Quick tips on Scholarship Essays

Quick tips on Scholarship Essays

The scholarship essay is a mirror to your mind and personality hence it has to reflect about oneself and the convincing capacity to win hearts. It should be a summary of ones achievements and should persuade the reader how you are eligible to get the scholarship at the same time it shouldn’t be too hard selling.

 

THE TOP 10 MOST COMMON SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY PROMPTS:

• Tell us about yourself. 

 

This should brief the reader about all of one’s achievements, accolades and something that they are proud of , a brief introduction to one’s family is also an added advantage.

• What impact has sports had on your life?

If the candidate has inclination towards sports and has taken up any sports activities the same has to be mentioned here. Sports help in mental, physical and interpersonal relationship a true sportsman ship can be cultivated on the field or by playing any sport, be it indoor or outdoor.

• Why do you want to study/pursue?

 

Clarity on future academics has to be clear in mind when one is writing the scholarship letter; any ambiguity will be confusing and reflect poorly on your essay. The career path has to be charted with help of a career map taking help of a counsellor.

• How have you contributed to your community, or what community services have you provided?

All the community service undertaken by the candidate has to be listed, there is no point in filling pages after pages but the most relevant and commendable should be highlighted just to get a glimpse of your selfless attitude.

• How are you unique?

Many individuals try too hard to portray that they are unique but that sometimes backfires, be as subtle as possible at the same time use impactful language to demonstrate how unique one is. Always be proud of your achievements however big or small it is. Remember if you are not confident in yourself there is no point in telling it to the world.

• Tell us about a time you failed and what you learned from it.

Failures are the pillars of success— the old adage goes a long way and there is no harm in admitting it, mentioning the failure also shows that you have a never give up attitude and is willing to improve in your attempts. Lessons learned are more important than the achievement.

• Tell us about a time when you had a belief or idea challenged.

If you are able to re-evaluate and challenge your own beliefs, you are demonstrating that you are a student who has the self-awareness, open-mindedness, and maturity that are essential ingredients for college success. 

• Why do you deserve this scholarship?

A student should always be ready to answer this question as this will be asked even in personal interview. Monetary aspect is one side of this question but how the student will put good use in availing the scholarship back to the society, Alma matter and oneself has to be presented in a very diplomatic way.

 

In a nutshell, scholarship application has to be very impressive in the first look at the same time should not be advertised like a marketing flyer. Care has to be taken to carefully draft, re draft and run thru many people like advisors, counsellors, teachers and friends.  It takes many days or even months to zero down to a good admission letter, Essay or scholarship letter so the student has to be prepared in advance to avoid the last minute rush and then resorting to a shoddy job.