Reusable Materials 18: 5 Steps to Prepare Home Run Statements

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save time

Janis worked with us to apply for scholarships. Preparing the home run statements as part of her reusable master application. The perceived complexity overwhelmed her. She tried to write them but couldn’t. She tried to create, edit, and refine them all at the same time. It proved difficult. We taught her to prepare them in 5 steps. She used that process and finished 39 of them within one week.

Purpose of Home Run Statements in Master Applications

Part C of your master application contains your themes divided into three categories. You also write 3 home run statements for each category. You want home run statements to WOW the scholarship committees. Not all home run statements require overwhelming numbers.

You use your home run statements for the questions with the larger fields for the answers. You copy and paste the statements into scholarship applications. Typically home run statements answer the following questions:

• Describe your extracurricular activities
• Describe your athletic endeavors
• Explain your leadership experience
• Explain what you have done to improve the world or society
• Describe a sacrifice you made or hardship you endured

5 Steps to Prepare Home Run Statements

Trying to generate fully polished home run statements from scratch can intimidate you. The mind does not simultaneously create and edit well. The creative process requires full expression and openness. Editing requires that you restrict and use rules. These processes conflict with one another.

You will experience more success if you separate the creative and editing process. Accomplishing each step separately increases your ability to create while decreasing the overall time required. The 5 steps include:

• Generate 3 ideas for each category (just short phrases)
• Turn each idea into a complete sentence
• Translate implied numbers into real #,$, and %s
• Refine the sentence clarifying vocabulary and translating jargon into terms everyone will understand
• Ask someone else to edit your statements and ensure common understanding

Home run statements add sparkle to your scholarship applications.

Saturday we share the caution to compare schools before you sign the contract