Every high school student in America is looking for the ultimate trick to winning a college scholarship, but we all know it's no simple task. With as many as thousands of applications per award, you need to do everything you can to make your application flawless. Follow the advice of these scholarship judges to keep your application out of the trash.

Top 5 Common Mistakes

1. Sending in your application after the deadline
Believe it or not, some students feel that being a couple days late is no big deal. But to Bobbie Shahpazian, associate director of scholarships at University of Maryland in Baltimore County, it's a big deal indeed! "Timely applications are of the utmost importance for any financial aid or scholarship review process. You must always be aware of deadline dates, and be certain that they are met."

2. Forgeting too runn spellcheckk
Spelling errors can make or break your application, too. Even minor mistakes can automatically put yours in the junk pile. Your word-processing program has a spell checker, so use it! An extra five minutes can eliminate these errors. "If you don't take the time to spell-check your application, the judges won't take the time to read it," explains Laura DiFiore, founder of FreSch!, a free scholarship search and information Web site.

3. Not meeting the essential requirements
If the minimum GPA is 3.0, do not even apply if yours is anything less. Take it from College of Wooster's (Wooster, Ohio) director of admissions Carol Wheatley: "Poor grades and factors indicating a lack of academic readiness would almost certainly eliminate a student." Don't even waste your time if you can't put up the numbers, and hopefully you will be able to save yourself some disappointment.

4. Scoring an A+ in Chicken Scratch 101
Use a computer to type your application. Even if your handwriting's not a nightmare, scholarship officials expect a degree of professionalism from your application and using a computer is one of the easiest ways to lend it a professional appearance. But make sure you use fonts and type sizes that are easy to read; sloppiness may translate into 'not worth the judge's time and effort.' "People say this is common sense and everyone knows appearances matter," says DiFiore. "My response? If everyone knew they needed to be neat on their applications, then why do so many look like they were written in a fast-food kitchen?" Keep things neat and always fill out applications away from the dinner table.

5. Forgetfulness
Did you include all necessary paperwork in the envelope? Even though this may seem elementary, believe it or not, it happens. Submit an incomplete application, or forget to include all materials, and you can kiss your scholarship goodbye. To better your chances, make sure everything is accounted for before you seal the deal.