) test. A major component of these exams is critical thinking — the objective analysis of facts to form a judgment. While to an extent this skill is taught in the classroom, the education must continue at home. Some ways you can help your child develop their critical thinking skills is by encouraging them to have opinions, asking them what they think about certain subjects, asking open-ended questions and giving them the time to answer without interrupting them. This skill might just be the thing that gives them the edge over the competition. At C3 Education, our tutoring approach not only improves academic performance and confidence but helps students develop their critical thinking skills.
DEVELOP WRITING SKILLS
It’s one thing to be able to remember information and think critically, it’s another thing to be able to effectively put this into words. Most of the entrance exams for scholarship programs involve written components, so it’s important to develop their written skills. One way you can do so is by giving your child writing exercises at home, whether that’s freeform creative writing or giving them prompts. At C3 Education, we also have an innovative and intensive writing program that helps children become clear communicators.
Strong writing and reading skills go hand in hand, so it’s also crucial to ensure your child is reading widely. If possible, encourage your child to read books that are beyond their reading level at school, even if it means helping them through it.
PREPARE EARLY
Preparation can be the difference between a child achieving or missing out on a scholarship. This means being aware of all the key dates and deadlines for portfolio submissions and exams and being adequately (or over!) prepared for exams and interviews. It also means ensuring their school grades are high enough, as these may be considered as well as external examination marks. The good news is, your child doesn’t necessarily have to already be a straight A student to achieve a school education scholarship. With enough time to prepare and high-quality tutoring, almost any child can qualify for a scholarship.
At C3 Education, we have proven results in helping primary and secondary school students successfully attain scholarships. Not only can we help improve your child’s overall marks and knowledge, but our team also has in-depth knowledge of Academic Assessment Services (AAS) Test, ACER Private School Scholarship Test and Edutest selective entrance exams and marking criteria.
To discuss your child’s needs, contact us on 1300 235 437 (1300 C3 KIDS) or click here to complete our Contact Form. One of our staff members will be in touch!
