1. 11/22/14
1
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCHOLARSHIPS:
LESSENING THE BARRIERS FOR
STUDENTS AND REVIEWERS
Amanda Fischer, University of Minnesota
Thuy Doan, University of Minnesota
Michelle Tolan, IFSA-Butler
Jarlath McGuckin, CIEE
Objectives
Participants will
leave with:
¨ An understanding of scholarship barriers, and
strategies for how to mitigate them
¨ Ideas for tweaks can you make to your existing or
new scholarships
¨ Actions/ideas to implement in your own institution
or organization

2. 11/22/14
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Assumptions
1. Must address other financial needs of students in
order for scholarships to be successful
¤ Financial aid, budgeting, and fundraising
2. As educators, we are involved in the process of
discussing financials and scholarships with students
¤ Discussions happen fairly early on
¤ Timing of conversations a big challenge
3. This panel doesn’t have this down 100%
¤ Share lessons learned and generate discussion/ideas
Definition of Terms
¨ Scholarship vs. Grant
¨ “financial need”
¨ EFC (estimated family
contribution)
¨ Diversity: what is it to you?

3. 11/22/14
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Student Scholarship Barriers
¨ Popcorn: What scholarship-related barriers must
students overcome?
¨ Identify 2-3 specific student populations and the
barriers that might be unique and/or more acute to
them.
Student Scholarship Barriers
¨ Terminology
¨ Perception of “need”
¨ Notions of diversity
¨ Assumptions on availability
First Generation College Students and/or Low-Income
Students:
¤ (all of the above) +
¤ Type of award ($$)
¤ Timing
¤ Application requirements

4. 11/22/14
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STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP BARRIERS
What role might we be playing in these barriers?
• What do we require (and why)?: letters of
rec, GPA, essays/writing samples
• How informed are we?
• How do we market/promote scholarships?
Promotion of Scholarships

5. 11/22/14
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Promotion to Students: Providers
¨ Marketing to students and advisers is crucial.
¨ Advisers: Same old “beef stew” of scholarships &
grants?
¨ Availability and attainability of new scholarships
& grants
¨ Terminology as barrier: “Scholarship” vs. “Grant”
vs. “Financial Aid”
Promotion to Students: SA Advisers
Strategic promotion can make a BIG difference on campus
>30% increase in scholarship applications
Specific Activities/Resources

6. 11/22/14
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Scholarship Chart
You CAN Afford to Study Abroad
Info Sessions
¨ Focus: Navigating scholarships, choosing an affordable
program, how to use financial aid
¨ 4 x per year, ~ 30-60 students each session
¨ Integrated promotion into other student materials
¤ Flyer with dates in all advising cubes
¤ Always on website
¤ Slide in our First Step session
n Online and in-person 30 min intro session (Study Abroad 101)
¤ Mentioned in our Program Selection Workbook

7. 11/22/14
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Scholarship Process Webpage
4 Step Process
1. Scholarships Chart
2. UofM Scholarship Search
Creative Financing Ideas
3. You CAN Afford to Study
Abroad Info Sessions
4. Support resources:
¤ Center for Writing
¤ Personal Statement Tips
National Scholarship Promotion
Info Sessions, workshops, handouts, and emails to
students for the following scholarships:

8. 11/22/14
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Role of Campus Advisers
¨ Psychological impact of advisers
¤ Encouraging or discouraging
¤ Incorrect or outdated info
¨ Who do students seek info from?
¨ Disseminate beyond Ed Abroad offices
¤ Ex: Funding Learning Abroad Adviser Trainings
¨ Encourage deeper engagement
Scholarship Advising on Campus
¨ Use multiple touchpoints
¨ Personal encouragement
¨ Offer pointers and coaching
¨ Acknowledge students are busy
¨ Suggest 1-2 scholarships
¨ Diversity scholarships
¨ Mention award ratios
¨ Train other campus advisers

9. 11/22/14
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Scholarship Structures
Scholarship Structure
¨ Why do you have a scholarship?
¨ Research who you’re trying to
reach and work backwards
¨ Psychology of Student ≈
Psychology of Scholarship

10. 11/22/14
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Addressing Middle Income Students
¨ Scholarships & Grants now split into 3 buckets:
¤ Academic Excellence
¤ Access
n GAIN
¤ Ambassadorship
¨ Pell eligibility in 2014-2015: EFC = $5157
Timing is Crucial
¨ GAIN – Reply & Retraction
¨ GAIN – Confirm à Travel Agent for airline
ticket à remainder = travel stipend

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Feeling the impact
Structure a scholarship so students are
able to feel the impact
Application Components
¨ What do you need to determine who receives a
scholarship? (i.e. do you really need all you’re
requesting?)
¨ When do you ask for it?
¨ Examples:
¤ IFSA-Butler First Gen
¤ UMN & GAIN

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Eligibility and Preference Factors
Who is your target population?
¤ Eligibility: Broad/narrow enough?
¤ Important to include definitions
n ‘financial need’
Are you using preference factors or eligibility criteria?
¤ Ex: Financial Need/First Generation Scholarship
¤ Who are you trying help?
“Planning” Scholarship Models
¨ CIEE Global Access Initiative (GAIN)
¤ Rolling admissions review
¤ Early application = Early award notification
¨ UMN Financial Need/First Generation Scholarship
¤ Earlier deadline = Early award notification
¤ Rollover capability
¤ Multiple chances to apply

13. 11/22/14
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Essay Prompts, Wordsmithing, and Lowering
Reviewer Bias
Essay Prompt Re-Design
¨ Process
¤ Is there a problem?
¤ Brown bag focus group
¤ Small committee: wordsmith, clarify issues, purpose, goals
¤ Critical approach: Why is this important?
¨ Why high quality essays are important
¤ May color reviewers’ impressions of study abroad quality
¤ Students more competitive for OTHER scholarships
¨ Outcome: Very impressed by heightened quality

14. 11/22/14
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How much reviewer bias does your
structure allow for?
¨ How do our own psychologies affect how we review
scholarships?
¨ Strategies for minimizing reviewer bias:
¤ Detailed rubric
¤ Detailed instructions that give examples of bias to take
into consideration (awareness is key)
¤ For grammar component: non-native speaker checkbox
¨ Outcomes:
¤ Scores no longer flip flop and are more consistent (never
perfect though!)
¤ Reviewers MUCH happier and less emotionally conflicted
Discussion
What methods of scholarship structuring and
promotion have been the most successful and
made scholarships feel accessible to students?
For example:
¨ Do your scholarships reward or encourage participation?
¨ How are you marketing to students?

15. 11/22/14
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Action Items/Takeaways
¨ Analyze: Are your scholarships
achieving what you want?
¨ Think about how you promote &
discuss scholarships w/ students and advisers:
Are scholarship barriers at your institution being addressed?
¨ Which tools/strategies would work well for your institution?
¨ This may be challenging at first, but worth changing the status quo
Call to Action:
¨ What changes will you make this year?
¨ Psychology of Scholarships 2.0, next year?
THANK YOU!
Amanda Fischer, University of Minnesota
fisch856@umn.edu
Thuy Doan, University of Minnesota
thuydoan@umn.edu
Michelle Tolan, IFSA-Butler
mtolan@ifsa-butler.org
Jarlath McGuckin, CIEE
JMcGuckin@ciee.org