It happens every year about mid-September. A student comes to the Honors Office, asks for application materials and says something like this: "I'm a senior, and I plan to graduate in May. I have a really good GPR and a sharp resumé, and I think I'd be a strong contender for one of these major scholarships."
Maybe, but then maybe not. For one thing, as we said earlier, there's a lot more to the process than filling out forms. But more to the point, if you're a senior and you're just now thinking about applying — two or three weeks before the deadline — you're probably a year too late for most scholarships, two years too late for some. Institutions that traditionally fare well in these competitions emphasize that their successful candidates began the application process as early as the freshman year by formulating a competitive strategy.