Every year, thousands of high school and post-secondary students across the country apply for hundreds of different scholarships, awards and bursaries.

But for every handful of truly great applications sent in, scholarship administrators say they have to trudge through dozens of other applications that just don't cut the mustard, for a variety of reasons.

Near the top of the list are applicants that don't fit the award criteria.

Trish Jordan, spokesperson for Monsanto Canada, which hands out the $1,500 Monsanto Opportunity Scholarship, urges students to read application forms more thoroughly.

"We're targeting kids that come from an agriculture or forestry background and we want to encourage kids to pursue careers in agriculture or forestry," she says. "Obviously, they have to meet (those) requirements."

Students who don't have that background, or who are going into a different field, won't get very far in the process, says Jordan, although every year Monsanto receives a handful of such mismatched applications.

The TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership has a similar problem with some of its applicants, says Lara Dias, assistant manager, education and scholarships at TD.

"A lot of students, because they're involved in so many things, think they're good candidates," she says. "But it's not about resume building in our case."

"What we're really looking for are students that have made a difference in their communities," says Dias. "So we have to separate the participants from the people who have initiated things."

TD Canada Trust receives applications from around 3,500 high school students each year, but only 20 ultimately take home the coveted $60,000 scholarship.

Like most scholarship programs, applications for the TD Scholarship go through a number of rounds before the final winners are chosen. Those applicants that don't fit the criteria are among the first to be disqualified, says Dias.

Dias suggests students should find out more about a scholarship before applying for it, and should also research past winners to see if their own accomplishments match what the judges are looking for.

Another common problem that can plague scholarship programs is incomplete applications, says Carol Davies, national communications manager for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, which hands out the $3,000 Future Leaders Scholarship for Today's Youth.

Some students, says Davies, are "not reading the application carefully enough and are maybe missing some of the information."

"Or they're not filling out the form properly," she says.

Most scholarships ask for a completed application form, a few letters of reference, a marks transcript, and possibly an essay. And since each piece of required documentation helps the judges make their decision, leaving something out will often result in automatic disqualification.

"Pay attention to what is required because, unfortunately, we have to disqualify students because their application isn't complete," says Dias. "That's a basic thing, but it can make a difference."

But even the most complete application will do little good if a student doesn't get it in on time.

Since scholarship programs often give students ample warning of their deadlines, sending an application in late is the easiest way to get disqualified, says Jordan.

"You can't miss the deadline because that would indicate right off the bat you might have some time management problems," she says.

For students who do meet all the criteria, include all the necessary documentation, and meet the deadline, it's the quality of the application itself that ultimately determines their success.

That's why it's important for students to present themselves in the best and most accurate light, says Jordan.

"I know one of the things that really impresses myself and the judges is the organization and effort that goes into an application," she says. "You can tell fairly quickly whether or not someone has a real passion for this, or whether they're just someone trying to write something that fulfils the requirements."

Grades can also play are role in the judge's decision, but students might be surprised to learn that, in some scholarships at least, marks don't matter as much as personal character, says Davies.

"Marks aren't the deciding factor," she says of the Future Leaders scholarship. "It's more how have these applicants been contributing to their community, to their club?"

"There's a lot of smart kids out there, but we're also looking for a broader background than that," agrees Jordan. "We put as much worth on community involvement as we do on academic achievement."

That said, students are still expected to be able to make it in the post-secondary education these scholarships are designed to help them pay for, says Dias, which is why a minimum GPA cut-off point, although flexible in some cases, often exists.

"GPA is not that significant of a factor when we're making our decision, but it's something to think about," she says.

To further weed out applicants, some scholarship programs also include an interview component that can be the most unnerving part of all for students. The TD scholarship, for example, interviews about 80 applicants at one of its five regional panels.

For this and every other step, Dias encourages students to just be themselves.

"Try not to be too polished," she says. "If you're trying to be something you're not, it does show through for us."

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