It's easy to underestimate the total amount of time involved in applying for a major scholarship. Whatever amount of time you have calculated for typing and photocopying forms, increase it by 50 percent. Give those who write letters of recommendation plenty of advance notice (at least a month).
Pay close attention to deadlines. Some professors may allow you to turn in your term paper a day or two late. This is different. If you miss a receipt deadline by just one day or a postmark deadline by just one hour, you might as well have missed by a month. Your application will not be considered.
In the case of scholarships requiring campus screening and institutional endorsement of nominees, there may be internal deadlines that predate official application due dates by as much as two or three weeks. These deadlines are set in order to make arrangements for campus interviews and to allow sufficient time for preparing letters of endorsement. Be sure to check with the Honors Program office for exact information about all deadlines, internal and external.