The other educators have provided some great advice on writing a scholarship essay. I'd add the following tips to their contributions:
Be sure to tie your educational and/or career goals directly to the mission of the organization providing the scholarship. Show that you have researched the organization and that you are not simply printing the same essay to submit to every scholarship you are applying for. You want to make the essay personal about yourself, but you also want to make it personal for the readers. Show that you know and care about the goals they are trying to accomplish.
Avoid negativity or tones of pessimism. Do explain how you have encountered difficulties but also show how you have overcome those challenges and have learned things which will benefit your educational and career paths. Perhaps your challenges even speak directly to the goals of the organization. Explain that. But be sure to end those thoughts on a positive note. You have faced challenges but you have overcome them (or you are still trying to do so). Don't blame others, no matter how slight you might believe the insinuation, and don't end in a tone of defeat or hopelessness. You want to emerge from that essay as a person of strength, not a desperate student.
If you receive the scholarship, what kind of impact will that make on your education? This can be tricky. You don't want to make it seem that the scholarship will allow you to enjoy the easy life (which certainly shouldn't be the case). So be careful about how you word impacts like not having to waitress at night or how you'll be able to travel abroad with the additional funds. While those things may be true, focus on how the investment of the organization will help you fulfill your educational goals, leading to a more well-rounded educational experience. Perhaps it will allow you to tutor students in the afternoons (especially if you're going into education), volunteer at a hospital (especially if you're going into some medical field), or invest some time in working with the dietary staff at your local nursing home (especially if you're going into health sciences or nutrition). Show that while the scholarship will alleviate some of your financial stress, you are going to keep working hard and apply your learning in ways that could benefit the community—and provide you with greater firsthand knowledge about your chosen career field.
I have two decades' experience is helping students write college application and scholarship application letters, and I hope these guidelines will help you. Without knowing your particulars, I can't tailor my advice specifically to you, but hopefully you can adapt what I'm saying to your situation. Good luck, and I hope you get the scholarship.
You should consider breaking the question into three sections:
1. Academic goals: first, describe what area of study interests you the most, and elaborate on why it does. Are you a STEM student? A humanities student? Something else? Explain what you want to study and why. For example, if you are interested in engineering, explain where that interest comes from. Were you the kind of little kid that built elaborate LEGO structures without the need to look at the directions? Did you go to math or science camps or workshops outside school? Are math and science easy for you, yet completely engaging? Anecdotes will humanize you and set your application apart from students who write in generalities. Tell true stories about yourself and how you're academically "wired."
2. Career goals: Once you've established what your field of interest is, project yourself into the future as a post-grad. How do you see yourself using your education? Will you work toward advanced degrees that are more specialized, or will you enter the field right away and perhaps study as you work? For example, if you are a civil engineering major, perhaps you could write about your concerns about the country's aging infrastructure (roads, tunnels, bridges, water supply and sewage, etc.) and what you see as your potential role in addressing it. Maybe working overseas, as in the Peace Corps, is in your plans. Whatever it is that you see yourself doing with your education, help the scholarship committee see the contribution you will eventually make.
3. The scholarship: Let's face it, college is expensive. You could cite this:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS712US712&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=statistics+on+student+loan+debt
"If you graduated from college this past spring, you're part of the most indebted graduating class ever. According to a government data analysis by financial aid experts at Edvisors, the class of 2014 graduated with an average student loan debt of $33,000."
Find out what you can about the entity offering the scholarship. How does their mission align with yours? How will this scholarship impact your life? Explain to the committee why you would be a good investment for them. How will their investment in you benefit more than just your personal financial situation?
Finish your essay by thanking the committee for their consideration and for their commitment to making advanced learning more accessible to their scholarship recipients.
This assignment basically asks you to write an essay about your academic and professional goals. To do so, start thinking first about your outline. You might want to write three to five paragraphs. The first paragraph, the introductory paragraph, should explain why you have the goals you do. For example, were you introduced to computers in school and decided that they were your future? Were you motivated to attend college by your parents? Explain to the readers, who likely don't know you, why you developed the goals you did so they can understand your motivation.
In the body paragraph or paragraphs, explain each goal in depth to your reader. For example, you might write about why you want to study computer science and what your goals are upon graduation (for example, the types of jobs you are interested in pursuing). Make your goals achievable. For example, avoid stating what kinds of income you are looking for (particularly if you aim to achieve a very high income), but instead state the types of professions you are interested in pursuing after graduation. You should also state both academic goals (those related to your studies) and professional goals (those related to your career) and explain why a scholarship is critical to provide you with the financial assistance to reach your goals.
At the end of your essay, conclude with a short paragraph that restates your goals and that leaves the reader with an emotional understanding of why your goals are important and why you deserve the scholarship. For example, you can write something along the lines of, "I have wanted to study computer science since I was in middle school, and this scholarship would help me achieve that goal and help my family. I am eager and proud to be the first person in my family to attend college."
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