how to write a college scholarship essay

how to write a college scholarship essay

Writing an Effective College Scholarship Essay

1. Introduction

For a personalized list of tips on completing an effective essay, visit the writing center. Remember, an essay is a chance to show what you are made of, the person behind the GPA and the test scores. This is the chance for you to be creating a good outline for your essay and to answer the question that your readers truly want to know: Who are you? An outline will provide you with an opportunity to brainstorm and will help you create a well-organized paper. By creating an essay outline and gathering all the information before you begin your essay, you make the process much more effective and easy. An outline will also help you know your strengths and where to place them.

When you are faced with the challenge of scholarship essay writing, remind yourself that the effort you put into writing your essay represents the chance to sell yourself to the scholarship committee. A winning scholarship essay is one that truly sets a particular applicant apart from the others. If you tell your story clearly and persuasively, you just might find yourself receiving a congratulatory letter from the scholarship committee! A highly effective way to do this is to create an essay outline. It is much like writing an effective research paper, which has a detailed thought of your topics and that will help to show it in a constructive way. Your essay provides you with the chance to share your thoughts and dreams, articulate your accomplishments, and possibly even further your dissertation study. While you also can take advantage and include some helpful writing hints which have been taught in workshops at colleges, which can restrain you from writing a low-grade essay.

2. Understanding the Prompt

People or evaluators who design these scholarships often have a vision of the ideal candidate or receiver in mind. Your purpose is to understand the prompt and to find the ideal candidate yourself (to see if you fit the bill). Find a list of goals and values embodied by the scholarship and jot down how these have been demonstrated in your life. What experiences are the evaluators looking for, to show success or failure in various aspects of society? With these notes, you can start to develop a rough draft or outlines for what organizational plan will work best and how you can integrate a personal connection to this particular scholarship. This process will also help frame things in terms of how to best market yourself in order to maximize your effectiveness at getting this scholarship.

Understanding the prompt is the most important starting point for your essay. This will give us the base of what the judges are looking for. You should read and re-read the essay prompt several times to identify key themes and messages, because your scholarship essay should respond directly to the prompt, working only with the information you are given. Dig beneath the surface to show who you are and how you see the world. Take this as an opportunity not just to retell a story but to reflect on your unique experiences and situations that brought you to this point. What, in your life, has led you to take an interest in this area? What will the scholarship enable you to accomplish as a student and beyond?

3. Crafting a Compelling Story

The most compelling essays will often take the reader on a journey – the author will use a compelling story to set the scene and to engage the reader. This story should reflect a significant point in the author’s life (for example, high school graduation or a family tragedy) and it should be something that the author has experienced first hand. The story should detail the challenge that the author faced and the actions the author took to overcome it. This essay can then segue into the essay’s theme – that the author has the qualities and character to replicate this past success in the future, in college and beyond. This essay structure is very direct and easy to follow. It tells a story, then explains its relevance and its link to the author’s choice of course. This essay will require more work than others, as the author must really set the story up well, then later in the essay explain in detail how it relates to the essay theme. Other essays will set out to prove that the author has always been interested in their course and has chosen a specific and significant experience that has influenced the author’s decision on his course. This is also an effective method, as it is a clear and concise way to tell the reader what the author’s course is, and the author’s reasons for pursuing it. An essay of this type will often require the author to examine his 4 or 5 years at high school and examine his brightest academic or extra-curricular triumphs. These will often be used as evidence throughout the essay, proving that the events have influenced the author to a great extent. High school memories that are very clear and very positive in the author’s mind will be detailed in the hope of putting the reader in the author’s shoes and to have them empathize with the author because they too have shared this experience. These types of essays can be easy to write if the author really puts effort into the brainstorming process, where the author will recall many events and link them to the course being applied for.

4. Showcasing Your Achievements and Goals

The vast majority of scholarship providers want to avoid awarding their scholarship to a student who will not be there to complete their studies. For this reason, it is important to clearly explain your academic and career goals. It might be a good idea, if there is any room for confusion, to paint a detailed picture of the future you see with your potential career. You could consider including details such as the career’s predicted lifespan, the demand for such a career, and the future earning potential. Just make sure not to stray too far into fantasy career land. It is also important to explain why you need to achieve these goals and how attaining them will enrich your life. This will all be critical in determining whether you are a worthy investment for the scholarship.

Present an honest portrayal of your achievements. If you overstate your achievements, you could inadvertently give the impression that you are arrogant. However, underselling your achievements is not a great idea either. It is important to be aware of what sets you apart from other students, and this is a good opportunity to mention any obstacles you have had to overcome. Any obstacles or disadvantages have the potential to be powerful evidence of your tenacity and determination to succeed. Be sure to avoid complaining about any bad experiences, but rather emphasize your success in spite of them. Be proud of what you have achieved and thoroughly explain how your life and future has been impacted by these successes.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, the scholarship essay is a vital part of your application. It allows you to express who you are, what your interests are, and why you would be a good candidate for a scholarship. This is a brief essay that doesn’t require too much time, but it can make or break your scholarship. It is important to put a lot of thought into what you are going to write. The essay should be more than just an answer to a question – it should be a well-written explanation of why you deserve this money. Remember that the person reading the essay wants to give out money. Show them why you are that person. The best way to do this is in a formal, polite, well-thought-out manner, the same way you would explain things in person. This will take some time, but as long as you remember to be yourself, take the guidelines for writing a persuasive essay, and explain why you deserve this money, you will be successful. If you have an already written essay that would fit into one of these categories, or you are a confident writer, be sure to check out the various other contests on this site. There are scholarships that fit into all three categories listed here. Check back often for updates on the next scholarship and good luck!