Guidelines for Writing Your Scholarship Essays

 

A successful scholarship essay has three components: It tells the Scholarship Committee who you, the applicant, are, it explains how you meet the scholarship criteria, and it thanks the committee for its consideration. Your essay cannot exceed 500 words. The following guidelines may be helpful:

 

·         You may apply for multiple scholarships, but you must submit an application and 500-word essay for each one.

·         Read the scholarship criteria carefully, and consider how you meet the criteria.

·         Read the scholarship donor profile carefully, and mention relevant comparisons to yourself, personal circumstances, and aspirations. (Profiles may be accessed via the Available Scholarships page.)

·         In the first section of your essay, state what scholarship you are applying for, and give some background information about yourself. (This should include your major and class year. Additional information could include living arrangements, job situations, and awards and extracurricular activities.)

·         The next section of the essay explains how you meet the specific criteria of the scholarship for which you are applying. For example, if the scholarship is to be awarded to “a hard-working student with a GPA above 3.0 who has demonstrated perseverance,” give examples that show you possess those qualities. The final section of your essay should be a brief conclusion in which you thank the committee for its considerations.

·         The final section of your essay should be a brief conclusion in which you thank the committee for its considerations.

·         Although some information you include in each essay will be the same (particularly the first and last sections), each essay should be tailored for a specific scholarship.

·         Be sure to note any special circumstances or characteristics that you believe make you uniquely qualified to receive a particular scholarship.

·         Your scholarship essay must be included with the online application. Handwritten essays are no longer excepted.

·         Punctuation and grammar count! Applicants whose essays contain spelling and grammatical errors are generally disqualified.