Scholarship Essay Strategies: Stand Out from the Crowd & Secure Funding

Most scholarship applications require you to write an essay. You, therefore, need to know how to create a good scholarship essay that convinces the board of the scholarship program that you are the right individual to receive the available funds.

There is no single formula for writing a winning scholarship application essay, though the key is to be unique. Make the paper all about you; delve profoundly into your passion, create a response that only relates to you, and personalize it as much as you can. Individuality is what the scholarship board looks at, and that’s what defines the winner.

So, how do you pull off such an excellent scholarship application essay? You follow all the tips and strategies you will read in this article. It’s that simple. The insights you will get from this piece have been collected and summarized by us, homework market, over the years from the tons of scholarship essays we have written and read about.

What Is A Scholarship Essay?

 A scholarship essay is an essay you submit when applying for a scholarship that defines who you are, your goals, and why you deserve to get the prize.

With this said, what is a scholarship? A scholarship is a type of student financial support that does not require you to pay back as far as you meet the award's requirements and utilize it as stated. Many scholarships are issued based on merit, mainly academic brilliance, financial need, or by meeting specific terms that the awarding organization has laid down.

Steps For Writing A Good Scholarship Essay

Follow the steps below to write an amazing scholarship essay fast.

1.     Brainstorm ideas

The first step you need to take is to read the instructions in the scholarship essay prompt and note what you’re expected to do so that you may not stray away from the topic. 

After going through the instructions, you may start brainstorming ideas that will appropriately answer the prompts. Also, ensure that the ideas about your life are relevant and will make your essay stand out.

2.     Create an outline

Creating a detailed outline is a good way to start constructing and planning your scholarship essay. An outline will assist you in avoiding repetition and structural mistakes, and you will be able to cover all ideas and bases without rambling.

The outline should have the three main sections of every essay; introduction, body, and conclusion. These three sections will be comprehensively discussed in the next subheading.

3.     Draft the essay

After brainstorming and creating an outline, you can commence writing your scholarship essay. Fill up the ideas with your stories, ensure you format your paper well, and adhere to the word count.

4.     Relax

Take a break after you are through with drafting. Then, return with fresh eyes. It will help you to see gaps and notice mistakes quickly.

5.     Proofread and rewrite

Proofread your work now with fresh eyes. Try to notice if the ideas you got when brainstorming are all evident in the article. Also, check for grammatical errors and repetitions.

6.     Peer review

The last step is to look for someone to review your scholarship essay. Many individuals cannot fully spot their mistakes; thus need others to help them. Additionally, asking for a review will assist you in evaluating the clarity of your ideas.

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What Should You Talk About In The Introduction, Body, And Conclusion Of Your Scholarship Essay?

You can easily use the outline below to format your scholarship essays effortlessly.

1.     Introduction

Your scholarship essay introduction should have two important aspects: a hook and a thesis.

The first sentence should be formatted like a hook to grab the readers by the throat. So, ensure you start with something interesting to capture attention.

Then, you place a thesis statement at the end of the introduction. The thesis should give a specific answer to the prompt - for instance, “why do you deserve a scholarship.”

2.     Body Paragraph

The body section is where you share all your relevant stories relating to the prompt and why you are the right candidate for the particular scholarship. Make sure to touch on:

• Your academic and career objectives
• A significant challenge that has occurred in your life and how you dealt with it
• Why did you select your particular field of study?
• Why did you select the specific university or college?
• How will financial aid assist you in accomplishing your educational objectives?
• What do you plan to do with the degree? Among others

What you should Include about leadership in your scholarship essay

• Why did you choose the leadership role, and how the entire experience was?
• The obstacles you experienced and how you solved them
• Your accomplishments and scope of leadership roles
• What you learned and how the lessons moulded you as a leader
• How will the scholarship affect your future leadership activity?

What you ought to Include about community impact in the scholarship essay

• Why was it essential for you to get involved in a community initiative?
• How long were you committed to the initiative?
• How did you help the community?
• What did you gain by supporting the initiative?

3.     Conclusion

Wrap up your scholarship essay by:

• Repeating your interest in the scholarship
• Summarizing the main points and how the points depict your readiness for university or college.
• End by expressing gratitude to the scholarship board for reading your article. Make the "thank you" note brief.

8      Tips For Writing A Scholarship Essay

1.     Critically go through the scholarship prompt.

Read every detail of the prompt before writing. It’s not as easy as you think, so be keen. Understand what the scholarship board is looking for, scholarship requirements, and formatting style. If a question has several parts, pay attention to each detail and ensure you answer each.

2.     Research scholarship provider

Get to understand the organization running the scholarship program. You will acquire much insight from this research. For instance, you will know their motivation and mission for issuing financial aid. Also, some organizations post their former scholarship winners along with the essays they wrote. Understanding the organization and the essay will give you insights into the best ideas to incorporate and win their hearts.

3.     Ensure your scholarship essay standouts

Make sure your essay tells a clear story in a creative and unique-to-you way. This cannot be stressed enough; it is the key secret to a winning scholarship essay.  Choose ideas that highlight your accomplishments and character and are passionate about you.

4.     Humbly sell yourself. No bragging!

Talk about your accomplishments but avoid bragging. There is a thin line between the two; you should know how to strike a fine balance. For example, don’t state all your accomplishments or best qualities.

Read more on how you avoid bragging in essays.

5.     Highlight your resilience

Many scholarships want to know your resilience level. When you get this question, do not write down all your hardships. Just pick a few, and state how you overcame them. They mostly want to know how you overcame the challenge, not how many difficulties you have had.

6.     Use ethos, logos, and pathos.

There are various strategies that you can use to persuade the scholarship board. One of the most successful strategies is the appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos. Learn more about them and apply them in the scholarship essay; you may have a higher chance of winning the scholarship.

7.     Be honest, specific, and concise.

All of your ideas should be honest. Do not make up a story in a bid to impress. You should also get to the point by using the most direct and simple word choices. Try to evade generalizations.

8.     Show, don’t tell

The fundamental for creative writing is to show, and not tell. What does this mean? Whatever story or ideas you share about yourself in the scholarship essay should paint a vivid image; you should not just slightly touch on them.

How Do YouFormat A Scholarship Essay?

To make your scholarship essay stand out, you need to persuade the board you are a good fit and format your essay appropriately. You have to do these two actions. Writing good content with a poor format will not do much.  You need to look professional all around to appear as a serious contender and the best candidate for the grant.

Most of the time, the scholarship application instructions will tell you the format to use. If no instructions are provided, you can seek clarification from the committee. However, read on if you cannot get feedback on time or want to understand the format beforehand. We will explain to you the most standard format for a scholarship essay.

Use:

• Times New Roman font, or maybe Verdana or Arial.
• Double spaced
• The font size is 12-point.
• Indent each paragraph or put a blank line between paragraphs
• Have a 1” margin all round; top, side, and bottom
• Titles are voluntary. Use a catchy one if you decide to put one.
• Put your surname and page number (for long papers) on the top-left

What Do You Need To Avoid When Writing A Scholarship Essay?

Avoid the following if you want to write a winning scholarship essay. Learn more about the “Don’ts” here.

Avoid:

• Creating an autobiography. Only include relevant details about yourself.
• Putting down other applicants
• Extreme declaration
• Funky fonts, photos, and emojis
• Controversial topics. Only mention them if they have been asked
• “Text speaking” language
• Profanity; includes swearing and cursing words
• Cliché phrases and stories
• Too general terms and platitudes
• Inspirational quotes
• Excessive use of exclamation points

We hope the article has been of help. You can contact us for additional assistance; we can even write a scholarship essay for you.