Video: Tips for the Scholarship Application – Queen’s Major Entrance Awards

Posted by
November 10, 2008

Series: Tips for the Scholarship Application
Name: Queen’s Major Entrance Awards
Length: ~38 minutes
Requires: Adobe Flash Player
Important Links: Scholarship Website, Application Form

NOTE: It may take a minute or two to load depending on your browser.

Additional Info. on the Creativity / Original Thinking Section

I have been asked about whether doing a collage (like I did) is still a good or bad idea. I think doing a collage is a great idea, and I wouldn’t worry too much about other people doing something similar. However, I think it’s really important that you have a theme or concept behind the collage itself – that is, while there is some creativity involved in the way you construct the actual collage, I think the even greater creativity comes from the theme/idea behind it. And I would say the same thing goes for whatever medium you use for this section, be it a collage or not.

For example, for my collage, I called it “The Artist” because I wanted to convey the idea/theme that humanity is inherently artistic and creative, and so all of us are artists in our own right, despite the traditional themes normally attributed to the idea of an artist. That is, that athletes, for example, are just as much artists of their craft as painters are. That I’m not an artist because I draw and paint, but I am an artist because I am human. While I’m sure the judges liked my collage, I think they were more impressed by the deeper meaning I had behind it.

So as long as you have some important theme (a theme that should be obvious, unless you plan on writing a paragraph like I did), I think doing any type of collage is fine – and given that you have to do this on the paper, a collage might generally be one of the easier and better ideas.

Questions?

If you have any further questions about the Queen’s Major Entrance Awards, please leave a comment, and I will do my best to answer them!

Related Posts:

High School, Scholarships, Video

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  • Michelle

    Hey

    First of all, this is definitely a huge help! Thank you so much!

    But i were to compose a song for the creative section and just paste the score on the application form would i need to write a paragraph? And would that even be a smart choice since they don't want cds i don't know how they'll hear it.

  • Joshua

    Hey Michelle,

    No problem! I'm glad you found the video helpful =)

    I like the idea of displaying the score on the application. I do think a paragraph might be nice for your idea. Because it is a musical score, the theme, emotions, etc. might not be obvious to the reader, especially if they are not musically inclined. So a paragraph that sort of goes through all that would probably be good for the reader.

  • Jianan

    Hey! Thanks so much for taking the time to help people like me :) I'm kind of confused about the creative part…like are they expecting me to actually create it fresh on the page? or could i take something that i've already done before and take a picture of it and paste it on? (and write an explanation). If you could reply really soon that would be great!!!

  • Michelle

    hey its me again =D

    um do u think it'd be better if for the involvement section to write a paragraph on a fundraiser i participated in but didn't hold a large role or a sport i've been playing for a LONG time? Does that section even have to be on volunteering?

  • Joshua

    Hi Jianan,

    No problem! =)

    I don't think you have to create it "fresh" on the page if you don't want to, as long as it clearly shows your creativity. You want to make sure that whatever idea you end up choosing, it "demonstrates" your creativity and that you don't end up just "describing it".

  • Joshua

    Hey Michelle,

    The involvement questions asks: "Describe your involvement in a school or community activity in which you made positive contribution to an individual, your school or your community."

    I think it might be hard to answer this question using your sports experience, but I could be wrong. If you have a clear theme behind how your sports involvement resulted in a positive contribution to someone else, then I would probably choose your sports experience.

    Good luck!

  • Jianan

    Hey it's me again – I have a feeling I'm gonna flood your page with comments tonight >.<

    I've just realized, I haven't been to any conferences!!! What should do I do?

  • Jianan

    And, if it's not too much to ask, could I get a quick peek at your essays when you applied? I just really want to get an idea of what a scholarship winning essay and a regular essay is!

  • Joshua

    Hey Jianan,

    Have you been to anything remotely like a conference? Any event with workshops or keynote speakers? I don't endorse lying, but I think it's okay to be creative/flexible with the items you include. Some events might not have the word "conference" in their official names, but are pretty close to being conferences.

    As for my essays, I actually don't have my Queen's one on file for some reason, but in general, I won't post or give out any essays I've used. I don't think it really helps much, because either (1) some students will probably plagiarize it and (2) it isn't helpful for the most part because it's easy to apply some of the things I do in the wrong context if you don't understand why I wrote what I wrote. That's why I've written articles about how to write your essays, but not actually use mine as an example.

    I would be happy to take a quick glance at your essay if you want to send me a copy by email, but sorry, I don't feel comfortable sharing my previous essays.

    Good luck!

  • Jianan

    Oh, right. I see what you mean! It would be GREAT if you could take a glance at my essays, I will probably finalize everything hopefully by 10 (I hope that's not too late for you!)

    And sadly, yes. I can't think of ANYTHING that constitutes as a conference during the last two years. I've done a fair amount of that prior though but it's not like I can put those on. Will they notice if I only have awards and competitions? I'm reading it again and it actually says "awards, competitions, OR conferences"

  • Joshua

    Hi Jianan,

    I'll do my best to give some advice if you send something tonight.

    And you're right, it says "or" conferences, so if you don't have any, just fill up the boxes with awards/competitions. I don't think it matters too much to be honest.

  • Andrew

    Where would i send you my essay for you to proof read?

  • Joshua

    Hi Andrew,

    I don't really proof read essays, but if I have the time, I don't mind glancing at essays and providing feedback.

    You can email me at medhopeful@gmail.com if you'd like.

  • sandra

    I just had a quick question. I'm taking AP grade 12 classes online next year rather than going to an actual high school so am I still eligible to apply for these scholarships?

  • Joshua

    Hi Sandra,

    Unfortunately, I'm not sure how taking AP courses affects scholarship applications. I'd be surprised if it does, but I would suggest you email the scholarship organization/program directly to ask.

  • Sarah

    Hi Josh! Do you know if the questions are the same each year?

  • Joshua

    Hi Sarah,

    They've remained the same for the past several years, so I would expect them to still be the same this fall, but they could change anytime I guess.

  • Kat

    Hey Josh!

    I'm currently filling an application out for this. I'm a bit concerned because I don't feel that my awards (ie. school awards versus community/national awards) or community service experiences are very impressive, but my leadership abilities at school club have been good. Would they balance out?

  • Kat

    sorry its me again !

    would it be harmful if I talked about negative experiences I encountered through leadership? or would it be alright if i also mentioned how i grew from the negative experiences?

  • Joshua

    Hi Kat,

    For your first question, I don't think anyone can really answer it accurately (because only the judges would know), but I would just say to put your best foot forward because you can't change what you've done.

    As for your second question, I think mentioning some obstacles along the way is great, and you should definitely talk about how you overcame them.

    Good luck!

  • Adrienne

    Hi Josh,

    I was wondering if you could take a quick glance at my School/Community Invovlement Essay… I'm not sure if it's too much of a story than about the actual volunteering… :S

    This video post was incredible!! Thank you :)

  • Joshua

    Hi Adrienne,

    Sure send me an email and I'll see what I can do

    Good luck!

  • Amanda

    Thanks a lot for all the great help!

  • Nathan

    Hey first time on this site. Your video was a big help in understanding the application. I have one question that may or may not have been answered in the video. For the major awards, academic competitions part, is it only academic awards or can you include athletic awards like male athlete of the year or something?

  • Joshua

    Hi Nathan,

    If it says academic competitions, then I think you should only mention academic related things. I'm sure there is a better section to include athletic type achievements.

  • Nathan

    Hi its me again. Thanks for answering my previous question. I'm wondering in the creative page, did you take all the photos yourself, draw them yourself in Photoshop, or use images off of Google? Is using images from Google copyright infringement or something? Thanks again.

  • Joshua

    Hi Nathan,

    If you want to be safe, I'd suggest using your own photos and/or using photos that are "free" to use (e.g. http://search.creativecommons.org, any free stock photo websites, etc.)

    Good luck!

  • Joyce

    Hey! Thanks a lot for your video. The first page of the application asks for applicants to identify their academic/career interests. Do you think putting "uncertain" would look bad?

  • Joshua

    Hi Joyce,

    Are there a few things you had in mind for the future? You don't have to be 100% sure yet or anything. I just think being able to show that you have thought about the future and have some sort of direction means a lot.

  • Yu Qinyi

    OMG! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :)