The Universal Application in Scholarship Lifecycle Manager (SLM) allows applicants to create an account, apply for scholarships, and manage scholarship requests throughout the application cycle. Applicants complete a common application form that determines eligibility for multiple scholarship opportunities and submit supplemental questions for specific scholarships as needed.
User Role: Applicant
Use the Universal Application to:
- Apply for multiple scholarships with one common application instead of completing separate applications for each scholarship.
- Complete supplemental questions only for scholarships relevant to eligibility.
- Manage all scholarship applications in one centralized location.
SLM Applicant Tutorial - Universal Application Video
This video demonstrates how to create an account, apply for a scholarship, and understand the options that are displayed on your dashboard.
Create an Account/Log On
To create an account or log on to the grant site, use the link provided to you by the organization.
- If you have already created an account, enter your information and click Log On.
- If you have already created an account but have forgotten your password, click Forgot Your Password to reset it.
- If you have not created an account, click Create New Account.
To create a new account, complete your registration information and verify your email address.
- If you clicked Create New Account, you will be asked to complete registration information. After filling out all the information, click Create Account.
- The next page asks you to verify that you received your confirmation email. This helps ensure that you will receive other communications from this organization about your application. Click Continue.
Apply for a Scholarship
To apply for a scholarship, navigate to the Apply Page and start a request for the opportunity you want to pursue.
Access the Apply Page
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Click Apply to reach the Apply page which lists the available scholarship opportunities and details about each.
Click Preview for any scholarship opportunity on the page if you would like to view the first form without starting a scholarship request.
- Click Apply for a scholarship opportunity when you are ready to start a request.
Complete the Form
You will arrive at the first form for the request which is usually an application. If there is a deadline to submit the form, it is listed at the top of this page.
Complete the questions on the form. Required questions are marked with an asterisk. The system auto saves your work every 100 characters you type and when you click out of a question. You can also click Save at any time.
If you would like to download a copy of the form, click Question List.
Click Application Packet to download a .pdf copy of the form once you have completed it.
Submit the Form
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Click Submit Application when you are ready to submit the form.
If you decide to withdraw your application before submitting it, click Abandon Request instead.
The system notifies you of any required questions that were missed. Complete those questions and then click Submit again on the form.
The form cannot be edited once it is submitted.
You will receive a confirmation message when your form is successfully submitted.
Confirmation Page
The confirmation page lists the scholarship opportunities that you were found eligible to be considered for. It also lets you know if any of these opportunities require supplemental questions. Follow the instructions below if supplemental questions are required.
- Click Continue to move to the supplemental questions for the first opportunity.
- Complete the questions, and then click Submit Application.
Continue until you have completed the additional questions for each opportunity. If you have submitted the application and the request stays in the Action Needed column on the dashboard, this means that there are additional questions that need to be answered.
If you do not want to apply for an opportunity, click Abandon Request.
Click Save Application at any time if you want to finish the additional questions later.
You might see your response to a question carry across to another opportunity. In this case, if you update your response, it will update for the other opportunities as well.
Manage Your Requests
To access your dashboard and manage your scholarship requests, click the Home icon.
Your dashboard has three columns that organize your requests by status.
Action Needed - Contains your draft requests and any approved requests that still need action.
No Action - Contains requests that do not need further action from the applicant as administrators process the request.
Historical - Contains any of your other requests that are no longer active.
Request Actions
The actions you can take on forms for a request depend upon the form's status. Click the document drop-down menu to select and view the forms you have already submitted.
- Click Start in the To Do panel to start working on a follow up form.
- Click Continue in the To Do panel to continue working on a form you have not yet submitted. This includes follow up forms which might be assigned if your request is approved. Applicant Tutorial - Submit a Follow Up Form contains details.
Award Details Tab - For an approved request, click the request header to see the Award Details tab. This displays more information about the scholarship award.
Request Summary - Click on the request name to see the Request Summary.
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There are four tabs in the Request Summary:
Contact Info - View and edit your contact information.
Request - View current status of your request.
Documents - View any documents uploaded by the administrator.
Related Requests - View all opportunities for which you are eligible for that are tied to the common application submitted, their status, and the amount awarded if the administrator has turned the setting on. If a related request has the Approved status, the Amount Awarded column will show with the corresponding amount for that request.
Menu Icon - Click the menu icon in upper-right corner of the page to view additional options.
- Edit My Profile to update your contact information or password.
- Sign Out to log out of the site.
Additional Information on Completing Forms
Scholarship application forms include several features that affect how you enter, format, and submit your responses.
Character Limits
Some questions have character limits. Responses that are longer than the limit will be saved, but an error message will appear informing you that the limit has been exceeded. You will not be allowed to submit the form until the length of your responses to these questions fits within the character limits.
File Uploads
File upload questions only accept one file per question. If you attempt to upload a file that is too large or in an unaccepted file type, you will receive an error message and the file will not be saved. Once a file has been uploaded, it can be deleted by clicking the X icon next to the file name.
Third Party Responses
The application form might contain one or more sections to be completed by another person, for example, someone who will write you a letter of recommendation. You will see specific instructions on the application if this is the case, but the general steps are listed below.
- Enter the email address for the person who will complete this section, and then click Compose Email.
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Write them an email with details about what you are requesting, and then click Send.
The system will automatically send them another email with a link to complete the questions.
You will not see the questions or their responses in this section, but you can see whether or not they have been completed. Unless the organization instructs you otherwise, you can still submit your application before this person completes their section.
Rich Text Editor
For some text questions, you might see a rich text editor bar. This allows you to add formatting to your response. If you are copying and pasting text from a Word document, it will also allow you to keep most formatting from Word.
- Click a button in the editor, such as the B button for bold text, and then type. The formatting will be applied to the text that you type. Click the button in the editor again to stop using that formatting when you continue typing.
- Highlight existing text and then click a button in the editor. The formatting will be applied to the highlighted text. Highlight existing text and click the button in the editor again to remove the formatting.
- When adding a numbered or bulleted list, click the arrow next to the list button to view additional formatting options.
Video URLs
A URL that links to a supporting video, such as one hosted on YouTube or Vimeo, can be entered into a URL question on an application. Applicant Tutorial - Link to a Video details these steps.
Administrator Comments
An applicant may receive administrator comments on a saved or submitted form. The administrator comment will give information for the applicant on a specific question on the LOI or Application form. The information provided could mean that the applicant needs to add more information before the administrator can mark the form complete.