Admission to colleges and universities keeps getting tougher as more students apply. This also means that there is greater competition for the scholarship funds that are available to prospective students and this puts more emphasis on writing the scholarship essay. Whilst this is competitive you can take these steps to help you to be successful when writing the scholarship essay.
The subject matter for scholarship application essays can vary widely and has a specific purpose of helping you to get some form of financial aid to support you during your period of study.
Generally, you will be provided with specific guidelines as to what the selection panel are looking for. You need to cover this in your essay and strike the balance between adhering to the guidelines and making a great impression on the readers. The scholarship selection panel will be looking to see why they should allocate funds to help you, and your job is to convince them that your education is a good and worthwhile investment.
Keep in mind that the majority of scholarships are merit based, meaning that you need to prove why you are more deserving than other applicants. To do this you need to demonstrate your intellectual side, i.e. why you will be able to achieve the qualification that you are planning to study for and why this particular area of study is important to you. In addition, this is your opportunity to make them understand why you are eligible for financial assistance.
You also need to show your originality and many applicants who write scholarship essays do this by relating a relevant story – sometimes the personal experience or reason behind why they have chosen a particular qualification – and how this links in with their individual ambitions. You have to be creative and remain realistic and unique at the same time. Not easy, but definitely achievable.
The reason that so many students dread the idea of writing the scholarship essay, or any admission essay for that matter, is that they are fully aware that it may become a deciding factor in the event that other education scores are the same.
It is very important to make a strong start with your essay so that you capture the attention of the committee. Open with a strong line that will reflect your aim and a succinct statement that will reveal your strong sense of purpose.
When you transition to the body of your essay, you should aim to present a very compelling picture of yourself and highlight your key skills and strengths. Throughout your essay you need to present your ideas in a logical and coherent manner so that the complete essay flows properly and reads well.
Talk about the incidents where you took initiative and resolved issues to a satisfactory conclusion. These kinds of activities reveal a lot about your leadership qualities and your motivations that not only make the essay strong, but also provide the selection committee with information they are looking for.
In the conclusion, you need to finish strongly to tie in all the points that you made throughout your essay and re-iterate why an investment in you is worthwhile.
It is very important that your essay is absolutely error free – be it spelling, sentence construction or grammar. Also, allocate plenty time at the end of the process when writing the scholarship essay to proofread this and make any corrections before you finally submit this.