How to Create an Excellent Scholarship Essay?
Are you on the lookout for scholarship opportunities for your further education? If you have started the research already, chances are you will come across several scholarship programs that ask you to write scholarship essays to qualify for it. Today, there are not many scholarship programs that involve transcripts and forms. The reason is pretty simple: the supervisors find the essay not only personalized but a great way of finding who the candidate is, what have they achieved in the past, what are their hobbies/interest, how much potential they have.
Sure, the scholarship forms can provide all the necessary information including the grades you achieved in the previous year, your academic status, age, etc. However, essays help professors to read about you in your own writing. For those who haven't heard of scholarship essays, the professors held a contest where they invite candidates from different backgrounds, schools, and accomplishments to participate in the contest and get a chance of winning the opportunity through an excellent essay.
What is the Scholarship Essay?
Scholarship essays feature all the details about the candidates in their writing. These essays are relatively harder-to-write than the personal essays as you need to put more effort to make it look as good as possible. Competition is fierce. The scholarship committee receives a plethora of essays from different applicants. So, how do you make this essay stand out? Here are some tips for writing an exceptionally brilliant scholarship essay that will catch the sight of the reader instantly.
1. Read and Understand the Essay Prompt
When a scholarship committee held the essay contest, they give you a question (prompt) that you have to write about. The scholarship essay should be based on this prompt. Before you start writing, read the prompt thoroughly to understand the requirements.
For example, the contest holder can ask "Describe an event that changed your life". Now, this is the prompt you have to write on. But that doesn't mean you only have to describe the event. In fact, the contest holder will more likely want to know who you are, what you have accomplished, and then the incident that changed your life. So, you cannot just begin with that life-changing phase. You must start from the beginning describing who you are, what is your interest and preference, What helps you to stay motivated, etc.
2. List the Necessary Points and Keywords
You have to convince the scholarship committee that you deserve the scholarship for further studies. The only way you can do that is by writing an excellent scholarship essay that makes you stand out from the other applicants. Whether you get a prompt or you're asked to write on your own topic, your goal is to list all the necessary accomplishments and incidents in the essay.
Some of the common points you should add are:
- The academic honors and awards you have achieved
- Extra courses and internship programs that are not displayed on the transcript.
- The college-level and academic exams you passed in the high-school
- How your academic experience and goals complement the funding organizational objectives
- The extracurricular activities you participated in high school
- Any life-incident that made you a stronger person and better learner
- The financial struggles that do not allow you to pursue further studies.
The transcript will help the supervisors to know the number of classes you took this year. But, it won't tell them how these classes inspired you? What motivation do you get by choosing these courses? What your career goals are? This information is important, especially for the scholarship committee who wants to give the scholarship to the most deserving candidate who can be a good asset for their organization.
3. A Good Essay Starts with a Good Introduction
We all know how introductions play a key role in drawing the attention of the readers to your writing. Your introduction shouldn't be boring or look extremely professional. For example, if you got a chance to give a scholarship to a student based on their first two intro lines, which one would you choose?
A: The first time I visited the United States was in 2001 with my family
B: It was 2001, I was all set to travel to the United States, but did not know that this trip would change my life.
Of course, the sentence B will catch the attention of more readers as it makes them curious to know what happened. Besides, the sentence structure is quite decent and engaging.
4. Write in a Positive Tone
No one wants to read a scholarship essay that’s filled with all the financial, emotional, or physical struggles you have faced in your life. It doesn’t mean you cannot include the sad events, but try to keep the tone as professional and positive as possible.
Write about how the sad event changed your life and how you decided to draw inspiration from the particular incident. The scholarship committee wants to know how strong you are and how bravely you tackle difficult situations. Make sure that every applicant will try their best to come up with a unique essay. Your goal should be to stand out by writing something that’s incredibly engaging and original. Try to be as unique as possible! Do not exaggerate things. Keep it original.
5. Have Your Essay Checked by Professionals
Sure, it isn't a writing competition where you can get the reward for writing an error-free and exceptional essay. However
, scholars also consider your literature skills before giving a scholarship. What's the best way of showing your academic skills than writing a flawless piece with little to no grammar errors.
You can either have your essay assessed by a professional or check it on your own through online writing tools. Make sure that you use less complicated words and short sentences. The essay must look professionally written piece but shouldn’t be too complicated to read.
These were some tips for writing an excellent scholarship essay. Follow these tips and earn the scholarship.
Author: Frank Taylor