Video: Tips for the Scholarship Application – University of Western Ontario – National Scholarship Program

Posted by
January 8, 2009

Series: Tips for the Scholarship Application
Name: University of Western Ontario – National Scholarship Program
Length: ~13 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.

Questions?

If you have any further questions about the University of Western Ontario National Scholarship Program, please leave a comment, and I will do my best to answer them!

Related Posts:

High School, Scholarships, Video

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  • Anonymous

    Hi Joshua! Thank you so much for doing these videos…they are so helpful! For the essay portion of it, do you think it has to be a completely formal essay or do you think I could include a tiny bit of personal experience in it? Thanks again!

  • Joshua

    Hey,

    No problem, I'm glad you are finding the videos helpful! =)

    To be fair, I have never seen the essays of any other successful applicants, so I could be wrong. But personally, I highly suggest going with a formal essay.

    If you look at the way the essay question is worded (e.g. identify an issue of public concern, discuss the causes, possible solutions, its importance, etc.) – to me, this seems to point to a formal essay. More specifically, an argumentative essay.

    Adding in personal experience, while it might make the essay more interesting, might take away from the strength of the arguments – since facts and an objective analysis are generally much stronger.

    From my interview experience, I got the strong feeling that Western wants students who can think critically about issues and ideas. They played devil's advocate with me and wanted me to defend my ideas and my arguments. Because of that impression, I would suggest focusing your essay on arguments and ideas so they know you are capable of thinking critically.

    Good luck!

  • aaron

    Hey Josh..great site man

    anyways, i got the TD interview coming up in Early February and was really hoping if you could write about interview format and whatnot and what we should expect on interview day.

    Thanks

  • Joshua

    Hey Aaron,

    Thanks! =)

    Sure, I can do that. I will put something up about the TD interview either tonight or tomorrow.

    Good luck with the interview, and congratulations on being a finalist!

  • aaron

    THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!

  • Joshua

    No problem! =)

  • Anonymous

    Hey! Thanks for uploading this video, and basically the other scholarship-related videos you have. They are very helpful–please continue making videos like these.

    I have one question however. There's a limit of 1250 words; I have several embedded quotations in my essay that make up almost 100 words. I'm only 1/3 into my essay but is already between the halfway mark. Do you know if they would mind going over the limit because of citations?

    Thanks =)

  • Joshua

    Hey,

    No problem, glad you are finding the videos helpful =)

    My general rule of thumb for applications is to be better safe than sorry – you don't want to be automatically disqualified over random stuff you could have controlled.

    So if it were me, I would make sure I was very strict about staying within the word limit.

    Good luck!

  • Anonymous

    Hey Joshua, like the others, thank you for the videos. In your experience filling out the application, did you fill them out directly on the application paper by using pen, or did you fill them out on the computer and print the application off? One of the guidance counselors at my school told me to fill it out in rough and then if I wanted to type my answers, I would have to copy and paste my answers onto a 'good copy' of the application. However, since there's an online form, it seems more viable to just fill the application out and print it off the computer. Can you tell me how you filled out yours? Thanks.

  • Anonymous

    Hey Joshua,

    Just another question about the essay requirement, I have quotations taken directly from books, and magazines, and I've made a note of it by using embedded citation like so: (Shakespeare, vi.ii.12) after each quotation as well as a full bibliography.

    Is embedded citation acceptable or should I use footnotes as suggested (We're discouraged from using footnotes on our essay)?

    Thanks so much for taking the time to answer this question =)

  • Joshua

    Hey,

    I just typed my answers into the form on the computer and printed it off. I would say away from writing, because it would be bad if your judge couldn't read your writing!

    I don't really know what's acceptable, since I'm not on the committee. Personally, I just used footnotes, with a bibliography at the end.

    As long as you clearly reference every quote, statistic, etc. in some way, I think it's fine.

    Good luck!

  • Dar

    Hey Josh,

    I was wondering, if for the candidate's statement you have any other ideas for what I could include. OR, perhaps you have some ideas of things Western offers that no other university offers, so I can talk about those specifically. I too am interested in getting into Medical School, so I applied for science courses at Western. The problem is that, after writing about the things you suggested to write about, I still have like another 350 words to write. Is there anything else I could include, but WITHOUT going off on some weird tangent that isn't important, or mentioning something that is irrelevant, like building a family, as you said. Thank you!

  • Joshua

    Hi Dar,

    Honestly, I don't know much about Western, so I can't really talk about anything in particular.

    One thing you could do is go into more detail about the things you've already mentioned. You've mentioned medicine – are there types of medicine you are more interested in?

    I think it helps to just reflect a bit, and imagine a dream scenario where you could do whatever you wanted in the future – what does that look like? Honestly, feel free to dream as big as possible.

  • Anonymous

    Hi Joshua,

    Thanks for all the help that you give us on here! Do you remember around when they contacted you about this scholarship?

  • Anonymous

    And is there an interview component via the phone?

  • Joshua

    Hey,

    No problem!

    Assuming things haven't changed, there are in person interviews for this scholarship at the university.

    I was contacted about the interview in late March or early April. The interview was in mid-April.

  • Anonymous

    Hey Joshua! Thanks so much for the video!! I was wondering if you remember what the interview format was like for the scholarship (one-on-one, or group setting) Also, what types of the question did they ask? Was it mostly focused on your application?

    Thanks so much for your help!

  • Joshua

    Hey,

    The interview format three years ago was three professors interviewing and you – I think the interview lasted about 30 minutes, but I can't really remember.

    The questions were mainly about your application, your essay, and yourself as a person (e.g. hobbies/interests).

    Good luck!

  • Anonymous

    Thanks Josh!

  • SY

    Hi Josh, I found your video very helpful. I am one of the finalists selected for an interview this year, I wonder if you had to do an interview for the NS and if you mind sharing your experiences and any tips you might have. Thank you in advance

  • Joshua

    Hey SY,

    Congrats! Sorry for the late reply, I've been very busy the past few weeks.

    If you look at the comments above, I think there are some few helpful things there.

    Most important thing is to know yourself, understand why you want to go to Western, know your essay inside and out, and know your hobbies.

    Good luck!

  • http://Mya Mya

    Hi Josh!

    I just found out today that I've been awarded the President's scholarship at Western. I wanted to thank you so much for taking the time to write these incredibly helpful articles and create videos for so many scholarship applications. Coming into this scholarship process, I didn’t have the slightest clue about how to put together a successful application, and even though I had significant achievements in academics, extracurriculars and community service, this year has shown me that marketing them properly makes a world of difference. It has indeed been a very steep learning experience for me, and your blog has provided a lot of insight along the way.

    You are helping a lot of people with these contributions, and we really appreciate it!

  • Joshua

    Wow Mya, that's awesome, congratulations! =)

    I'm really glad I've been able to help in any way possible. I feel really fortunate to sort of understand these things, and being able to pass some of this on has been very rewarding for me as well (even if that might not be obvious).

  • Nathan

    Hey I was just wondering for the Candidate's statement, how many words does it need to be? and would volunteering at my high school's store be considered community service?

  • Nathan

    Also, is talking about extra curriculars advised as well?

  • Joshua

    Hi Nathan,

    I'm not sure how many words it's supposed to be – just whatever fits in the box I guess.

    And for sure, any type of volunteering is generally community service. There are places to mention extra curriculars I believe.

  • Andrew W.

    Hello Josh,

    For the 'Assessor's Comments' box, do you know if they would like it to be written by hand or typed in? What did you do? Thanks.

  • Joshua

    Hi Andrew,

    Could you remind me what the Assessor's Comments box is? I don't remember that section.

  • Larry

    Hi Josh,

    If you're chosen for an interview and you live outside of ontario, do they fly you to Western? It seems a bit ridiculous that interviews take place within a week of the notification and we're expected to find tickets so quickly.

  • Joshua

    Hey Larry,

    I think they might because I remember they will pay for your gas bill and stuff, but I"m not sure. Definitely a good question to ask them.

  • Sarah

    Hi, Joshua

    Thanks for the video. I now have a basic idea how I'm gonna plan and write out the application.

    I just have few questions…

    I have great academic achievements…umm… i have the highest mark in my school…I took many AP (Advanced Placements) exams..I did well on all of them. I'm also in a gifted program at school.

    You advised that I need to fill out the entire space for extra curriculars and volunteer activies..Did you have a really awesome C & V experience? I am excellent on the achievements/ awards side…but I don't have much on others things. Im a volunteer captain at a hospital and is running stitching club in school. I joined some events like halloween for hunger, 30 hour faminet, etc. But that doesn't seem sufficient,,,

    That is, I don't have a HUGE/ NATIONAL organization that I ran…Can you briefly describe what yours were? So that I can decide whether I should write this application or give up on it…?

    Thank you so much, again.

  • Joshua

    Hi Sarah,

    I wouldn't worry about not being able to fill up the entire space. I say write down whatever you can and just go for it.

    I say if you have the time, just give it your best shot. I don't want people to think you need a certain amount of this or that to have a shot.

    Best of luck!

  • Jessica

    Hey Joshua,

    Great site! I really appreciate it.

  • Andrea

    Hi Josh,

    I have a quick question. I just found out that I won the $36,000 Queen's Chancellor's Scholarship, but I really want to go to Western and get the National Scholarship. Can I list the Queen's scholarship under "national awards" in my application for UWO's scholarship? Also, when I eventually apply to med school, can I list scholarships that I won in high school for universities that I didn't choose to go to?

    Thanks! I love your website!

    Andrea

  • Joshua

    Hi Andrea,

    Congrats on your Queen's scholarship!

    I would not list it on your application to Western – I think it would be perceived badly.

    As for medical school, sure you could list them, but it could be seen as awkward. E.g. you apply to Queen's medical school, showing that you won the Queen's scholarship but still chose to not go there – it doesn't look good, and you want to avoid anything that might be awkward.

  • Adrienne

    Hi Josh,

    I was wondering if you included a title page and abstract for your essay?

    Thank you!

    Adrienne

  • Joshua

    @Adrienne: I didn’t include an abstract, I don’t think it’s necessary – feel free to include one if you like. I think a title page would be a good idea. Good luck!