Students who wish to receive scholarships, a form of financial support that does not need to repay, often have to compete with hundreds of other applicants and sometimes for a minimal number of awards.
Free financial support plays an essential role in helping students in the US pay for college. According to the 2019 report "how America Pays for College" by Sallie Mae, 31% of College costs in 2018-2019 were paid with funds, do not need to be repaid. Three-fifths of them were scholarships, and two-fifths were grants.
To make the most of this highly desirable help, students can use some experts' strategies to highlight their application. You will find some tips for writing scholarship essays that deal with a blow below.
Become personal and be specific
The key to a winning scholarship essay is to make it personal, experts say, and to include important Details. A paper feels genuine and offers insights into the candidate's position at a deeper level will notice in many academic papers that can be boring for readers who review hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications.
For example, for scholarships awarded by the Pride Foundation, an application is required. It includes several papers in which students asked to describe to themselves what they want to study and what kind of work they hope to do. The social justice philanthropic foundation aims to support the LGBTQ community in the Northwest and awards more than 60 scholarships to each accredited post-secondary school or program, according to its Website.
Last year, college scholarships had an average price of $ 5,000 to $ 8,000, according to Katelen Kellogg, the foundation's communications and contact manager. She says the scholarships are for LGBTQ-or strongly LGBTQ-allied students who live in the Pacific Northwest. How to write your best scholarship essay ever? Find out here https://essayservice.com/blog/scholarship-essay.
Kellogg, who helps read candidates' essays each year, says that the scholarship essays she notices "contain Details that paint the picture of her life." She says the most successful pieces are "less about something you do than about who you are as a person."
Eden Shore, a volunteer manager at the Pride Foundation who has experience reading hundreds of scholarship papers, says that the writing process should be necessary to students - and this reflected in the paper.
"Your essay can be an opportunity for you to understand something yourself," Shore says. "Illustrate that you can think thoughtfully."
Telling a story
An outstanding essay captivates the reader from the first sentence, says Monica Matthews, author of scholarship guide, "How to win College scholarships".
Think about the structure of the essay and how the reader can be attracted to it. The story should feel real and faithful to the student's life.
"Students need to start with a hook and share personal and tangible Details about their lives," Matthews wrote in an email. "The mere statement that you helped others, for example, does not make the judges realize what kind of person you are. Writing about specific experiences with real situations using interesting Details makes compelling and unforgettable essays."
Adjust the scholarship essay to the command prompt
In some cases, it may be acceptable and even wise to reuse an essay that the student has already written and used it for another application. However, experts say that students should exercise caution.
"Students often try to reuse papers from the admission process for scholarship papers. The result is ultimately so Lala," Colleen Paparella Ganjian, an independent education consultant and founder of DC College Counseling in Virginia, wrote in an Email.
Instead, the essays should be thematic and specific to the particular question and the Organisation to which the students apply.
A winning scholarship essay topic will likely ask students about their career goals and their Plan to achieve those goals, says Matthews. Other essays may ask students what they have done to make their community a better place or to describe a personal achievement and how they have mastered the challenges to achieve it.
Do not adapt to the reader
Students often feel that they have to project a specific image or a positive side of their scholarship applications and essays. It is not always necessary.
"The only person who needs to be an applicant is yourself," Shore says of applicants for the Pride Foundation Scholarship.
The trap of tailoring yourself can be especially tempting for students who are not traditional or have an international background, says Mandee Heller Adler, founder, and president of Florida-based International College Counselors.
"Don't be afraid to talk about your culture, traditions, and experiences. If you are an international applicant, a minority, or a non-traditional student, do not try to" Americanize "or" establish "your application." Heller Adler wrote in an email. "Scholarship standing commissions like diversity, and the goal is to stand out and not be like all other applicants. Don't be afraid to focus on details about your culture that are important to you and essential to understanding who you are."
Information to follow
According to Shore, the most significant Frustration when reading essays on applying for a scholarship is when students do not follow the instructions. It means that you must note all formatting specifications, length restrictions, and answer the question asked.
"Make sure you answer the question asked and stick to the word limit you get," Shore says. "Longer does not necessarily mean better. If the students are bored by the essay they write, so will the reader."
Example of a scholarship essay
Life Happens scholarship
Essay PROMPT: How has the death of a parent or guardian affected your life financially and emotionally? Be sure to describe how your parents/guardians' loss has affected your study plans and explain how the lack of adequate (or any) life insurance coverage has affected your family's financial situation.
"When I was seventeen years old, my father lost his battle with kidney failure and cardiovascular disease. As long as I live, I don't think I'll ever forget the first moment I saw my father's once glowing face in that cold and unforgiving coffin. I will not forget his lifeless and defeated hands or how his pale lips would never utter another joke or talk to his grandchildren. Although his funeral was undoubtedly the worst day of my life, I wish I could relive it just to be with him again. From that moment, I feel that all my grief and longing are under my skin without relieving the pressure. On September 8, 2016, I lost my voice of reason, my confidant, my cheerleader, and my best friend.
I had lost so much more. After my father's death, he left us funeral and medical expenses that his insurance would not cover. Since he had no life insurance, his death's financial burden was now the responsibility of my mother and me. Although my mother works the night shift as a newborn sister and commutes for almost two hours, she had to take extra turns to support my family. Although I already had a Job and worked about ten hours a week, I now work between twenty-five and thirty-five hours a week and am also a full-time student with high honors. Although my father's death forced me to realize the importance of spending time with my family, I don't see them very often due to our busy schedules. I also sacrificed my social life and the joy that every Senior in High school should experience. Instead of playing football and returning home, I had to deal with grief and possibly not attend college because of my family's financial problems.
On the off chance that my dad had an extra security strategy, we wouldn't need to work deep down and forfeit our physical and enthusiastic prosperity to stay aware of costs. I would not need to stress so strongly over my training, aside from the devastating distress I have felt in recent months. On the off chance that this tremendous experience has shown me anything, at that point, this is: monetary anticipating these circumstances is priceless. I won't overlook the pressure and gloom I have encountered before long, and I currently understand that life coverage is a lifesaver for your enduring relatives. Albeit nobody can ever set you up for the Trauma of losing a parent, you can lament with disaster protection without the steady worry of monetary pressure. Hence, this is a fundamental precautionary measure.
I love and miss you so much, Dad. Say thanks to God, I will see you once more."
Why this example of a scholarship essay work:
- The author responds to the request. It would be easy to write an essay, spoke only to her grief, or what her father was like and how much he meant to her. However, the essay asks applicants to think about how the loss has affected the student emotionally and financially. The author does an excellent job combining the financial aspects (she and her mother have to work extra hours) with the emotional elements (because of the work schedule, the family cannot spend so much time together). She also addresses how this could affect her College plans.
- It provides (beautiful) Details. The first paragraph immediately attracts the reader because of the detailed description it contains ("his lifeless and defeated hands", "pale lips"). Similarly, the way your family bears the financial burden (for example, your working hours of 25 to 35 hours) feels more real than General. Use Details and descriptions to make something more emotional and tangible.
- The author knows her audience. This grant is funded by Life Happens, an organization founded by seven leading insurers to inform the public about essential topics in insurance planning. The author researched with the provider and understood that an essay pointing out the importance of insurance planning would be well received by the readers of the essay. Find out from the scholarship provider and adapt your content to the company's mission statement or business model.