Using Your Online Calendar to Manage Scholarship Hunts and Deadlines

When I work with clients to develop strategies for applying to multiple scholarships, my ultimate goal is to help these individuals integrate application processes into their everyday lives. Given the cost of attendance to United States graduate programs, it will take several applications and consistent work over the course of multiple annual cycles to reduce student debt significantly.

For those who wish to become academics or professional researchers, the skill of writing proposals for grants, funding, and research is essential for their entire careers. At some point along the way, deadlines, written essays, timely requests for letters of recommendation, and the persistent navigation of bureaucracies should just become part of life. But that integration doesn’t happen naturally for anyone.

Staying organized

The main purpose of creating an integrated calendar is to make it easy to find information when you need it and to reduce the amount of labor and time required to pursue each opportunity. Together, the deadlines, expected award amounts, required documents, and exact tasks associated with each scholarship application indicate the amount of time you’ll need to spend putting your materials together.

In my own academic journey I’ve found that staying organized is the key to maintaining consistent and efficient application habits. Spreadsheets, charts, handwritten journals, and online calendar systems are all tools that can help you keep track of past searches and future deadlines. But, in a world where our daily lives are most attuned to our electronic devices, the strategies, reminders, activities, and tools that readily integrate into our phones are the most effective.

Since it integrates easily into my email and phone, I prefer to use Google Calendar to capture information related to the many responsibilities of my busy life. Below is a quick tutorial on how I use Google Calendar to store and easily find crucial scholarship application information.

No matter how you record this information, make sure that your system clearly and efficiently communicates the time you’ll need to complete each application. Even if a deadline sneaks up on you, you should have stored enough information to be able to set aside extra time accordingly.

Tips for creating a scholarship calendar on Google Calendar

Here’s how I use Google Calendar to follow up on scholarship opportunities and get funding:

First of all, whenever you are searching for scholarships and you find something that suits you, save it! If the deadline has already passed, do not ignore it. Chances are that you will not find the opportunity again, so if it’s a fit for everything other than deadline – put it in your calendar for next year.
Though you can easily integrate your calendar into your phone with the GCal app, I suggest setting up and mostly managing your calendar from your computer.
Start by opening your Google Calendar on the computer. In the “My calendars” section in the middle of the left side of the screen, press the down arrow and then the plus sign next to “Other calendars” and “Create new calendar” that you title “Scholarships.”
By creating a new calendar, you are adding a separate layer to your personal calendar. This way you have the option to turn the “Scholarships” calendar “On” or “Off” so that it won’t interfere too much or clutter your daily schedule.

What Is a Scholarship? And Why Didn’t I Get One?

Tips for creating specific scholarship “events” on Google Calendar

Every time you create a new event related to scholarship applications, click on “More options” so that you can customize the event. In each event you should click the following boxes and include specific information:

Title the event with the exact name of the scholarship opportunity itself.
(If you save the exact title of the opportunity, then you will always be able to conduct Google searches to find it again. Saving the link is important as well, but it’s important to have the name of the scholarship in case this link expires or changes.)
Click the “All day” box so that the event appears at the top of that date in your calendar.
Be sure to click the drop-down option that says “Does not repeat” and select “Annually” so that your event repeats on an annual cycle. This way you will never have to input this opportunity into your calendar again!
Paste the link to the most relevant URL into the “Add location” bar.
Make sure you select the “Scholarships” calendar in the drop-down option next to the calendar icon.

I mark all of my deadline events as red so that I see it at the top of my day very clearly whether I’m looking at my calendar as a whole month or a week’s schedule.

As mentioned above, make sure that every calendar event includes information that is essential for determining the work necessary for completing the application.

Your essential calendar event details checklist

The exact title of the scholarship opportunity
The name of the organization that provides the scholarship
Links of related websites
URL with direct access to the online application or PDF
Date the application opens (You may want to make two separate events, one for the date that the application opens and one for the final deadline.)
Date the application closes
Award amount
All written statement prompts and relevant word limits
Number of required letters of recommendation
Unofficial or official transcripts
Any additional application instructions

By the time that you decide to put something on your calendar, you should have access to all of this information with as much accuracy as possible. Unfortunately, this information can be difficult to find on any given organization’s website. Often you will have to track down a copy of the current or previous application just to understand how much labor will go into the application process. You may even have to open an online account with an application database and click through the application to see what is required in full. Prepare for this to take more time than you originally anticipated!

Why is all of this scholarship tracking so important?

The point of getting something on your calendar is to mark the moment when you’ve completely processed the opportunity and decided to integrate it into your other scheduled work, studies, and responsibilities. So, make sure that the information is complete before you enter anything into your calendar or organization system.

In order to make timely and informed requests for letters, I am usually almost completely ready to submit my materials two weeks before the final deadline. I have found that when I request a letter of recommendation through an email that includes attachments of all of my completed application materials at least two weeks before the final deadline, it is pretty hard for someone to turn down the request.

Get to know your unique calendar habits

Personally, I keep a very neat calendar, and I don’t create reminder events for each and every task associated with my application on the dates that lead up to a deadline. This is because I know my own habits, and it’s important for me to have all of the most important information in one place. However, if you’re still building your habits, you might want to create reminder events for yourself in order to map out related tasks over the two months that lead up to each deadline.

Getting organized is step #1 in applying to academic scholarships; applying is step #2, and we can help you with both! Explore our Consulting & Editing Services and work one-on-one with an expert advisor who will help you get organized, apply for scholarships or admission, and get the results you need to make your academic or professional dreams a reality!

Accepted Admissions Expert Rebecca Lippman By Rebecca Lippman, Accepted consultant. Prior to working at Accepted Rebecca worked as a Student Affairs Advisor at the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center. She has taught undergraduate and graduate students how to write large grant applications for grants awarded by organizations such as Fulbright Student Program, Gates Cambridge Scholarship, Knight-Hennessy Scholars, Ford Foundation, Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, and the National Science Foundation. Rebecca has a masters degree from University of Cambridge, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Comparative Literature at UCLA. Want Rebecca to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!