You’ve probably been asked to submit a scholarship essay to get approval for a scholarship program offered by your school. But what is it? And how can you write an essay that will get you the scholarship you desire?
If you are preparing to write your scholarship essay, and you have these questions, then you should spare some minutes to go through this article. In this article, you will learn:
- What a scholarship essay is.
- How to Write and structure your scholarship essay
- Scholarship Essay Outline
- Tips and guidelines to help you with each stage of writing your essay
- Three Scholarship Essay Examples That Won Thousands of Dollars in 2023
What is a scholarship essay?
A scholarship essay is a document that students usually submit alongside their scholarship applications. The essay is written to give the scholarship committee or board an insight into who you are, your experiences and why you are a good fit for the scholarship. It is literally an opportunity to tell your unique story to the institution and get a shot at gaining a scholarship program.
Scholarships often come from individual organizations that strive to support education. Therefore, application essays are usually written to demonstrate the writer’s passion and beliefs and how they align with the organisation’s and institution’s interests. Frequently, people refer to scholarship essays as scholarship application letters.
How to Write a Scholarship Essay
A scholarship essay is one of the most important determining factors in choosing who gets picked for a scholarship program. And with the right guidance, anyone can write a winning scholarship essay like a pro. Just like any other essay, there are three main sections in your scholarship essay and each section is as important as the other. They are the introduction, the body and the conclusion, and they all have different functions.
1. The introduction
To creatively give a peek into who you are and inspire the reader to continue with your essay to the end.
The introduction of your scholarship essay is essentially the part you use to spark the reader’s interest not just in the essay, but in your personality too. This is why writing a striking introduction for your essay should come with a hook, that makes the reader glued to your story and want to read more. So, your introduction should include your background, and your motivation for wanting to apply for the scholarship. These two important details set you off to tell your story in the body of your essay.
A good introduction is one that is creative. Creativity about introducing yourself and your background makes the reader want to continue. A boring introduction will definitely wear the reader out and make him lose interest. In most cases, it is difficult to have a good comeback on the body of a scholarship essay after a weak introduction.
2. The body
To explain your passion and values and how they align with the institution. Here, you also explain your career and academic goals for the future and how the institution and society would benefit from it, should you be considered for the program.
The body of your essay is basically where you tell your story and really show who you are. The aim of this part is to give the reader an insight into who you really are, what your passions and values are, how they fit into the institution and what you intend to make out f the opportunity if you are considered for it. It is the heart of your essay. So, with this part of your essay, you are expected to share relevant details of your story, how it relates to the opening and how it makes you a good candidate for the scholarship.
Here, be careful to include the qualities and words that the committee is looking out for; leadership qualities, skills, career and academic goals, etc. You can also include why you chose that particular college or university and that field of study. All of these are the things you must include to have a rich and convincing essay body. The body of your essay should usually have 1 - 3 paragraphs in total while keeping it concise.
3. The conclusion
To give a summary of what you’ve said, ending with a hopeful note that they would see your auntehncity in your essay as the right person for the scholarship.
Your conclusion is where you wrap up your essay by summarising your key points and restating why you are interested in the scholarship and also why you are a good fit. It is also important that while writing your conclusion, you sign off with an appreciation to the committee for the opportunity to write. Ideally, your conclusion should not be more than a paragraph.
At the end of the day, the goal of each segment of your essay is to prove to the committee that you are the right person for the scholarship program. And to do this, you must tailor each part of your essay to take you one step closer to that happening, with the conclusion as the final hook that grants you the scholarship. The requirements for each essay may be slightly different from institution to institution, however, the general goal of a scholarship essay is always constant.
Scholarship Essay Outline
Here is an outline to lead you through the process of drafting your scholarship essay:
1. Introduction (1-2 paragraphs)
Grab the attention of your audience with an eye-catching opening sentence which should be related to the prompt. Also, you have to introduce your major points that you'll be discussing later in your essay.
Example of an attention-grabbing opening sentence from a New York University College of Arts and Science $39,500 Scholarship "If you can't live off of it, it is useless." My parents were talking about ice skating: my passion.
This sentence tells us about how the student’s passion for ice skating made a big impact in her life, setting the tone for the essay.
Introductory paragraph Example: "If you can't live off of it, it is useless." My parents were talking about ice skating: my passion. I started skating as a ten-year-old in Spain, admiring how difficulty and grace intertwine to create beautiful programs, but no one imagined I would still be on the ice seven years and one country later. Even more unimaginable was the thought that ice skating might become one of the most useful parts of my life. - This expresses the student’s understanding of how her ice skating skill, which was once overlooked by her parents, became a huge part of her life.
2. Body (1-3 paragraphs)
Once your introduction is ready, expand on your major points. Backup the information you provided in the first paragraph with evidence, examples, and real life situations.
This is the paragraph where you are free to share details of how you reached where you are today, what motivated your hobbies, interests, or even your drive to attend college, and how the scholarship can help you attain your academic and/or personal goals (if necessary). Remember to use specific instances, instead of making general statements!
3. Conclusion (1 paragraph)
Briefly weave together the story you wrote in the essay and end by describing how winning the scholarship will help support your goals and have wider community impact.
Additional Tips to Follow When Writing a Scholarship Essay
• Tailor your essay to each scholarship
Avoid creating generic content. State how your qualifications uniquely align with the precise criteria of each scholarship program.
• Focus on storytelling
Weave your experiences and achievements seamlessly into a very compelling narrative that highlights your personality, passion, as well as your determination.
• Proofread meticulously
Make your essay free of grammatical errors, typos, and formatting issues. A well-written essay creates a positive impression.
15 Tips to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay
Writing a winning essay does not happen in one day, or just on the day, you decide to write. There is so much work that goes into it and they are in 3 stages; pre-writing, while writing and post-writing. To guide you to writing a great essay, here are things you must consider in the 3 writing stages.
1. Pre-writing Stage
a. Begin your planning on time.
If you are going to write an essay that would get your scholarship application approved, then you must plan far ahead for it. You must begin on time to prepare and ensure you dedicate ample time to it. You can create a calendar of activities that will help you get the best essay for your application.
b. Do the research and get to know your audience
The strength and value of your scholarship essay are going to be determined by a committee set up by the school, which will have a list of expectations and criteria needed for whoever will get the application. As you get ready to write your essay, take time to research the school and also the members of the scholarship committee. Find out their values, requirements and who their ideal candidate is. Once you are able to do this, it will give you perspective on how to write the essay that gives you an edge.
c. Read through the instructions and be sure you understand it
This is a mistake some students make that jeopardizes their chances of getting picked for a scholarship. Before deciding on what to write and how to write it, read through the instructions and guidelines provided by the institution. Take note of the deadline, word count, requirements, format and any other important information you need.
d. Carefully choose a topic you are passionate about
A scholarship essay is first about you, and how your dreams fit into the requirements of the school. When writing your essay, choose a topic you are passionate about and also knowledgeable about. When you do this, you give yourself an opportunity to do an exceptional job with your writing. Your writing is a way to communicate your personality to your reader, and communicating your passion will definitely help you do that.
e. Brainstorm your essay
When you’ve chosen a topic and understood the requirements, the next thing you should do is brainstorm on your essay. Don’t just write, give a thought to it. Define which angle you want to write from and how you would write a perfect essay. You can involve some professionals to ask questions if you have to. If you don’t give much thought to your essay, you will most likely do shabby work which will eventually tell on the quality of your essay.
2. Writing Stage
f. Begin with a strong introduction
Your introduction is the first thing the committee would read when they are reviewing your essay. It tells them if they should continue reading or not. So, make sure your introduction is strong and appealing. Don’t just tell, show.
For example, instead of saying, “I picked an interest in software engineering after we moved to California,” you can say this instead, “I never knew I would become interested in software engineering, but moving to California changed my perspective.”
The second sentence makes it engaging for the reader to want to know more about you and your passion.
g. Create a structure and maintain it
To get the very best out of your essay, it is important you create a structure or an outline that will guide you in writing your essay. With your outline, you organize your thoughts and you'd be certain that the reader can follow the storyline of your essay without much effort. Creating an outline will also help your essay follow a logical order and can redirect you back if you go off course in your writing.
h. Be Honest
While writing your essay, you will want to impress the scholarship committee in order to get a shot at the scholarship program. However, no matter how much you want to impress, be honest about yourself, your background and your experiences. Your authenticity and honesty are powerful tools in writing a great essay. You may not know, but an experienced reader may spot easily any form of dishonesty in your essay.
i. Be positive and inspirational in your essay
Anyone reading an essay expects a lot of positivity in it. No one wants to read through a sad, gloomy and boring essay. Even if you are recounting sad experiences in your life, focus on how the challenges have helped you become better and how you’ve risen above them, rather than dwelling on the challenges. An essay based on self-pity won’t get you a scholarship program.
j. Avoid a boring conclusion
After writing a beautiful essay, it would be a huge mistake to sign off on it with a boring conclusion. Make your conclusion as interesting as your introduction. Truth is, the reader is more likely to remember an essay with a striking introduction and conclusion. So, as much as you can, be creative with your conclusion as you were with the introduction.
3. Post-writing Stage
k. Proofread the essay thoroughly
When you are done writing your essay, one important thing you must do is thoroughly proofread your essay. This is why it is advisable to start and finish your essay early, so you can have enough time to go through the essay over again. Ensure there are no typographic errors and wrong word placements. The little details you take note of will help you have an amazing essay to submit.
l. Seek professional help if you can
If you have senior colleagues or others who have written excellent essays, then you can reach out to them for help. They could help you identify loopholes in your essay that you can fill and ensure your essay is good to go. They can also bring in perspectives that you may be missing in your essay.
m. Ensure important keywords are included
In most cases, there are keywords that are usually required by a school to pick their ideal candidate. Once you are done writing your essay, be careful to identify that the keywords are well represented in your essay. If not, make edits to it and include those relevant keywords. These keywords give you a better chance at getting the scholarship program than submitting your essay without it.
There are different types and samples of scholarship essays and you can find so many examples of scholarship essays here and also free formats you can use to craft yours.
Three Scholarship Essay Examples That Won Thousands of Dollars in 2023
Here are some scholarship essay samples that would guide you through the process of drafting yours:
SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY EXAMPLE #1
New York University College of Arts and Science $39,500 Scholarship by Ana
Prompt: Explain something that made a big impact in your life.
"If you can't live off of it, it is useless." My parents were talking about ice skating: my passion. I started skating as a ten-year-old in Spain, admiring how difficulty and grace intertwine to create beautiful programs, but no one imagined I would still be on the ice seven years and one country later. Even more unimaginable was the thought that ice skating might become one of the most useful parts of my life.
I was born in Mexico to two Spanish speakers; thus, Spanish was my first language. We then moved to Spain when I was six, before finally arriving in California around my thirteenth birthday. Each change introduced countless challenges, but the hardest part of moving to America, for me, was learning English. Laminated index cards, color-coded and full of vocabulary, became part of my daily life. As someone who loves to engage in a conversation, it was very hard to feel as if my tongue was cut off. Only at the ice rink could I be myself; the feeling of the cold rink breeze embracing me, the ripping sound of blades touching the ice, even the occasional ice burning my skin as I fell-these were my few constants. I did not need to worry about mispronouncing "axel" as "aksal." Rather, I just needed to glide and deliver the jump.
From its good-natured bruise-counting competitions to its culture of hard work and perseverance, ice skating provided the nurturing environment that made my other challenges worthwhile. Knowing that each moment on the ice represented a financial sacrifice for my family, I cherished every second I got. Often this meant waking up every morning at 4 a.m. to practice what I had learned in my few precious minutes of coaching. It meant assisting in group lessons to earn extra skating time and taking my conditioning office by joining my high school varsity running teams. Even as I began to make friends and lose my fear of speaking, the rink was my sanctuary.
Eventually, however, the only way to keep improving was to pay for more coaching, which my family could not afford. And so I started tutoring Spanish.
Now, the biggest passion of my life is supported by my most natural ability. I have had over thirty Spanish students, ranging in age from three to forty and spanning many ethnic backgrounds. I currently work with fifteen students each week, each with different needs and ways of learning.
Drawing on my own experiences as both a second language learner and a figure skater, I assign personal, interactive exercises, make jokes to keep my students' mindset positive, and never give away the right answers. When I first started learning my axel jump, my coach told me I would have to fall at least 500 times (about a year of falls!) in order to land it. Likewise, I have my students embrace every detail of a mistake until they can begin to recognize new errors when they see them. I encourage them to expand their horizons and take pride in preparing them for new interactions and opportunities.
Although I agree that I will never live off of ice skating, the education and skills I have gained from it have opened countless doors. Ice skating has given me the resilience, work ethic, and inspiration to develop as a teacher and an English speaker. It has improved my academic performance by teaching me rhythm, health, and routine. It also reminds me that a passion does not have to produce money in order for it to hold immense value.
Ceramics, for instance, challenges me to experiment with the messy and unexpected. While painting reminds me to be adventurous and patient with my forms of self-expression. I don't know yet what I will live off of from day to day as I mature; however, the skills my passions have provided me are life-long and irreplaceable.
SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY EXAMPLE #2
Millennium Gates Last Dollar Scholarship and $3,500 in Outside Scholarship Essay Examples by Famyrah Lafortune
Prompt: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela. Describe a change you would like to make in the world. Tell us about how you would plan to make that change, and what obstacles you might encounter along the way. * (No more than 400 words)
Nothing is more important to me than ending racial inequality and discrimination in America, as I do not want my younger siblings to face the discrimination Black people continue to face in our present society. After winning our fight to freedom and provoking the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, why do Black teens face higher poverty rates than Whites and are still four times more likely to be incarcerated? "That was such a long time ago. You really need to get over it," my White peers say when referring to racial inequalities. But, why then, in 7th grade, after winning Nazareth Academy's Spelling Bee competition, did my fellow White classmate state with a heavy dose of surprise, "You know...when I first saw you, I didn't think you were going to be smart?"
I hope to contribute to ending racial discrimination by utilizing our present interconnectivity and running a social media campaign titled #It'sNotOver. #It'sNotOver aims to oppose the widespread misconception that, because racial inequality was legally outlawed, de facto racial inequality does not still persist in our society. Our recent presidential election may have brought life to a 'Divided America,' but it also exposed how influential social media is.
By raising awareness of racial disparities that occur everywhere, I might encourage a new wave of change in our country like that of the present Time's Up movement. Furthermore, if I can access the influence of celebrities in my #It'sNotOver campaign, like that of Time's Up. I might similarly capture the attention of millions of people and inspire action against this issue across the globe.
I know that social media can only do so much in addressing these issues as not everyone can afford the luxury of having internet access. However, I hope that my campaign can inspire all those who do have access to take it upon themselves to be the change by being inspired by the fact that we are globally united in this issue. Although I expect negativity and criticism from people who either do not believe that this issue exists or do not believe in our cause, I am willing to encounter it if it means our society as a whole irrevocably can grow to accept each other's differences.
SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY EXAMPLE #3
Questbridge Finalist essay earning $3,000 in application waivers plus $3000 in local scholarships by Jordan Sanchez
Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Recall the most cherished memory with your father figure. For some it may be when he taught you how to ride a bike, for others it may be memories of him taking you out for pizza when mom said the family has to eat healthy, for others, it's the ability to confide in somebody that won't judge or stop loving you because of the mistakes you have made. When a child is born, he or she is given a birth certificate, which provides information such as name, date and place of birth, but most importantly it provides the names of the parents of the child. On my birth certificate I have the name of my beloved mother Lurvin, but right above her name is an empty space where my father's name should be.
As a child I would often compare my life to my peers; I would often go through all of these hypothetical scenarios in my mind thinking, "If my dad were around I could be like all of the other boys." As the years went by l always had a sense of optimism that one day I would meet him and he would tell me "I love you and I'll never leave your side again." But when the time came and I met him in January 2014 I learned that a man can reject his only son not once, but twice.
My father left when I was one year old and I will soon be turning 17; I did the math and found that for about 5900 days he has neglected me. He was able to sleep 5900 nights without knowing whether or not I was dead or alive. Even though he's been gone for 5900 days, my life did not get put on hold. In those 5900 days, I learned how to walk, talk, and I became a strong young man without the provider of my Y Chromosome because he is nothing more to me than that.
In the past, I believed that my father was necessary to rise but instead, I found that false hope was an unnecessary accessory and now I refuse to let the fact that I am fatherless define the limits of the great things that I can accomplish.
It's said that boys learn to be a man from their fathers, that they learn what it means to be a man that has values and can stand up for what's right. I, however, have found that grit can come from anywhere. When I was in middle school I was overweight and many other boys would call me names, and even after going to administration several times nothing changed and for several years I kept myself at bay because if they did anything in return I would be no better than those guys who bullied me.
I previously had this perception that somebody else would come to my rescue, that somebody else would provide the mental strength to combat the hardships that were sent my way. But as time passed I grew tired of waiting for help that was never going to come so l had to become my own hero. Since making that decision I have been liberated from the labels that previously confined me and I took back control of own life.
Now, that we’ve provided you with samples of some award winning scholarship essays, you should already have an idea of what sponsors expect from your essay. If you have questions about the essays or comments on what you’ve read, you can drop them in the comment section and we would attend to them.