Writing Scholarship Essay Tips

8/10/2019 Writing Scholarship Essay Tips

1/18


2/18

If these questions cannot cure your writer's block, consider the following exercises:

1. Ask for Help from Parents, Friends, Colleagues, etc.

If you cannot characterize yourself and your personality traits do not automatically leap to mind, askyour friends to write a list of your five most salient personality traits. Ask your friends why they chose

the ones they did. If an image of your personality begins to emerge, consider life experiences that

could illustrate the particular traits.

2. Consider your Childhood

While admissions officers are not interested in reading about your childhood and are more interested

in the last 2-4 years of your life, you might consider events of your childhood that inspired the

interests you have today. Interests that began in childhood may be the most defining parts of your

life, even if you recently lost interest. For instance, if you were interested in math since an early age

and now want to study medicine, you might incorporate this into your medical school admissions

essay. Analyze the reasons for your interests and how they were shaped from your upbringing.

3. Consider your Role Models

Many applicants do not have role models and were never greatly influenced by just one or two

people. However, for those of you who have role models and actually aspire to become like certain

people, you may want to incorporate a discussion of that person and the traits you admired into your

application essay.

4. Goal Determination

Life is short. Why do you want spend 2-6 years of your life at a particular college, graduate school, or

professional school? How is the degree necessary to the fulfillment of your goals? When considering

goals, think broadly. Few people would be satisfied with just a career. How else will your education fityour needs and lead you to a fulfilling life?

If after reading this entire page you do not have an idea for your essay, do not be surprised. Coming

up with an idea is difficult and requires time. Actually consider the questions and exercises above.

Without a topic you feel passionate about, without one that brings out the defining aspects of you

personality, you risk falling into the trap of sounding like the 90 percent of applicants who will write

boring admissions essays. The only way to write a unique essay is to have experiences that support

whatever topic you come up with. Whatever you do, don't let the essay stress you out. Have fun with

the brainstorming process. You might discover something about yourself you never consciously

realized.

Step Two - Selecting an Essay Topic

Consider the following questions before proceeding:

Have you selected a topic that describes something of personal importance in your life, with which

you can use vivid personal experiencesas supporting details?

Is your topic a gimmick? That is, do you plan to write your essay in iambic pentameter or make it

funny. You should be very, very careful if you are planning to do this. We recommend strongly that

you do not do this. Almost always, this is done poorly and is not appreciated by the admissions

committee. Nothing is worse than not laughing or not being amused at something that was written to

be funny or amusing.


3/18

Will your topic only repeat information listed elsewhere on your application? If so, pick a new topic.

Dont mention GPAs or standardized test scores in your essay.

Can you offer vivid supporting paragraphs to your essay topic? If you cannot easily think of

supporting paragraphs with concrete examples, you should probably choose a different essay topic.

Can you fully answer the question asked of you? Can you address and elaborate on all points within

the specified word limit, or will you end up writing a poor summary of something that might be

interesting as a report or research paper? If you plan on writing something technical for college

admissions, make sure you truly can back up your interest in a topic and are not merely throwing

around big scientific words. Unless you convince the reader that you actually have the life experiences

to back up your interest in neurobiology, the reader will assume you are trying to impress him/her

with shallow tactics. Also, be sure you can write to admissions officers and that you are not writing

over their heads.

Can you keep the reader's interest from the first word. The entire essay must be interesting,

considering admissions officers will probably only spend a few minutes reading each essay.

Is your topic overdone? To ascertain this, peruse through old essays. CollegeGate's 100 free essays

can help you do this. However, most topics are overdone, and this is not a bad thing. A unique or

convincing answer to a classic topic can pay off big.

Will your topic turnoff a large number of people? If you write on how everyone should worship your

God, how wrong or right abortion is, or how you think the Republican or Democratic Party is evil, you

will not get into the college of your choice. The only thing worse than not writing a memorable essay

is writing an essay that will be remembered negatively. Stay away from specific religions, political

doctrines, or controversial opinions. You can still write an essay about Nietzsche's influence on your

life, but express understanding that not all intelligent people will agree with Nietzsche's claims.Emphasize instead Nietzsche's influence onyourlife, and not why you think he was wrong or right in

his claims.

In this vein, if you are presenting a topic that is controversial, you must acknowledge counter

arguments without sounding arrogant.

Will an admissions officer remember your topic after a day of reading hundreds of essays? What will

the officer remember about your topic? What will the officer remember about you? What will your

lasting impression be?

After evaluating your essay topics with the above criteria and asking for the free opinions of yourteachers or colleagues, and of your friends, you should have at least 1-2 interesting essay topics.

Consider the following guidelines below.

1. If you are planning on writing an essay on how you survived poverty in Russia, your mother's

suicide, your father's kidnapping, or your immigration to America from Asia, you should be careful

that your main goal is to address your own personal qualities. Just because something sad or horrible

has happened to you does not mean that you will be a good college or graduate school student. You

don't want to be remembered as the pathetic applicant. You want to be remembered as the applicant

who showed impressive qualities under difficult circumstances. It is for this reason that essays relating

to this topic are considered among the best. Unless you only use the horrible experience as a lens

with which to magnify your own personal characteristics, you will not write a good essay. Graduateand professional school applicants should generally steer clear of this topic altogether unless you can


4/18

argue that your experience will make you a better businessman, doctor, lawyer, or scholar.

2. Essays should fit in well with the rest of a candidate's application, explaining the unexplained and

steering clear of that which is already obvious. For example, if you have a 4.0 GPA and a 1500 SAT, no

one doubts your ability to do the academic work and addressing this topic would be ridiculous.

However, if you have an 850 SAT and a 3.9 GPA or a 1450 SAT and a 2.5 GPA, you would be wise toincorporate in your essay an explanation for the apparent contradiction. For example, perhaps you

were hospitalized or family concerns prevented your dedication to academics; you would want to

mention this in your essay. However, do not make your essay one giant excuse. Simply give a quick,

convincing explanation within the framework of your larger essay.

3. "Diversity" is the biggest buzzword of the 1990's. Every college, professional school, or graduate

school wants to increase diversity. For this reason, so many applicants are tempted to declare what

makes them diverse. However, simply saying you are a black, lesbian female will not impress

admissions officers in the least. While an essay incorporating this information would probably be your

best topic idea, you must finesse the issue by addressing your own personal qualities and how you

overcame stigma, dealt with social ostracism, etc. If you are a rich student from Beverly Hills whosefather is an engineer and whose mother is a lawyer, but you happen to be a minority, an essay about

how you dealt with adversity would be unwise. You must demonstrate vividly your personal qualities,

interests, motivations, etc. Address specifically how your diversity will contribute to the realm of

campus opinion, the academic environment, and social life.

4. Don't mention weaknesses unless you absolutely need to explain them away. Why admit to

weakness when you can instead showcase your strengths?

5. Be honest - but not for honesty's sake. Unless you are a truly excellent writer, your best, most

passionate writing will be about events that actually occurred. While you might be tempted to invent

hardship, it is completely unnecessary. Write an essay about your life that demonstrates yourpersonality.

Step Three: Writing the Essay, Tips for Success

You may be surprised that we do not address actually writing the essay until step three. From that,

you should understand the extreme importance of selecting a proper subject matter. However, even

seemingly boring topics can be made into exceptional admissions essays with an innovative approach.

In writing the essay you must bear in mind your two goals: to persuade the admissions officer that

you are extremely worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are more

than a GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing personality.

Answer the Question. You can follow the next 12 steps, but if you miss the question, you will not be

admitted to any institution.

Be Original- Even seemingly boring essay topics can sound interesting if creatively approached. If

writing about a gymnastics competition you trained for, do not start your essay: "I worked long hours

for many weeks to train for XXX competition." Consider an opening like, "Every morning I awoke at

5:00 to sweat, tears, and blood as I trained on the uneven bars hoping to bring the state gymnastics

trophy to my hometown."

Be Yourself- Admissions officers want to learn about you and your writing ability. Write about

something meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your actions. If you do this, youressay will be unique. Many people travel to foreign countries or win competitions, but your feelings


5/18

during these events are unique to you. Unless a philosophy or societal problem has interested you

intensely for years, stay away from grand themes that you have little personal experience with.

Don't "Thesaurize" your Composition- For some reason, students continue to think big words

make good essays. Big words are fine, but only if they are used in the appropriate contexts with

complex styles. Think Hemingway.

Use Imagery and Clear, Vivid Prose- If you are not adept with imagery, you can write an excellent

essay without it, but it's not easy. The application essay lends itself to imagery since the entire essay

requires your experiences as supporting details. Appeal to the five senses of the admissions officers.

Spend the Most Time on your Introduction- Expect admissions officers to spend 1-2 minutes

reading your essay. You must use your introduction to grab their interest from the beginning. You

might even consider completely changing your introduction after writing your body paragraphs.

Don't Summarize in your Introduction- Ask yourself why a reader would want to read your entire

essay after reading your introduction. If you summarize, the admissions officer need not read the restof your essay.

Create Mystery or Intrigue in your Introduction- It is not necessary or recommended that your

first sentence give away the subject matter. Raise questions in the minds of the admissions officers to

force them to read on. Appeal to their emotions to make them relate to your subject matter.

Body Paragraphs Must Relate to Introduction- Your introduction can be original, but cannot be

silly. The paragraphs that follow must relate to your introduction.

Use Transition- Applicants continue to ignore transition to their own detriment. You must use

transition within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of youressay. Transition is not limited to phrases like "as a result, in addition, while . . . , since . . . , etc." but

includes repeating key words and progressing the idea. Transition provides the intellectual

architecture to argument building.

Conclusions are Crucial- The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon

them your qualifications. In the conclusion, avoid summary since the essay is rather short to begin

with; the reader should not need to be reminded of what you wrote 300 words before. Also do not

use stock phrases like "in conclusion, in summary, to conclude, etc." You should consider the

following conclusions:

Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion.

Consider linking your conclusion to your introduction to establish a sense of balance by

reiterating introductory phrases.

Re-define a term used previously in your body paragraphs.

End with a famous quote that is relevant to your argument. Do not tryto do this, as this

approach is overdone. This should come naturally.

Frame your discussion within a larger context or show that your topic has widespread appeal.

Remember, your essay need not be so tidy that you can answer why your little sister died or

why people starve in Africa; you are not writing a "sit-com," but should forge some attempt atclosure.


6/18

Do Something Else. Spend a week or so away from your draft to decide if you still consider

your topic and approach worthwhile.

Give your Draft to Others. Ask editors to read with these questions in mind:

o What is the essay about?

o Have I used active voice verbs wherever possible?

o Is my sentence structure varied or do I use all long or all short sentences?

o Do you detect any cliches?

o Do I use transition appropriately?

o Do I use imagery often and does this make the essay clearer and more vivid?

o What's the best part of the essay?

o What about the essay is memorable?

o What's the worst part of the essay?

o

What parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?

o What parts of the essay do not support your main argument or are immaterial to your

case?

o Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This MUST be the case.

o What does the essay reveal about your personality?

o Could anyone else have written this essay?

o How would you fill in the following blank based on the essay: "I want to accept you to

this college because our college needs more ________."

Revise, Revise, Revise - You only are allowed so many words; use them wisely. Delete anything in the

essay that does not relate to your main argument. Do you use transition? Are your introduction and

conclusions more than summaries? Did you find every single grammatical error?

Allow for the evolution of your main topic. Do not assume your subject must remain fixed and that

you can only tweak sentences.

Editing takes time. Consider re-ordering your supporting details, delete irrelevant sections, and make

clear the broader implications of your experiences. Allow your more important arguments to come to

the foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make them explicit.

Make sure your essay fits the theme.

Let's say that you are applying for an award based on community service. In the application, you listall of the community service groups that you belong to and service project awards that you've won.But in the essay you vent about your disgust for the homeless and how they should find jobs insteadof blocking your passage on sidewalks. Your essay may be brilliantly conceived and written, but if itsmessage is not in line with the rest of your application, it will create a conflicting message and keepyou out of the winners' bracket.

So how do you know what the theme of your essay should be? The answer is actually quite simpleand goes back to why you decided to apply for the scholarship in the first place:

The theme of your essay is almost always determined by the purpose of the award or why theorganization is giving away the money.


7/18

Once you know this, you can choose which aspect of your life to highlight in the essay.

Answer the underlying question.

Have you ever been asked one question but felt there was an underlying question that was reallybeing asked? Maybe your mom asked you something like, "Tell me about your new friend Karen." But

what she really was asking is, "Tell me about your new friend Karen. Are her 12 earrings and tattoo-laden arms a sign that you shouldn't be spending so much time with her?" In most cases, the essayquestion is just a springboard for you to answer the real question the scholarship judges wantaddressed. An organization giving an award for students who plan to study business might ask, "Whydo you want to study business?" But the underlying question they are asking is, "Why do you want tostudy business, and why are you the best future business person we should gift with our hard-earnedmoney?"

For every scholarship that you attempt to win, you will be competing with students who share similarbackgrounds and goals. If you are applying to an award that supports students who want to becomedoctors, you can bet that 99% of the students applying also want to become doctors. Therefore, thegoal of every scholarship judge is to determine the best applicant out of a pool of applicants who atfirst glance look very similar. Use the essay question as a way to prove to the scholarship committee

that you are the worthiest applicant for the award.

Share a slice of life.

As you are explaining why you deserve to win, it is important that you also reveal something aboutyourself. Obviously, in the short space of 500 to 1,000 words, you can't cover everything about you.This is why one of the most effective techniques is to share a "slice of your life." In other words, don'ttry to explain everything. Just focus on one aspect of your life. If you are writing about yourinvolvement in an activity, it may be tempting to summarize your involvement over the years and listnumerous accomplishments. However, this would sound more like a resume (which by the way youshould include with every application) and it would not tell the judges anything new. However, if youfocus on just one aspect of an experience, you could spend some time going below the surface andshare something about who you are, which would be far more memorable. In other words, you would

be sharing a slice of your life.

Show passion in your writing.

As a student you have written a lot of essays. And let's be honestmost were probably on topics youdidn't care much about. You might be tempted to approach the scholarship essay in the same waythat you did when writing about the Roman Aqueducts, but this would be a tragic mistake. The lastcommon feature of all winning essays is that they are written on subjects about which the author istruly passionate. It is very difficult to fake passion for a subject. (Just try to be excited throughoutyour Uncle Larry's hour-long slideshow of his tonsil operation.)

But when you are genuinely enthusiastic about something, it does not take much effort for thatenergy to naturally show in your writing. Therefore, when you are choosing a topic, be sure it issomething you truly care about and are interested in. Without even trying, you will find that yoursentences convey an excitement that the reader can almost feel.

Be specific.

A common mistake in essay writing is to use general statements instead of specific ones. Don't write,"Education is the key to success." Instead, give the judges a slice of your life that shows them howeducation has impacted your life in a single experience or realization. If you are writing about yourdesire to become an astronaut, you might explain how this started when your father bought you amodel rocket for the Christmas you were five years old. Focusing on a specific example of your lifewill help readers relate to your experiences and ensure that your essay is memorable and (as a bonus)original.

Have a thesis statement.


8/18

It sounds obvious, but make sure that your essay has a clear pointmany students' essays don't.Whether you are describing the influence of your father or the effect of World War II on racerelations, you must have a central idea to communicate to the reader. To see if your essay has acentral thesis, try this simple exercise. Ask yourself, "What is the point of my essay in a singlesentence?"

Here are some answers that would satisfy the question for essays on independence and drugaddition, respectively:

"Growing up in the country taught me to be independent.""Treatment of addiction is the only way to win the war on drugs."

If you cannot condense the point of your essay into a single sentence, then the main point may notbe clear enough. Or worse, your essay may not have a thesis.

Build on your accomplishments.

Winning a scholarship is about impressing the judges and showing them why you are the bestcandidate for a monetary award. Your accomplishments, activities, talents and awards all help to

prove that you are the best fit. Since you will probably list your activities on the application form, usethe essay to expand on one or two of the most important ones.

However, don't just parrot back what is on the application. Use the opportunity to focus on a specificaccomplishment, putting it into the proper context. Share details. Listing on the application that youwere a stage manager for a play does not explain that you also had to design and build all the sets ina week. The essay allows you to expand on an achievement to demonstrate its significance.

Avoid the sob story.

Tear-jerking stories may be popular subjects for television specials and song lyrics, but they rarely, ifever, win scholarships. A common theme students write about is why they need the scholarshipmoney to continue their education. While this is a perfectly legitimate topic, it is often answered withan essay filled with family tragedies and hardshipsa sob story. Again, there is nothing wrong withwriting about this topic, but don't expect to win if the intent of your essay is to evoke pity.

If your main point (remember our test) is this: "I deserve money because of the suffering I've beenthrough," you have a problem. Scholarship committees are not as interested in problems as they arein solutions. What have you accomplished despite these hardships? How have you succeeded despitethe challenges you've faced? This is more significant and memorable than merely cataloging yourmisfortunes.

Unfortunately, the sob story is one of the more common types of essays that are written by students,and it is hard to stand out when you are telling the same story that literally hundreds of others are

also writing. Remember that every applicant has faced difficulties. What's different and individual toyou is how you've overcome those obstacles.

Show positive energy.

Mom has probably said: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Everyonelikes an uplifting story. Especially since you have your entire future ahead of you, scholarship judgeswant to feel your enthusiasm and zest for life. In fact, one reason some people love to volunteer to bescholarship judges is to meet positive and enthusiastic young men and women who do not have thecynicism or closed minds of many adults.

Try to stay away from essays that are overly pessimistic, antagonistic or critical. This doesn't mean


9/18

that you have to put a happy spin on every word or that you can't write about a serious problem. Butit does mean that you should not concentrate only on the negative. If you are writing about aproblem, try to present some solutions. Your optimism is what makes organizations excited aboutgiving you money to pursue your passion for changing the world. Don't shy away from this fact.

Find people to read your essays.

There is an old writer's saying: "Behind every good writer is an even better editor." If you want tocreate a money-winning essay, you need the help of others. You don't need a professional editor oreven someone who is good at writing. You just need people who can read your work and provideuseful and constructive feedback.

Roommates, friends, family members, teachers, professors or advisors all make great editors. Whenothers read your essay, they will find errors that you missed and they may give suggestions formaking the essay clearer to someone who is not familiar with the topic. You will find that someeditors catch grammar and spelling mistakes but will not comment on the overall quality of the essay.

Others will miss the technical mistakes but give you great advice on making the substance of youressay better. It's essential to find both types of editors. As you find others to help improve your essay,be careful that they do not alter your work so much that your voice is lost. Editing is essential, butyour writing should always be your own.

Final Thoughts ...

Writing scholarship essays may not be your ideal way to spend a Friday night or Sunday afternoon.But remember that these essays can win you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for college. Try tokeep this in mind when you feel burned out. If you really get down on writing, take a break. Gooutside. Watch some meaningless television. Then when you are refreshed, get back to your essay.

Every successful scholarship applicant we've metand we will include ourselves herehas at some

point got tired or disgusted and contemplated quitting. But each persevered and didn't give up. Theypushed ahead and finished their essays. Had they given up, they would never have won scholarshipmoney and that all important college diploma would have been a far more expensive (and for someimpossible) accomplishment.

Scholarship Essay Tips

Most Students Don't Know How to Start the College Scholarship Essay...

Guess what? Getting started is sometimes the most difficult part of writing for professional writers as

well. However, never start writing without doing a couple of things first.

Understand the purpose of the writing and the motivation of the askers

Analyze the question or topic

Write down the essay question. How many parts does it have? Does the question suggest a structure

or order, such as first describe your role in...then tell why it had the following effect...and what you

learned from it....

Do you have to do research first, or is this a question that is strictly about you that will come from an

analysis of yourself?


10/18

Why have the judges asked this question or posed this topic? Recognizing that all essays are about

you, how are the judges planning to get to know you through this essay?

Analyze the Organization

What is this scholarship about? Who founded it? What is the mission of the organization? Why arethey providing scholarship money? Who are the judges? What special points of view do they bring to

the judging?

How do you find out this information? Usually, you can find a great deal of background from the

scholarship Web site or the printed material provided by the scholarship group. Dottie Theriaque

from the Community Foundation says that if you have a question about purpose or anything else, call

and ask. Funders are eager to help applicants; that's what they are all about.

In a phone call with Josh Barsch, founder of the Dale Fridell scholarship, he was very clear in his

explanation that his scholarship group does not believe that only valedictorians or super jocks or Ms.

"I Belong to Every Club" should get help going to college. Josh notes that once you leave school, theonly person who will care about your GPA is you. Your success will be based on what kind of person

you are, how you approach challenges, and what your work ethic values are. Your GPA may be some

indicator of your potential, but you will have to figure out how to reach that potential, and it's that

process that will set you apart. That's why the Fridell scholarship doesn't request GPAs and SATs and

club lists. Kind of levels the playing field, doesn't it? Plus, if you are the valedictorian or the super jock,

the only message is that you are not solely defined by that honor or activity. You are much more, and

Josh's contest asks you to go beyond the usual high school achievement trappings and reveal more

about yourself.

Create goals for the writing

For example, your goal in responding to an essay might be to:

Demonstrate personal traits in yourself that are similar to the personal traits of the person for

whom the scholarship is named. (The Brower Youth Award is given in honor of David Brower,

to "honor his lifetime of bold action, inspiring mentorship, and principled effectiveness, which

helped give birth to the modern environmental movement.")

Use present tense and optimistic phrases to show that you are an active, vibrant, can-do

person. Show how your strong family support contributes to your success.

Emphasize your sense of balance in academics and family life.

Do these goals sound so generic that they could be written for any essay? That's not necessarily true.

An essay for a scientific award may not want to portray a person as vibrant and can-do (and possibly

lacking in the self-discipline necessary for rigorous scientific study) but instead as a diligent, highly

curious person with a passion for understanding why things work and the patience to test all of the

variables to come to a valid conclusion.

Depending on the award and the personal circumstances, a goal of the scholarship essaymight be to

demonstrate a commitment to succeed despite unstable family circumstances, such as living in a

variety of foster homes. Using a different approach, a conscious choice to forego balance between


11/18

academics and family life to pursue a passion for learning about gene mapping to search for a cure

for the multiple sclerosis that has made a family member an invalid.

Develop a Theme

Some may argue that you should develop a theme for your essay and then write goals. We believethat the opposite is true. When you read an essay question, it may be immediately apparent to you

that the theme, or the message that you want to convey, has to do with your commitment to the

healing profession as an extension of your desire to better people's circumstances. Wonderful!

However, if the theme of your essay is not immediately clear, break down the work by establishing a

set of goals based upon your understanding of the essay's intent and the mission of the funding

organization. These goals may lead you to one or more themes for your essay. In the set of goals

above, the theme that may be emerging from the goals is an appreciation for the family or the team

as a cornerstone to individual and group success. You can use your experience as a club leader in

developing a team approach, and your decision to ask members of your family to be on your college

team to proofread, edit, and search for opportunities as ways to show that you value working

relationships and your leadership style will be successful in inspiring group success.

No matter which approach you take, goals first or theme development first, the important takeaway is

to establish a theme and goals and to be sure that the theme and goals relate you as a person to the

subject you are writing about, even if the subject is a character in a Wilkie Collins novel or a pending

piece of legislation.

Outline Your Response

Many people write by beginning anywhere with a free flow of ideas that they then mold into an

appropriate order. Yes, that can workyou can occasionally start a project by writing down random

thoughts. However, we recommend that you try very hard to approach your essay by writing anoutline of what you want to say. The outline will assure that you have the right order and that you will

cover all of the points you want to cover. Outlining does not necessarily mean that your essay goes

into a required chronologic order, for instance. Some stories are best told by starting in the middle,

then describing how you got there and how you are going to go forward. The outline will make it

easier for you to move around the timing of various parts of the story to get the most dramatic effect.

There is a downside to the outline, we think. Sometimes it is difficult to make the transition from one

section of the outline to the next, making the essay sound like explanatory words hung on a frame,

very skeletal in effect. That's why later in this chapter, we will pay special attention to transitions so

that your essay flows well.

It's Time to Write

Now it's time to fill in that outline and tell your story. We have chosen not to give you a lot of new

rules and directions in this section because we want you to simply get the story out on paper. You

already have the basicsa theme in mind, a set of goals to meet, and an outline to work from. Do

your best and we'll meet you in the next section to talk about it.

It's Time to Rewrite

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo made dozens of sketches before embarking on their

masterpieces. Read the biography of any writer and discover that everyoneyes, everyoneneeds to


12/18

rewrite. You must do so because this is not an e-mail or a last-minute book report, it's a ticket to

money if you do it right.

Show, don't tell.

Go back through your essay. In every sentence where you have told the judges something, is there away to show by example? Consider the following.

My family does not have a lot of money. I worked my way through high school at Walmart.

This is a good piece of information to share. However, the message can be made more vivid by

sharing more detail.

My family does not have a lot of money. I worked at the local Walmart most evenings and did my

homework on the bus ride home or after work.

Much better. Now the judges know that you were very busy and can feel the squeeze of needing toearn money and still get your schoolwork done. One more time.

My family does not have a lot of money. We work together on a schedule so I can earn money for

college and stay on top of my schoolwork. Most weekdays after school, I attend one of my club

meetings then catch the late bus home. I usually finish my math homework on the ride. I get home in

time to grab supper ahead of time (Mom always has something ready on the stove) then work on

other homework until Dad drives in at about 5:35 pm. We pass each other in the driveway,

transferring keys and information. ("I aced the math test"; "It needs gas on the way home.") The

fifteen-minute drive gets me to Walmart in time to punch in for the 6 pm to closing shift. On nights

that the family needs the car, Dad drives me both ways. I'm home again by 9:30 pm, in time to chat

with my folks and watch thirty minutes of ESPN before going to bed.

Now this is a cool guy in a great family. Everybody participates, everybody cooperates. You can feel

the close timing involved in making this situation work. You can hear the easy interaction of people

who like one another. You know that this guy is not a robot because he needs a little human

interaction plus a little TV before starting over. We like him. Don't you? We'd like to help out this

family; they deserve it. Bingo!

Present Tense, if Possible

The present tense allows people to live the information with you. It's not always possible, but it's a

great strategy when it can work. The above paragraph could have been written in past tense, e.g.,"Dad drove me both ways." It's still a powerful sentence, but it's already over. When Dad "drives,"

we're right there in the car.

Kill the Adjectives and Adverbs

In Noah Lukeman's marvelous book about writing, The First Five Pages, he suggests that you go

through your first page of writing (your whole essay, in this case) and circle every adjective and

adverb. Then see if you can use a more descriptive noun or verb to make your writing crisper. He uses

examples like substituting "he was a tyrant" for "he was a brutal man" or "he was sprinting" for "he

was running quickly." Try it. Your writing will be immediately refreshed by using fewer words to do the

job efficiently.


13/18

Make the Introduction Inviting

The introduction invites your reader to keep going. This is not the place to summarizewhy read the

rest if you get the picture in the first paragraph? Instead, tantalize and encourage the next step. How?

Use emotion, raise a question, and create surprise with a surprising fact.

Here is a possible opening for a discussion of a student's work with a literacy program.

I am a literacy volunteer. I did not decide to do this work because studies report that 21 percent of

adults (over 40 million) in this country are functionally illiterate or because 43 percent of people with

reading deficiencies live in poverty or even because 70 percent of people with reading deficiencies

have no job or only a part-time job. My reason for becoming a literacy volunteer was much simpler.

My Dad couldn't read.

Okay, I'm hooked. I didn't really know how bad the literacy problem is, but, even more, now I need to

know if this person was able to teach her Dad to read, and how this person, with an illiterate parent,

made it to the point of applying for a scholarship and heading for college.

Create Workable Transitions

Transitions are hard whether you are writing a speech, composing an essay, or trying to get your little

brother to go to bed. The trick is to show your reader where they are going next and why it's a logical

next step. Try not to use standard transitional phrases like "Secondly" or "As a consequence." Try

repeating the prior thought and connecting to the next task. For example, "Once I learned how to

scale rocks on the artificial rock face, I needed to try out my skills on a real mountain."

A Compelling Conclusion

As in the introduction, don't summarize. Essays are too short to need a review at the conclusion.

Instead, reemphasize the main point or circle back to the beginning and tie the loop. Consider the

literacy introduction. The body of the essay should have been about the student, her efforts as a

volunteer, her feelings about the difficulties faced by those who can't read, her recognition of the gift

that reading is, and her decision to pursue a teaching career as a result of her experience. This story

begs for a conclusion that answers the question, "Did her Dad learn to read?"

Some possibilities:

Dad may never read Dostoyevsky, but we are both thrilled that he can now read his sister's letters

from his hometown in Romania and doesn't have to pretend to read the newspaper anymore.

Dad never did learn to read. But through his struggle, I learned that I want to give the gift of literacy

to others, the gift that no one has been able to give to my Dad.

Very different endings, but in each, we hear the effect that the experience has had on the writer. That's

the point. We gained insight into this woman's life through her writing.

Take a Breather

After you write and revise your essay, you need to take a break from it so that you can return with a

fresh set of eyes. It's amazing how the sparkling prose you thought you wrote turns out to need a lotmore work once you've gotten a little distance. Even more amazing is the realization that some of


14/18

your writing is actually much better than you expected, now that you've followed some very standard

writing rules.

Use Outside Readers

Ask people to read your essay and help you with honest feedback. Ask them what they liked most andleast. Ask if the essay is written in a logical fashion with reasoning that is supported by examples or

other proof. Ask your readers to correct typos and grammar. Every new pair of eyes helps.

I'm Not That Interesting!

You don't need to have an illiterate father or wage a battle against cancer to write an interesting

essay. The guy who is working at Walmart probably feels that he doesn't have time to be interesting

he's too busy working! Everybody's life has interest, and every essay topic can be made compelling by

looking at how that topic affects the human condition and how you fit into that human condition.

Congratulate Yourself

The scholarship essay is by far the most difficult part of the application. You have overcome the

biggest obstacle to applying for a scholarship.

What are your major accomplishments, and why do you consider them accomplishments? Do notlimit yourself to accomplishments you have been formally recognized for since the mostinteresting essays often are based on accomplishments that may have been trite at the time butbecome crucial when placed in the context of your life. This is especially true if the scholarshipcommittee receives a list of your credentials anyway.

Does any attribute, quality, or skill distinguish you from everyone else? How did you develop this

attribute? Consider your favorite books, movies, works of art, etc. Have these influenced your life in a

meaningful way? Why are they your favorites?

What was the most difficult time in your life, and why? How did your perspective on life change asa result of the difficulty?

Have you ever struggled mightily for something and succeeded? What made you successful?

Have you ever struggled mightily for something and failed? How did you respond?

Of everything in the world, what would you most like to be doing right now? Where would youmost like to be? Who, of everyone living and dead, would you most like to be with? Thesequestions should help you realize what you love most.

Have you experienced a moment of epiphany, as if your eyes were opened to something you werepreviously blind to?

What is your strongest, most unwavering personality trait? Do you maintain strong beliefs oradhere to a philosophy? How would your friends characterize you? What would they write about ifthey were writing your scholarship essay for you?

What have you done outside of the classroom that demonstrates qualities sought after byuniversities? Of these, which means the most to you?

What are your most important extracurricular or community activities? What made you join theseactivities? What made you continue to contribute to them?

What are your dreams of the future? When you look back on your life in thirty years, what would ittake for you to consider your life successful? What people, things, and accomplishments do youneed? How does this particular scholarship fit into your plans for the future?


15/18

It is often hard for applicants to come up with the genius essay topic for scholarship essay. Here aresome examples of the popular scholarship essay topics to give you an idea:

The Person Who Influenced My Views

The Goals I Will Achieve in 10 Years

What I Do Best, My Biggest Success

My Dreams

My Inspiration

The Destiny in My Hands

The Doors I Have Opened

The Tea

Who Should You Ask?

First of all, the person who writes a recommendation for you should be someone who knows you

relatively well. That doesn't mean that only long-time associates qualify. It does mean that therecommender has had enough interaction with you to give a genuine assessment of your skills andachievements.

The people you choose to write recommendations must have the ability to write well. These letters arevery influential in your case for ascholarship,and you need to be sure that your recommenders cantranslate their thoughts about you into writing. It may not always be possible to know how wellpeople can write but, to the extent that you do know or can find out, try to select the best writersavailable to you.

It is also very important that your recommenders can be relied upon to produce the necessary lettersin the right time frame. Again, there is no way to be sure on this point, but it's sensible to avoid

people who have the reputation of missing deadlines or being procrastinators.

Where do you find people to write scholarship letters of recommendationfor you? Consider teachersin classes where you did well, athletic coaches, club advisors, volunteer work supervisors, employers,religious leaders, or friends of the family who are familiar with you and hold a position that lendscredibility to the recommendation, such as the family's attorney, your doctor, or a local businessman.

Analyze Your Need for Letters

Once you know which scholarships you will be applying for, review any directions for the letters ofrecommendation. Some applications will ask that the letters of recommendation address specifictopics; others will simply ask for letters. For example, the Elks National Foundation requests two

letters of recommendation. The first should be from a high school teacher and address issues ofability, work habits, leadership, personality, and integrity. The second should be from a member of thecommunity and address participation in the community, leadership, and outstanding achievements.The goal of your review is to determine where you may be able to use the same letter ofrecommendation for multiple applications.

In some cases, you may be able to combine the requirements of various scholarships to develop aslightly more overall letter of recommendation outline. Clearly, you have to be sure that you do notattempt to create a laundry list letter outline that serves no purpose well. However, it is very helpful toreduce the number of individual, specifically targeted letters of recommendation required.

If you are able to combine letter requirements, you will have the opportunity to ask one person towrite a recommendation letter that will be sent to multiple scholarship funds.
http://www.scholarshiphelp.org/http://www.scholarshiphelp.org/http://www.scholarshiphelp.org/http://www.scholarshiphelp.org/


16/18

However, be sure that each letter of recommendation is addressed to a specific individual or at leastto a specific scholarship fund. Your letter writer may be willing to allow you to reproduce andpersonalize his or her response then provide those letters back to the writer on plain paper. The writercan then copy the letters onto letterhead and sign them. In that way, you have met many scholarshiprequirements simply and effectively with the least inconvenience to your letter writer.

Requesting a Letter of Recommendation

First and foremost, please recognize that writing a letter of recommendation is not a simple task. Youwill be asking someone to work hard on a good letter that will represent you well. Approach yourpotential letter writers with a degree of humility and acknowledge upfront the commitment you arerequesting and your appreciation for their help. Offer to make the job as easy as possible for them bydoing some or all of the following things.

Provide all the information your letter writer will need. Make sure that he or she has a writtenexplanation of the topics to be covered in the application.

Provide a list of your extracurricular activities.

Provide a copy of one of your college essays so the writer has a sense of your approach to the

college application process and gains a bit more insight into your life.

Give your letter writers as much lead time as possible. It is very likely that some of your letter writershave been asked to provide recommendations for others as well. Asking and providing materials earlygives you the best chance of getting your recommendation letter on time. Plus, if your letter writersubscribes to the "first in-first out" inventory system, you may get your letter even more quickly.

Check in with your letter writer at some point in the process to be sure he or she has everythingneeded. This check is both a supportive touch and also allows you to politely jog the writer's memoryand be sure your letter is in the works. Be sure to ask that the writer use official letterhead if possible.

After you receive the letter, write a note of appreciation. Writers of letters of recommendation agree

to do so out of their own enthusiasm for students going on to college and their admirable interest inbeing supportive. Let your letter writers know that you appreciate their help.

Evaluating Your Letters of Recommendation

Review each letter you receive. Does the letter address the topics it needs to? Does the letter showstrong support for you? Does the writer sound professional and well informed? Great! But what if...?

What if the letter does not address all of the necessary topics? This is tricky. If you know the letterwriter well, you may be able to approach them, point out the problem, and ask them to add somecontent on that topic. If you are uncomfortable with asking for a revision, you need to seriously thinkabout whether the letter is usable. Your decision may depend upon whether you have alternative

letter writers that you can ask and how much time is left before the application needs to besubmitted. In a pinch, send the letter. It would be far worse to fail to submit the correct number ofrecommendation letters.

What if there is some other problem with the letter? The support is lukewarm or the letter is not wellwritten. Weigh the facts. If the letter is not supportive of you, look for another writer. If the contentswon't win a Pulitzer Prize, but the message of your worthiness for the scholarship comes across, it'sprobably okay.

Preservation

Treat those signed scholarship letters of recommendation like the treasures that they are. Place them

immediately into plastic covers and attach them into your three-ring binder. That way you knowwhere they are, and they have multiple forms of protection.


17/18

College Scholarship Interview Tips

Preparation

It is impossible to predict exactly which questions you may be asked in a scholarship interview, but itis possible to prepare yourself by working out answers to some of the more common questions thatget asked in interviews, whether for scholarships or employment. Write down the answers to thesequestions.

What are your greatest strengths?

What are your career goals?

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?

Tell me about a personal achievement that makes you proud.

Tell me about a mistake that you made and what you learned from it.

Who has influenced your life and why?

Why would you be an excellent recipient of ___ scholarship?

These are the basics. Know these answers cold.

Next, think specifically about the scholarship award that you are seeking. Be sure you are very wellinformed about the organization.

What is the mission of the organization offering the award?

Who have they given the award to in the past and why?

Who are the judges?

What is it about your application that made you a finalist?

Use this information to develop responses that you may be able to introduce into the discussion toprovide the content that you would like to be sure that the judges hear from you. For example, if you

are a finalist in a scholarship competition from an environmental group and you believe that yourvolunteer work on the local Conservation Commission was key to your selection as a finalist, considerfinding examples from that experience to highlight your strengths or describe lessons you havelearned.

Finally, prepare yourself to make a good impression. If you need a haircut, get a haircut. If you are anail biter, invest in a professional manicure or even a set of acrylic nails. Select your interview outfitwith care. It may or may not be advisable to wear a suit or dress, depending upon the specificsituation. However, it is always appropriate to make sure your clothes are clean, they fit correctly, andthere are no loose buttons or hanging threads. Familiarize yourself with the working of a steam ironand press your clothes even if the tag says they don't require ironing.

Logistics

Be sure you know where you are going and how long it will take to get there. Think about traffic flowat different times of the day. It is really hard to concentrate on the questions you are being askedwhen your heart is still racing from the parking lot dash, there are rivulets of perspiration runningdown your face, and you have to go to the bathroom but didn't have time.

Presentation

You look great. You have arrived with enough time to visit the restroom, run a comb through yourhair, and pick the dog hair from the car seat off your clothes. You're under control.

It's probably impossible to relax under these circumstances, but it may help to remember that you arehere because these people think you are a competent, qualified candidate. You earned the right tohave this interview. The judges will use this time to get to know you better, and you are working from


18/18

the advantage that they are already supporters. Help them to help you have a great interview bybeing as genuinely pleased to be there as you can. Let your enthusiasm for your education show. Thepersonal interview can be a wonderful experience if you can approach it as an opportunity rather thanas a trial.

What If...?

What if, despite your logistical preparations, you are late or arrive with a big coffee stain on your shirt.Well, you now have the opportunity to exhibit the grace under pressure and ability to adapt that hasgotten you so far already.

Acknowledge the problem ("I had a flat tire on the expressway"), apologize if appropriate ("I'm sosorry to have delayed our scheduled meeting") and then move on. Don't continue to focus on theinitial negative; try to get the process moving forward so you can shine. ("I realize that I'm late, but I'mvery interested in participating in the interview if you are ready to move forward.")

What if you can't think of a good answer to a question that's been posed? Or you can't even think of abad answer because your mind has gone blank? Again, grace under pressure is key. Explain that

you're having a mental block on that topic just now and ask if it's possible to come back to thequestion a bit later. Or suggest that it's a really interesting question that has prompted a lot ofdifferent ideas for you, and you'd like to take a moment to organize your thoughts. In situations suchas this one, it may be best to take a little pressure off by giving yourself a moment to collect yourthoughts.

There are a lot more possible what-ifs. The key is to remain confident and don't let a problem shakeyour sense of yourself. The judges recognize the pressure you are under and, as in life, you are often

judged not by the reality that problems occur, but by the style with which you manage thoseproblems. Approach the scholarship interview with a sense of confidence, some humility, and enoughgood humor to get you past any awkward moments.

Documents

Writing Scholarship Essay Tips