TWO THINGS WILL INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF APPLYING & COMPETING FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
1. BEFORE your senior year begins, search, identify and create a list of scholarships you qualify for. The number one reason students don't apply for scholarships is because they don't know about them. So go to work and find them using the resources link! Then create a list of those scholarships by the month of the Scholarship Deadline.
2. Before your senior year, write a 500 word general essay using the guidelines below. It needs to be professionally well written as it is the most important part of the all Add-on Scholarships. Save it electronically as a Google Doc or other so it is easily accessible. Once you have this essay complete, you just need to tweak it a little for each scholarship you apply for. The number two reason students don't apply for scholarships is the essay! If you have to write a new essay for each scholarship, you won't do it!
Scholarship Essays
The KEY to winning scholarships is the Essay! Everyone who applies meets the minimum requirements. It is the essay that sets you apart from the other applicants. I encourage all Juniors to write a general essay of 500 words or less. The essay should HIGHLIGHT your strengths. It must be professionally well-written and concise. This general essay should include the four following areas:
- Academic: Do not spend too much time here as most of your academic information in contained on your transcript. You should emphasize honors classes, AP classes, Concurrent Enrollment college classes, high GPA, and high ACT Composite score if possible.
- Citizenship: This includes the kind of person you are i.e. honesty, integrity, dependable, responsible, efficient, hard working, reliable etc.
- Leadership: This includes as much leadership as you can effectively squeeze into your 500 word essay that highlights your best leadership opportunities.
- Service: This area is crucial. It is becoming the separator between many excellent candidates. Highlight activities when you have volunteered and served others including the amount of time/hours given and how it has impacted you.
The importance of the essay cannot be overstated. If you seriously want to compete for Add-on Scholarship money, you must write an outstanding essay. Another important part of this essay is to highlight a life changing event in your life. You want to express a personal experience that can grab the reader's attention and make them say, "WOW!" You want them to REMEMBER your essay in a positive way.
The following is a general outline on How to Write an Essay.
Writing Scholarship Essays
Personal statements are the most common type of scholarship essay. These tips are written with that format in mind. Here are three ideas to help you keep the task in perspective:
Get Started
Two mildly contradictory and equally valid bits of advice:
1. Think about what you might say about yourself before you start writing.
2. Use the writing process as a vehicle for discovery.
Read the Instructions
Surely a step that top students would never skip. Right?
Address Fundamental Questions
Regardless of what they ask you . . . readers typically want answers to the following questions:
Answer explicitly
Answer implicitly
Content
What belongs in a good personal statement is unique to each individual. Nevertheless . . . here are some ideas that might help.
Package Carefully
All scholarships value good writing. It measures your ability to communicate well and think clearly.
After Drafting
Here are some thoughts regarding the revision process:
They say that a picture equals a thousand words. Reverse that idea as you read your essay. Does your thousand words add up to one good picture of you?