How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay – Sample Template
Writing a Winning Scholarship Essay is a very important part of your scholarship application. Although there is no one way of writing a winning scholarship essay, there are ways of making your application stand out from the others.
A well-written scholarship essay gives the selection committee an insight about your application. No two scholarship essay is the same. Every author has his/her own distinctive style of writing a scholarship essay which comprises a unique insight into his/her past, present, and future aspirations.
This uniqueness is very important and the first point to note when writing a scholarship essay. Make your scholarship application essay exclusive to you, personalize it, write about your passion and desire to study your subject and create a response that could only ever relate to you.
It is this individuality that makes your scholarship application essay stand out.
Contents
What to Write in A Scholarship Essay
Below are some questions you need to answer when writing a scholarship essay. You can use some of these great starting points for a personal statement.
Some of these scholarship essay questions include;
- Life Experience – State the life experience(s) that have shaped who you are today and what challenges you have in overcoming them (i.e. financial, personal, medical, family, etc).
- Why You need financial assistance – You must convince the scholarship committee without any reasonable doubts about why you need a financial assistance.
- Academic and Career Goals – You should describe your academic and career goals and your plans to achieve them. Discuss any of your extracurricular/volunteer activities (both on and off campus) that you may perform.
- Leadership role – Describe an event in which you took a leadership role and how the role shaped your life.
How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay
This is a simple step-by-step guide on how to write a winning essay for a scholarship application. Remember, that all scholarship application essays are different and should be tailored to meet the scholarship specific requirements.
Paragraph I
Your first paragraph should give a brief overview of what you are going to talk about in the essay. Give a brief description of your experiences, goals, aspirations, family background, etc. State reason(s) why you want the scholarship.
(State an overview of what you are going to talk about in the essay. If the essay is about you, give a brief description of your experiences, goals, aspirations, family background, etc. Touch on why you want the scholarship.)
Paragraph II & III
In the second and third paragraph of your essay is where you go into detail one of the topics listed in paragraph I. Elaborate on your previous experiences, family and financial situation, volunteer work, employment (if any), academic goals, career goal, etc.
Paragraph IV
Conclude your scholarship essay with a cogent reason why you should be considered for the scholarship; how do your goals match those of the organization, etc.
Scholarship Essay Sample Template
It has always been a dream for me to be a veterinarian. I have been responsible for the care and feeding of pets ever since I was in nursery school. In secondary school, I participated in the Animal Right Club as well as the Junior Humane society. To reach my goals, I realize that I must pursue a six-year university education. I am very excited about my future and feel that with the opportunity your scholarship will provide, I can help many animals.
My love for animals has been encouraged by my family and friends. I have had the opportunity to volunteer with the local animal shelter and provide basic care to the stray animals. With the help of my biology teacher, I was able to start Animal Right club on campus. Many of the other students on campus developed an interest in the animals and now our club has 100 members. My family also has many animals for which I provide care, including basic needs as well as first aid. I find that I enjoy that aspect of pet ownership best. Unfortunately, my family cannot afford to pay for my entire education, so I hope to use my skills and love of animals to help me pay for college.
Your organization stands for what I believe in. Like your organization, I hope to help animals for the rest of my life. To reach my goals, I need as much help as possible. I already have the moral support of my family and friends, but that is not quite enough to make my dream come true. I hope that your organization can help me reach this dream by awarding me your scholarship.
Final Thoughts on How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay
The main essence of writing a scholarship application essay or cover letter is to really show that you know who you are. Your essay is where you use carefully selected language to emphasize your passion, ambition, and enthusiasm and remember to stay positive.
We believe with the simple guide on how to write a winning scholarship essay, you stand a greater chance of winning your next scholarship application.
