Tips and Tricks:
Tailor Your Resume: Customize your resume for each scholarship you apply for. Highlight the experiences and skills that are most relevant to the specific scholarship criteria.
Keep it Concise: Aim for one page, especially as a high school senior. Prioritize the most important information.
Use Action Verbs: Start your bullet points with strong action verbs (e.g., "led," "managed," "organized," "achieved").
Quantify Your Achievements: Use numbers and data to demonstrate the impact of your contributions (e.g., "Increased club membership by 20%").
Proofread Carefully: Typos and grammatical errors can make a negative impression. Ask a teacher, counselor, or parent to review your resume before submitting it.
Professional Formatting: Use a clean and easy-to-read font (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri) and consistent formatting throughout.
Use Bullet Points: Bullet points make your resume easier to scan and highlight your accomplishments effectively.
Be Honest and Accurate: Do not exaggerate or fabricate any information on your resume.
Get Feedback: Ask teachers, counselors, or mentors to review your resume and provide feedback.
A scholarship resume is a concise summary of your achievements, skills, and experiences, highlighting why you're a deserving candidate for a scholarship. Here are some ideas on what to include on your high school scholarship resumes:
Content and Structure:
Contact Information: Start with your full name, phone number, email address, and (optional) a professional-looking LinkedIn profile URL if you have one. Keep it clean and easy to read.
Objective (Optional but Recommended): A brief, targeted statement outlining your academic goals and the specific scholarship you're applying for. Tailor this to each scholarship. Example: "To obtain the [Scholarship Name] to support my pursuit of a degree in Computer Science at [University Name]." If you omit the objective, make sure the rest of your resume makes your goals clear.
Education: List your high school name, graduation date (or expected graduation date), and GPA (if above 3.5). If you have a high class rank, you can include that as well. Mention any relevant honors or awards received during high school.
Academic Achievements: This section is vital. Showcase your academic strengths. Examples:
High GPA and rigorous coursework (AP, IB, Honors classes)
Standardized test scores (SAT/ACT - optional, only include if they are strong and the scholarship requests them)
Academic awards (e.g., honor roll, subject-specific awards)
Participation in academic competitions (e.g., science fairs, math competitions, debate)
Extracurricular Activities: List your involvement in clubs, sports, volunteer work, and other activities. Focus on leadership roles and significant contributions. Quantify your achievements whenever possible (e.g., "President of the Debate Club," "Volunteered 50+ hours at the local animal shelter").
Work Experience (If Applicable): Even part-time jobs or summer internships can demonstrate valuable skills like responsibility, teamwork, and time management. Include the job title, employer, dates of employment, and a brief description of your responsibilities.
Skills: List relevant skills, including:
Technical Skills: Proficiency in software, programming languages, or other technical tools.
Soft Skills: Communication, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, time management. (Give brief examples of these in other sections of your resume).
Languages: List any languages you speak fluently besides English.
Awards and Recognition: List any awards, honors, or recognitions you've received outside of academics (e.g., community service awards, leadership awards).
References (Optional): You can include "References available upon request" or, if the application allows, list 2-3 references with their names, titles, and contact information. Choose references who can speak positively about your character and abilities.
Other helpful resources: