Many college students do not realize it is the season to submit scholarships applications for the next school year.
As you read over the scholarship applications that your search retrieves, you may notice that most scholarship applications would like to know about the person they are considering giving a scholarship to. This acquaintance is made through writing a scholarship essay.
Applications that require this effort from the applicant are not the scholarships to skip over. In fact, these are the scholarships that one will have the highest chance of obtaining, especially if you take the time to write a quality essay. Here are some tips for writing a winning scholarship essay.
Read the Instructions Carefully
Take some time to read the instructions of what the essay is asking for. Visualize what you would like to tell about yourself in relation to each question. Does it ask you to recall a time that you decided which profession you want to pursue? Write down some ideas, even if they seem unsure. You can build on these later into a complete idea.
Make a Plan
Pay attention to answering all of the questions asked, but do not overwrite your essay beyond the maximum word limit. There is a word limit for a reason – someone must review all of those essays. If you write an essay to novel proportions, the reviewer may stop reading it. Make your essay more powerful by telling a lot in fewer words.
Who Are You?
Imagine you are a scholarship application reviewer who has hundreds of essays to review. What essay is going to stand out and grab your attention? Tell a good story about yourself. Fit your accomplishments and struggles into your story. Explain why the scholarship will help you, but do not write from a perspective of “woe is me” either. A reviewer does not want to read all about the misfortunes one has faced, but, more importantly, how you have or will overcome obstacles.
Save All Your Essays
When job seekers are looking for a job, they may have a few versions of their résumé, depending on the specific opening for which they are applying. The same principle applies to scholarship essays. If you have an essay that covers similar topics to a previous application, reshape it to fit into the new scholarship application. This can save vital time, as applying for scholarships is a game of numbers. The more scholarships you apply for, the greater the chance of winning.
Get Help
Your college has a writing lab to assist students in writing projects, and that includes scholarship essays. Use this resource to help with writing your essay and to proofread your essay before you submit it. It is important to have another set of eyes review your work before it is submitted.
