Read the award biographies in the section above for all of the awards that you are eligible for.
Find a mentor (at your flying club/operation, school, family, etc.) who will read your application completely and help you revise it.
Ask for reference letters several weeks before the application is due so that they are well written and not rushed.
The scholarship selection committee is looking to invest the money in people who have earned these awards through their contributions to soaring. Give specific examples of things you did that benefit the soaring community. Some common examples:
Instead of saying: “I help get gliders ready”, try: “Every weekend I help with/conduct pre-flight inspections, clean the canopies, wipe the wings, and walk the gliders to the flight line for others.”
Instead of saying: “I talk about gliders at school”, try: “During my Science class, we had to give presentations on (insert topic here) and I shared the story and photos of my first glider ride and a summary of how gliders fly.”
Convince the scholarship selection committee that you love glider flying and that you have a plan to use the scholarship money. If applying to use the money for flight training, don’t leave the scholarship committee wondering what club you will be flying at, how you will get there, etc. If applying for the Bultman, be creative with your application and intended use – some ideas to get started might be: going to fly cross country or wave camp or contest, going to fly at a new location (maybe not even in the US), taking friends for rides, getting a winch/aerotow/motorglider endorsement, etc.