Writing Scholarship and Admission Essays

Scholarship donors and admission officers want to know more about their students than statistics and dry facts. Essays are an extremely important part of the admission and scholarship selection process, simply because they are the most immediate indication of who and what you are.

To begin, you are writing for a purpose. You are trying to convince either an admission office, or a committee, that by virtue of your merit (academic achievement, athletic prowess, leadership interests, etc.) they should either admit you into their school, and/or award money. In order to accomplish this, present yourself as clearly and fully as possible.

Committees and admission officers are impressed with personal growth and individuality. If you think that cannot possibly mean you, think again - it does. You are not the same person you were one, two or three years ago. You have matured, you probably have more family and/or work responsibilities, and you probably have become more involved in your academics and outside interests. If this weren't true, you wouldn't be thinking about attending college, and you wouldn't be reading this now. So think positively, and brainstorm! Don't worry whether or not what you have to say is important enough or particular enough to catch someone's attention. If you are writing about something that you truly care about, it will be interesting and worthwhile.

If you are applying for admission to college, you may be asked to write about these topics:

. An experience or achievement that is especially meaningful

.A local or national issue and its importance to you

. A prominent figure in the arts, politics, religion, or science

. Your reasons for pursuing a university education (for example, why do you want to enter engineering or how is the study of history related to your goals?)

If you were writing on the last topic, you would want to tie together your desire to further your education and why that school is the best place for you. For example, you may want to write on the recent changes in the Soviet Union. You would first briefly discuss the importance of those changes in world politics. Then secondly, you would state how they relate to your interest in diplomacy (if that is true), and how their school is particularly suited to filling your interests and career goals.

If you are applying for a scholarship offered by a private foundation (or by a school university), consider the source. For example, if the Daughters of the American Revolution offers scholarships, what do you think they might ask you to write on? (They are undoubtedly a patriotic organization. You should brush up on your U.S. history and government.) If you are writing on a specific topic (e.g., "The Importance of Education to Minorities in the 21st Century"), you may need to do some research and reading. Whether or not you are answering a specific question, being aware of and adding pertinent news and events into your essay helps.

HINTS FOR WRITING YOUR ESSAY:

The essay is a chance to show the selection committee who you are as a person, as well as what you have accomplished. Unless you know exactly what you want to say (which is unlikely for most writers), you will need to do some thinking, organizing and checking over.

Thinking:

. List all ideas, be creative, brainstorm without censoring.

. Sort through ideas and prioritize.

. What are the positive things about yourself and your schooling up to now? . Why and how did you achieve your goals?

. Are you answering a specific question?

. Are you describing your goals or interests?

. Who is your audience?

. What are the most important facts about you that they need to know that are not reflected in other parts of your application?

. What setbacks have you encountered and how have you overcome them or dealt with them?

Organizing:

Theme

. Identify one or who main points you wish to express.

. Begin to develop your ideas into paragraphs, presenting one idea at a time.

Continuity

. Use the same voice throughout the paper.

. Be consistent with personal pronouns and verb tense.

. Make sure the end of one paragraph blends with the beginning of the next.

Clarity

. Use concrete language to convey your examples.

. Don't get lost on tangents.

. Select action verbs and avoid the passive voice.

Checking Over:

. Does your introduction capture the reader's attention?

. Are you consistent in your verb tense?

. Are you clear and coherent?

. Are you concise enough to adhere to limits of length?

. Have you checked for grammatical and spelling errors?

. Does the essay present you as you wish to be seen?

. Did another person check your essay for errors?

. Would you remember your essay if you read 200 others?

. Does your closing paragraph present you as you wish to be remembered?

. Retain a copy for your records.

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