Scholarship Essay Outline
Once you’ve found a scholarship you’d like to apply to, it’s time to sit down and write an outline for your scholarship essay. (Not all scholarship require an essay but most do).
But where do you start? How do you start?
When writing essays for school, you’ve probably written outlines before. The most basic structure is: intro, body, conclusion. The same applies to a personal scholarship essay.
Intro / Hook: Addressing (but not repeating) the essay prompt, explains what you’ll be talking about. Grab the reader’s attention.
Body: Tells your story, supports positive traits (leadership, teamwork, passion)
Conclusion: What you’ve learned or why it’s applicable to the college
Once you have written your essay rough draft, always make sure you have someone else read it, so you can get feedback and tips to make sure it meets the prompt requirements, and checking for any spelling or grammar errors.
You can ask your English teacher, Ms.Howell or Ms. Suzy and we would be happy to read your rough draft to make sure your essay is read to be submitted.
Below we have provided a scholarship essay outline organizer for you to follow and brainstorm ideas for your essay.
REMINDER: Keep in mind all scholarships are different and they might be asking for you to answer a specific prompt or question. Also, make sure to read through the scholarship requirements to check the word count (how long does the essay has to be, what is the minimum or maximum word count). Also, this is only an outline, you must write an essay with the information you have created from the outline.
Scholarship Essay Outline Organizer .pdfIntroduction: Who are you?
Begin with a strong introduction. You want your essay to stand out from all the others. Be sure your introduction captures the readers' attention and compels them to learn as much as they can about you in the following paragraphs.
Be personal: Make sure the committee can assess what type of person you are and what motivates you. What life experiences have shaped who you are today and what challenges have you overcome in achieving your education (i.e. financial, personal, medical, etc.)
What obstacles/struggles have you faced?
Turn negatives into positives. If you have an obvious weakness such as limited extracurricular activities, show the committee that you have been particularly involved with your family or the classes you have taken, depending on your personal situation.
Make a list of key points and key words to use:
Any academic awards or other honors you've won.
Any AP or college-level courses you took in high school.
Any outside courses, internships, or other academic experiences that won't necessarily appear on your transcript.
Why your experience and the mission of the funding organization match.
What you plan to major in during college and how you think that major will be useful to your future career goals.
Any special training or knowledge you have, or a project you completed in school or as an extracurricular activity.
An example of how you overcame a challenge.
Your financial circumstances that makes it necessary for you to finance your studies through scholarship money.
Goals: What motivates you? Why do you want to go to college/trade school?(Include how your goals could benefit the community.) Be passionate!
Conclusion: Why do you deserve this scholarship? Explain why you need financial assistance.