"To Whom It May Concern"

This opening has seen its day. It concerns nobody and only shows that the writer is not familiar with current forms. It is functionally counter-productive and handicaps your purpose from the beginning.

Ideally, you do a little researching and find the name of the person you are addressing - if you have a name, use it. If a person's name is not an option, you can use the name of the department. In the case of writing letters of recommendations for scholarships, simply use Scholarship Selection Committee - follow it with a colon (:).

Please encourage the people who are writing a letter on your behalf to read the Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Recommendation. A poorly written letter or one that uses outdated forms does not have much credibility. In fact, it can work against you. You need wonderful letters which look and sound professional.

By the way, don't even think of using the above salutation when writing to a company. To quote recent research, it is "cringe-worthy".

Welcome to the Fall 2011 Scholarship Classes

Hi, Once the fall semester starts, I will BLOG everyday with the exception of the weekends. Very important to check often. For those of you who are registered and on the waiting list for the Scholarship Classes, please start by purchasing your books--tomorrow I will post information on where to find your required materials at a reasonable price.

For now, check out my website (www.findingmoneyforcollege.com)and become familiar with what is available. Start finding 3 to 4 people (instructors, counselors, principal, boss) who will write Letters of Recommendation for you. On my website under downloads, you will find the Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Recommendation and a sample letter on Requesting a Letter of Recommendation.

A lot is happening during the first few weeks of class, you'll have a better chance of staying ahead of the game by taking care of your letters of recommendation.

Eve-Marie

Letters of Recommendation

As I mentioned in class, getting your letters of recommendation is one of your biggest challenges so it is very important that you get your requests in as soon as possible.

Instructors are very busy. You will need to remind them constantly that you have a deadline for submitting your scholarship applications.

You will need the following in your packet:
Letter of Request (check the textbook for sample)
Personal Data Form (website)
Scholarship Resume (website)
Unofficial Transcripts (they will be in your folder next Tuesday)
Guidelines for Writing Letter of Recommendation (copy given yesterday in class--the one in the website needs a bit of updating).
Samples of Letters of Recomnmendation (copies will be in your folder next Tuesday)
Two white envelopes (in the scholarship packet purchased from the bookstore)

Have a great long weekend.

Welcome Back to College

I love new beginnings thus, the start of a new semester is always very exciting for me. Welcome to Intro to Scholarships!!!

As I mentioned in class, we start off with a bang so it is important to get going with your request for Letters of Recommendation. The first step is to ask 4 or 5 people if they feel comfortable writing a "wonderful" letter on your behalf. A yes answer requires that you immediately submit a request packet with all of the necessary materials. I will review that in class today, but the directions are also in the book.

It is very helpful to review the archives in this blog for valuable information.