Scholarship Personal Essay Writing Tips!

The Personal Essay is an important part of your scholarship application. This is

your chance to let the Scholarship Committee or Donor know your educational

and career goals, why you have selected your stated major and career goal,

your life experiences, which have influenced this decision, and your anticipated

role in society after your career goal has been achieved. This is also how you let

the Scholarship Committee and your Donor know why you feel you should be a

recipient of a scholarship. However, completing this part of your scholarship

application can be a bit difficult and even intimidating. Here are a few tips on

how to write a great essay.

1. First, consider the basic format of your essay:

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You will be asked to type your essay as part of your scholarship application.

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You may want to write it outside of the scholarship application, complete

all revisions and edits, then cut and paste it into the application where

indicated.

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Your essay should be around 500 words or less.

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Remember, the reviewing committees will be reading many essays,

and although you will have a lot to say in your essay, you do not

want it to be too long where you may lose the interest of the

reviewer assigned to reading your essay.

2. Now, regarding the content: You may be asking, “Where do I begin?” There

are endless ideas and suggestions as to how to write a personal essay for

scholarships. However, the following suggestions may help to organize your

thoughts and personal information into a concise and easy to read essay.

Create an Outline:

Just getting started is often the hardest part. To begin, make an outline of the

things you would like to say in your essay such as:

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Your educational and career goals,

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Why you have selected your stated major and career goal,

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Your life experiences, which have influenced this decision,

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Your anticipated role in society after your career goal has been

achieved,

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Why you need the scholarship or any unusual circumstances

which may affect your current financial situation,

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Anything else you feel the Scholarship Committee or Donor needs to

know about you in order to present yourself as the best candidate

for the scholarship.

Write your essay:

Next, you need to organize the outline into an essay. The following is an easy

guide to help you arrange your ideas and thoughts into a well thought out and

easy to follow essay.

1. First Paragraph: The first paragraph is considered your introduction.

a. The introduction is often the most difficult to write. It may be a good

idea to start on the body of the essay and come back to write the

introduction later.

b. The introduction is where you want to catch the reader’s attention and

make them want to continue reading.

c. Be creative, try not to start your essay with, “My name is John Doe and I

am applying for this scholarship.”

d. Explain why you chose your major and/or career goal.

e. You may also want to begin with a personal story, a favorite or

inspirational quote, etc. Remember, your purpose is to grab the reader’s

attention and entice them to continue reading.

2. Body of Essay: The body of your essay should be 2-3 paragraphs and is

the main part of your essay. This is where you tell about you, your story,

your life, accomplishments and plans for the future, and the reason you

need the scholarship funds. Be sincere and speak from your heart. Just try

not to be too sad, wordy or make it too long.

a. One of the easiest ways to write this part of your essay is to think in terms

of Past, Present and Future: Where have you been? Where are you now?

Where are you going? This will cover just about everything you need to

say: Life experiences and circumstances that have led you to choose your

educational and career goals; Reasons for choosing these goals or

experiences which have influenced your decisions; What have you done

and what are you doing now in your life to achieve your goals; What are

your plans for the future and what will you do once you have achieved

your educational goal and how you will contribute to society.

b. If you have had negative circumstances or difficulties in your life, they

can be mentioned briefly, but state how you have positively overcome

them. Avoid dwelling on how tragic or sad your life has been if that is the

case. The scholarship Committee is looking for individuals who have

prevailed over difficult circumstances and have a commitment to succeed

despite a hard or unstable life.

c. If you mention any of your personal qualities, give an example of

how you have used or demonstrated that quality. For example, if

you state that you are a responsible person, give an example of

how you have shown responsibility.

d. Explain any circumstances regarding your financial situation (especially

if it has changed since you completed the financial aid application, such

as job loss, etc.) and why you need the scholarship funds.

e. Talk about your academic history, what classes you have taken to

further your educational goal, your scholastic successes, what your plans

are at RCCD and/or your future University and how they will translate

into your career and life goals.

3. Conclusion: The conclusion of your essay may contain the following:

a. It is always a good idea to express gratitude to the Donor or reviewing

committee for taking the time to read and review your application and for

providing financial assistance to students.

b. Explain how the scholarship funds will help you if you are awarded the

scholarship.

c. Mention how you will give back to society or the community.

d. Complete the circle by re-stating something from your introduction.

Finally

The following suggestions will help to perfect your essay:

• After you have written a first draft, put it away and do not think about it for

a few days. Then, re-read it. This will help you have fresh thoughts and

ideas to make necessary changes.

• Re-write and re-vise several times. If it is too long, shorten it by taking

out unnecessary sentences or repeated content.

• Read your essay aloud to yourself to see if it flows well.

• Have other people read it for content and ask for feedback.

• Have someone read it to check for correct grammar, spelling and

punctuation.

Remember, there are faculty members on the Scholarship Committee. They

will not score your essay well if there are misspelled words, or incorrect

grammar and punctuation.

• Do not plagiarize! Remember, some members of the reviewing committee

are faculty Members who have access to check for plagiarism online and

you may be subject to disciplinary action if your essay is not your original

work.

NOTE:

There are also many websites that give excellent information on writing a

scholarship essay (of course, always be careful not to pay for access to any sites

offering help on writing a scholarship essay). You may want to visit some of the

following sites for additional ideas and suggestions regarding scholarships. Each

has a section about writing a scholarship essay. You can use their suggestions on

how to write your essay, but do not copy information in any of the essay

examples. That is considered plagiarism!

www.essayinfo.com www.

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