Scholarship Tip #9: Essays to Write, Reuse, Recycle

Essays.  These lovely little pieces of writing are a staple in a scholarship application.  They allow a scholarship board to see the student beyond the grades and test scores, and get a picture of who the person is.  Even though students write about themselves, it is trickier to explain their story than they usually believe.  The good news is that once a student has written a few essays for scholarships, they can usually be reused and recycled with minimal tweaking.  (And once a student writes a few scholarship essays, they become more comfortable telling their stories, and the writing becomes easier).

Here are 5 prompts that we see time and again.  Usually these essays need to be around 500 words.

1.  Choose an activity you have been involved in, describe it briefly and explain why it was meaningful to you.  What did you learn and what did you accomplish?

2.  Explain a time where you used your leadership skills to help a group?  Include the process and what you learned through this experience.

3.  How have you served your community and made an impact?  

4.  Describe two or three unique things about yourself.  If possible, include challenges you have overcome and describe any distinctive experiences that have affected you.

5.  What do you hope to gain, experience, or accomplish by attending college?

Here are my suggestions:

• If you are a Junior, write (and re-write and re-write) these essays during the summer between 11th and 12th grades.  Having these essays completed before Senior Year begins will be a HUGE load off your shoulders and mind!
• If you are in 9th - 11th grades, read through these essays and think of what to say.  If you don't have an activity that you can write about, chances are you are not vested in anything of personal importance.  Work to change that--put your time into efforts so that you have something to write about when your senior year comes!

Also, if you are planning to complete the Common App, they use close to the same prompts each year. Here are the prompts from the 2017 - 2018 school year:

1.  Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it.  If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2.  The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success.  Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure.  How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3.  Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted your thinking?  What was the outcome?

4.  Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve.  It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma--anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale.  Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5.  Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6.  Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.  Why does it captivate you?  What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?