How to Write a Scholarship Essay

The scholarship essay can help decide whether or not you can pay for your higher education. To write a proper scholarship essay, you should take a similar approach to the college application essay. 

You should use the scholarship application essay as an opportunity to stand out from the hundreds or even thousands of other applicants, who are effectively your competition. A college application should emphasize aspects of your personality that your grades and transcripts don’t reveal. 

When writing a scholarship essay, focus on captivating admission officers or sponsors with an engaging personal story while simultaneously showing that both your narrative and values are aligned with those of the sponsors that you are applying to. 

What is a scholarship essay? 

A scholarship essay is a written personal statement for sponsorship of your education at university or some other education-related program. It can be submitted as part of an application to a college or university. It can be a big part of the admissions process. 

Scholarship essays just like general college application essays more and more are relying on the holistic review approach. This is an approach to admissions where college admission officers don’t just look at your grades or SAT scores. Instead, they focus on your values and personality. This means they are looking at the following questions when making their assessment: 

• What unique contributions can you make to the institution or program?

• How is your story original and compelling? 

• What struggles has the person gone through? 

  
  

A scholarship application essay may or may not have a specific format. It depends on what program you’re applying for sponsorship.  However, think of it as an opportunity to creatively express yourself and convince college admission officers that you should be allowed into your college.

However, that doesn’t mean that there are no guidelines to follow. We will soon describe these outlines. 

What is the purpose of a scholarship application essay?

The college application essay serves several purposes. These include 1. Explaining why you need sponsorship; 2. Demonstrating your writing skills; 3. Telling your personal story; and 4. Showing how your values align with those of the college or institution you’re applying for. We will take a look at each in the list below. 

1. Explain why you should be sponsored. Your scholarship application essay is supposed to explain why you should be sponsored. The most obvious reason for a scholarship application is that you have available funds to sponsor educational pursuits or activities that you otherwise would not be able to access. However, for a scholarship essay, your focus should be on that in addition to how the opportunity could contribute to your personal growth. 

2. Demonstrate your writing skills. The essay shows the applicant’s ability to write clearly and creatively. This is a vital skill in college or other educational pursuits. The fact that your college essay has 250–500 word limit means that you have to be concise and effective in delivering your message in a limited amount of space. 

3. Telling your personal story. A college application essay allows you the opportunity to tell your story. You can describe unique challenges or experiences that have influenced your life and that have shaped your personal journey.

4. Explaining how you fit in with the values of the college. The college application essay offers you the opportunity to convey why you are a good match for the college and how the college aligns with both your goals and values.

Common scholarship essay prompts

Many colleges use prompts from the Common Application or similar platforms. Familiarize yourself with some of these prompts to get yourself ready. Examples of common prompts include the following:

• Tell us about you.

• What impact has sports had on your life?

• Why do you want to study or pursue [name of program]?

• Why do you deserve this scholarship?

• How will this scholarship help you?

• How have you contributed to your community?

• How are you unique?

• Tell us about a time you failed and what you learned from it.

• What are your academic and/or career goals?

• Tell us about a time when you had a belief or idea challenged.

These prompts should be carefully read and studied before you begin your scholarship essay. What would be even better is to find college application essay samples that you can read for either inspiration or as models to follow.

Tips for Writing a Strong Essay

To write a winning scholarship essay, you should follow these tips:

1. Be authentic. Write in your own voice and share a genuine story or perspective. Your story can be strange or quirky. However, do not choose strange or quirky stories for the sake of being different. It should tie into the other aspects of the college application. For example, how you match with the values of your college.

2. Start early. Starting early means that you allow yourself enough time to brainstorm, complete first drafts, get feedback from friends and professionals, and revise. The final version of your college essay should look nothing like the first draft. Therefore, start early to ensure that you end up with the best possible version of your essay.

3. Be specific. Use descriptive examples and details to bring your points and narrative to life. Sponsors and admission officers will not want to spend time reading a generic story. Remember college essays and scholarship essays are not academic writing. It's more like creative storytelling. The more unique and specific details you add to the story, the more compelling it will be.

4. Use a strong hook. You have to catch the attention of the reader with the first sentence. Scholarship essays are usually short. This means that you have limited space and time to make a lasting impression. Every word and sentence should count, especially your first sentence. 

How EminentEdit helps with your college essay application

EminentEdit provides editing and commentary to make sure that you end up with the best possible version of your college essay for both scholarships and general applications.  

Our editing services include both extensive commentary and corrections that are based on our familiarity with the standards and conventions of college application essays. We have edited hundreds of college application essays. 

So, we know what it takes to convince college admissions officers. 

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EminentEdit provides editing and proofreading services that are: Fast Affordable Reliable More importantly, we are adaptable to your specific needs.

Contact one of our representatives for help in editing your college essay Get Our Services We know what you want to say. We help you say it better.

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EminentEdit’s proofreading and editing services for college essays include:

• Editing for tone of voice 

• Critiquing your work with useful commentary and suggestions

• Proofreading to make sure you tell a compelling and convincing story

• Commentary to point out areas of improvement

Do you need help in editing and proofreading your college essay? Contact us today: CONTACT AN EMINENTEDIT REPRESENTATIVE 

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Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2024, December 14). How to Write a Scholarship Essay. EminentEdit.  https://www.eminentediting.com/post/how-to-write-a-scholarship-essay