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Scholarship survey template

Learn how fair your process felt, to every applicant

Four quick questions for scholarship and financial aid applicants once decisions are out: how clear the criteria were, how easy it was to apply, how well the decision was shared and how fair the process felt. Use it as it is or add an open question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

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What this scholarship survey tells you

A scholarship application survey asks applicants how your scholarship or financial aid process felt from start to finish. This template takes about 30 seconds: a rating for how clear the eligibility criteria were, an effort score for applying, a rating for how the decision was communicated, and a 1 to 10 score for how fair the process felt.

It is written for an email to every applicant after decisions are announced, sent to those who received an award and those who didn't. The same template runs as a link on your financial aid page or in the decision email your own system sends, or as a conversation that asks one question at a time.

Results shows both ratings with their averages and the share who rated them 4 or higher, the average effort on the 1 to 7 scale with the share who found it easy, and the fairness score with a column per step, each against the period before. Add an open question, and Usertick reads every written answer and files it under a category with a type and an urgency.

In an emailAs a linkOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
4
Time to answer
Under a minute
Written for
An email to every applicant after decisions are announced
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

In an email

Send it from Usertick to a contact list, with the first question inside the email. A tap on an answer opens the rest of the survey with that answer already kept. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on the free plan, or connect your own sender.

The 4 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 4 · Stars

How clear were the eligibility criteria?

Why ask it
Unclear criteria lead to applications that never had a chance and to questions your team answers one by one. It comes first because applicants judged the criteria before they even applied.
What you learn
The average out of 5, a bar per rating and the share who rated the criteria 4 or higher, against the period before.
Make it yours
Keep it first. In the email, applicants tap a star inside the message and the rest of the survey opens with that rating kept.
Question 2 of 4 · Customer effort

How easy was it to apply?

Why ask it
Applying means forms, documents and deadlines, so effort is the right measure. A scale from very difficult to very easy shows where the process gets in the way.
What you learn
The average on the 1 to 7 scale and the share who found it easy, with a hard-to-easy bar.
Make it yours
When the effort score is low, add a question on the hardest step, such as references or financial documents.
Question 3 of 4 · Stars

How well was the decision communicated?

Why ask it
How a decision arrives shapes how applicants feel about it, especially those who didn't receive an award.
What you learn
The average out of 5, a bar per rating and the share who rated it 4 or higher. Select a low rating to see how those applicants scored fairness.
Make it yours
Send applicants who didn't receive an award their own copy of the survey, so their ratings show on their own.
Question 4 of 4 · Big scale

How fair did the process feel?

Why ask it
Fairness is what applicants care about most once the decision is made, and a 1 to 10 scale shows how widely views spread across the pool.
What you learn
The average and a column per step from not fair at all to very fair, so a split between groups of applicants shows as two clusters.
Make it yours
When fairness and clarity are both low, start by rewriting the criteria.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

How clear were the eligibility criteria?

The average rating and the share who gave 4 or 5 stars, against the period before.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Scholarship process in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Ask everyone who applied

    Send it to applicants who received an award and those who didn't. Hearing only from the first group makes the process look fairer than it is.

  2. 02

    Send separate copies by outcome

    Use one copy of the survey for awarded applicants and one for the rest, so Results shows each group on its own.

  3. 03

    Wait a few days after decisions

    Schedule the send for a few days after decisions are out, so applicants answer about the process once the first reaction has passed.

  4. 04

    Never ask for ID numbers

    Keep the survey to the experience. Usertick's terms don't allow collecting government ID numbers, so leave them out of any question you add.

Customer effort scoreCourse evaluation surveysEmail surveysAdmissions and enrollment questions

More customer effort templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

Browse all templates
Customer effortEnrollment experienceLearn how easy it was to apply and enroll, and which steps confused students or parents. Send it after enrollment is confirmed.
Customer effortTask effort reviewMeasure the effort and time a key task takes, and find the step that slows people down. Show it after someone finishes a long task, such as an import or their first report.
Customer effortCustomer effort (CES)Measure how much effort it took customers to get what they needed. Show it right after a support ticket is solved, a checkout or a setup step.
Customer effortReturns and refundsMeasure how easy your returns process is and learn the real reasons products come back. Send it once the refund has been issued.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. How easy was the application process?Customer effort · Admissions and enrollment
  2. Where did it get hard?Multiple choice · Admissions and enrollment
  3. How helpful were the admissions staff?Stars · Admissions and enrollment
  4. Did you know the full cost before you enrolled?Yes / No · Fees and scholarships
  5. How clear is the fee information on our website?Stars · Fees and scholarships
  6. How do you pay your tuition?Multiple choice · Fees and scholarships

Frequently asked questions

A few days after decisions are announced, to every applicant. Before decisions, answers say little about fairness or how the decision was shared.

Yes. Their answers on clarity and fairness show where the process lost them, which applicants who received an award can't tell you.

Yes, by link or QR code with anonymous responses turned on: no user ID, traits or visitor ID are stored with the answers. A survey sent through Usertick email ties each answer to the applicant's contact, so share a link when anonymity matters more than follow-up.

Yes. Change the wording in your email and keep the questions, which fit any application with criteria, a form and a decision.

The template keeps to about 30 seconds. Add one such as What would have made the process clearer? at the end, and Usertick reads every written answer.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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