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Additional Requirements: A Detailed Guide

Additional requirements are supplementary information (e.g. documents, essays, etc) that you may want or need to collect for a specific scholarship. For example, a donor might want a tailored essay for their scholarship. In that case, only applicants for that scholarship need to complete the essay (versus all applicants).

Additional requirement questions are not used in the filtering/matching process, but applicants will not be able to submit their application for the scholarship until they have provided you with the required information. You can create these requirements on the “Additional Requirements” tab of the scholarship.

The first thing you'll notice is that there are three stages of the award cycle where you can add additional requirements for applicants Before Applying, After Awarding, and Renewable.

The Additional Requirements tab of a scholarship, showing the three stages of the award cycle where requirements can be added: Before Applying, After Awarding and Renewable.

There are seven types of questions that you can add to a scholarship as additional requirements. In addition, you can add Instructional text to provide clarification for the applicant about a question you've added or about the additional scholarship requirements in general.

Create a new question with a single answer : Question with a list of answer options from which applicants select one answer.

The editor for a new single-answer additional requirement question, where applicants pick one answer from a list of options.

Applicant view:

The same single-answer question as an applicant sees it, with the answer options presented as selectable choices.

Create a new question requesting any one of multiple answers : Question with a list of answer options from which applicants can select multiple answers.

The editor for a new multiple-answer additional requirement question, where applicants can select more than one answer from a list of options.

Applicant view:

The same multiple-answer question as an applicant sees it, with checkboxes allowing more than one option to be chosen.

Create a new question with an open-ended answer : Question to which applicants provide a short answer. You set the maximum number of words allowed.

The editor for a new open-ended additional requirement question, including the maximum word count the applicant's short answer may run to.

Applicant view:

The same open-ended question as an applicant sees it, with a short answer text box.

Create a new question with a date answer : Question to which applicants provide a specific date answer.

The editor for a new date additional requirement question, to which applicants respond with a specific date.

Applicant view:

The same date question as an applicant sees it, with a date field to complete.

Create a new question requesting a file upload : Question to which applicants upload a document that you specify.

The editor for a new file upload additional requirement question, where the administrator specifies the document applicants must upload.

Applicant view:

The same file upload question as an applicant sees it, with a control for choosing and uploading the requested document.

Create a new question with an essay answer: Additional requirement question with essay prompt to which applicants write a response. You will provide a minimum and maximum number of words that the applicant can submit.

The editor for a new essay additional requirement question, showing the essay prompt and the minimum and maximum word counts allowed in the applicant's response.

Applicant view:

The same essay question as an applicant sees it, with the prompt above a response box and the allowed word range shown.

Insert an External Request template : Gather information about applicants from an external source (e.g. guidance counselors, coaches, teachers, etc). You configure external requests in Settings > External Requests. See this article for a detailed explanation of how to configure and insert external requests.

Search to reuse an existing question : Additional Requirements questions can be re-used across scholarships. Instead of creating the same question repeatedly in cases where multiple scholarships have the same additional requirement, simply search for the existing question to add it to a scholarship.

The search field for reusing an existing additional requirement question from another scholarship, with matching questions listed beneath it.

Note: This causes the question to be shared amongst scholarships where it's been added, which means that the student's answer is shared as well.

In the case of the Before Applying additional requirements, an applicant will be prompted on their dashboard to answer any additional requirement questions on scholarships for which they qualify.

An applicant's dashboard prompting them to answer the additional requirement questions on the scholarships they qualify for.

After clicking Complete Follow-up, the applicant needs to complete the additional requirement questions.

The follow-up questions an applicant must complete after clicking Complete Follow-up on their dashboard.

Once the response is selected, the Submit Application button will light up yellow, allowing the applicant to submit their application for the scholarship.

There are 3 stages of Additional Requirements, each impacting the applicant at a different point in the application or awarding process. They are:

Before Applying

Questions created under the Before Applying section must be completed by an applicant after they qualify for a scholarship, but before they can apply to it.

Note: Every applicant must complete and submit the general application in order to qualify for opportunities.

Because Additional Requirements are specific to a scholarship, they appear in the form of "follow-up" items after the applicant submits the general application:

This way, you don't have to ask everything on the general application, potentially causing students to write essays or submit documents for scholarships that don't pertain to them. Instead you can make it a Before Applying Additional Requirement, and only qualified students will answer those questions.

Note: Reviewers will see student responses to these questions alongside those from the general application.

After Awarding

The After Awarding section allows you to add requirements for students to complete after you've awarded them a scholarship. It's the perfect place for a thank-you letter request. You can also request other items such as photos, consents/agreements, RSVPs to events, etc.

Steps to Configure After-Award Tasks

  1. Add Actionable Items: Navigate to the "After Awarding" section of the scholarship and add at least one actionable item, such as a question, a date field, or a confirmation checkbox. Note that instructional text alone will not create a task item.

  2. Publish Awards: Ensure that awards are published to make the after-award tasks visible on the student dashboard.

Like the Before Applying questions, awarded students that have outstanding items will see them clearly listed as a "follow-up" item to complete on their dashboard.

Note: the scholarship's award status must be "published" in order for the After Awarding follow-up items to be generated (to learn how to publish a scholarship, click here).

Best Practices for Managing After-Award Tasks

  • Keep follow-up items published to allow continuous updates in the "After Awarding" section.

  • Newly awarded students will see tasks immediately after publishing.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • Ensure Actionable Items Are Included: Verify that the "After Awarding" section contains at least one actionable item. Instructional text alone will not create a task.

  • Check Publishing Status: Confirm that the awards have been published. Unpublishing will close the tasks, making them invisible to students.

Renewable Award

Questions created under the Renewable Award section have a specific use: if a scholarship is configured with more than one payment (on the Details tab), you can ask questions that the awarded student must complete at the time of the future payment. In other words, if a student is first awarded on January 1, and the scholarship is up for renewal on September 1 (the next payment date), you may want to confirm that the student still meets the scholarship qualifications by asking those questions (to learn how to configure renewable payments, click here).

Just like the other two types of additional requirements, students will see any Renewable Award questions you've configured as a "follow-up" item on their dashboard. A renewable follow-up item is generated 30 days prior to the payment date, giving the student ample time to complete the questions you've configured in advance of the next payment.

Note: the scholarship's award status must be "published" in order for these renewable follow-up items to be generated (to learn how to publish a scholarship, click here).

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