How to Write an Outstanding CV for Scholarship [Sample Template]

The competition to win a scholarship is getting tougher by the day and as such, applicants should be better prepared to stand out among the rest. One such way is by writing an outstanding CV or Curriculum Vitae for scholarship application.

An outstanding scholarship CV must be specifically designed for scholarship purpose alone. Tailoring your CV for a scholarship will help you to stand out from others who are also vying for the same opportunity. A well-written CV will boost your chances of winning a scholarship no matter how competitive it is.

A scholarship CV along with a scholarship motivation letter should be written purposely. A scholarship-winning CV should demonstrate the suitability of a student for the opportunity by including relevant information.

You need to understand that your CV is the only way you can communicate to the scholarship committee, as such it should highlight your academic qualifications and achievements, your future goal and other relevant information that could help you win a scholarship.

Having said that, you will learn all the details needed to write an outstanding CV for scholarship application.

Tips on Writing a Winning Scholarship CV

1. Gather All The Relevant Information

First things first, before you begin writing your scholarship CV, you need to make sure that you have all the relevant information needed first. You should start by making a list of all your educational qualifications, honours and awards (if any), achievements, extracurricular activities plus other relevant information.

Once that is done, categorize them and analyze critically on which of the information is worth featuring on your scholarship CV and which should be left out. The essence is to ensure that only the most important information is included.

2. Make Sure it is Well Organized

The next step is to ensure that your scholarship CV is well organized. Your CV has to be organized in a manner that will seem objective, professional and leaves a good impression of you. Your achievements should be listed in a descending order, which means you should feature your current achievements foremost and then others.

3. Information on your CV

The information that should be on your scholarship CV include:

• Name
• Contacts (email address and phone numbers)
• Address
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Education achievements
• Languages
• Extracurricular activities and hobbies
• Internships or job experience if any
• Computer skills

You should also mention the objective and how the scholarship will help you achieve your goal. Personal information like political views, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, and religious affiliations should be excluded.

4. Be Truthful, Honest and Specific

A CV embellished with outstanding achievements will definitely garner the required attention. However, in doing so, don’t add information that you can’t defend with facts or actions. Always make sure that everything on your CV is as honest, truthful and specific as possible. Avoid making things up and telling lies. Never include skills that you simply do not have.

5. Proofread your scholarship CV

Before sending off your scholarship application, make sure you proofread your CV first. Look for any mistakes that may have been made. Make sure all information is relevant and free from error. You do not want to have grammar or spelling mistakes as this is sure to get noticed very quickly.

All CVs for scholarship application must look and read professional. As such, desist from asking someone else to write it for you, even you think you are not good enough. Do research on scholarship CV’s online, get some examples, re-write your copy until you get it right and finally have someone check it for mistakes. Sometimes it takes a pair of fresh eyes to spot any errors that may be hiding in there. We wish you the very best in preparing for the scholarship you wish to apply for.

How to Write an Outstanding Scholarship CV

Below is a perfect outline on how to write an outstanding CV for scholarship application.

Heading: Name, email address, mailing address (only one), and phone number

Education: List academic degrees, within progress or most recently earned first.

• Name of institution, city and state, degree type and major, month and year degree was (will be) awarded
• Thesis title and advisor, if applicable.

Relevant Experience: List positions that show off your skills and expertise. You can group experiences into relevant categories to enhance your CV (e.g. Research, Teaching, and Administration). For each position, include:

• Title, organization name, city and state, date position was held.
• Bullet points that summarize your activities/duties, accomplishments, and successes.

Honors and Awards: Receipt of competitive scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships; names of scholastic honors; teaching or research awards.

Publications: Give bibliographic citations for articles, pamphlets, chapters in books, research reports, or any other publications that you have authored or co-authored. Use the format appropriate to your particular academic discipline for a clean look.

Presentations (Oral and Poster): Give titles of professional presentations, name of conference or event, dates and location, and, if appropriate in your discipline, also include a brief description. Use the format appropriate to your particular academic discipline for a consistent and clean look.

References: Three to five are appropriate. If you are responding to an advertisement that asks for references, include those requested on a separate addendum sheet.