Sydney Scott is a third-year undergraduate at Southeastern Louisiana University. She shares practical advice, inspiration, and tips for high school and college students using her unique brand of candor and humor.
Ah, scholarships: intriguing to all, confusing to most. Scholarships are arguably one of the most frustrating parts of pursuing post-secondary education. They can be intimidating to assemble, especially if you aren’t a naturally gifted writer. As frustrating as they may be, receiving scholarships can drastically decrease the cost of going to college, which is why applying for them is so important. Most students lack the motivation to apply for scholarships because it’s challenging to market yourself as a worthy recipient. I know this all too well, because I’ve been there!
If you’re the kind of person who’d rather endure the pain of teaching your entire family the “Savage” TikTok dance than write an essay for a scholarship application, I have good news for you: it’s not that bad. Actually, as you’re about to see, all scholarships can be applied for in four easy steps. Plus, it doesn’t involve explaining to your family who Megan Thee Stallion is. Let’s get into it:
Step 1: Create a resume.
It may feel weird to write a resume as a high school or college student. Why would college students need corporate-America-level self-marketing skills anyway?
You don’t have to have those skills! Writing a resume doesn’t have to be as complicated as it sounds, and it will help you apply for scholarships. Simply put, a resume is just a list of all your relevant experiences, from academics, to jobs, to hobbies and interests. It spoon feeds you material when you blank on what to write.
All you need to do is pull together in one place all of your academic achievements, work experience, skills, hobbies, and things you are interested in. Don’t worry about making it sound extremely professional or making it look pretty. Writing a resume is really just a way of compiling your notable experience into one document. In this case, it will also serve as your “greatest hits,” or your go-to list of talents and accomplishments.
Never written a resume before? Don’t worry! This guide has all the information students need to write your own.
Step 2: Develop a template.
Once I graduated high school, my very first internship was assisting in editing and writing grants for nonprofits. Grants are just like scholarships - it’s when a business or charity awards money to another business or nonprofit in need of funding. Something that I instantly learned about grant writing is that it’s important to have a template for grants. While different grant applications may have different requirements, having a template for an organization helps to speed up the grant writing process because you don’t have to worry about the basic framework. The same applies for scholarships -- having a “template” scholarship essay will make applying for different scholarships quicker and easier.
To create a “template” essay, start by writing a summary of your resume - include all your past experiences, and how they led to where you are today. It’s also helpful to include in your template the answers to some commonly asked scholarship questions: Where are you going to college? What is your major? How are you planning on paying for school? How would a scholarship help your financial status? You may also find it useful to talk about your passions, interests, and what your career goals are (another common scholarship essay topic).
These are just a very few of the many basic questions that I see over and over again on scholarship applications.
While your “template essay” may not be usable for every scholarship you apply for, having one handy will definitely save you some time in the long run. And, it’ll reduce your level of frustration, if you aren’t a fan of writing.
Step 3: Focus on your interests and specialties.
If scholarships frustrate you because you think you’re bad at writing them, you may just need to switch up the types of scholarships you are pursuing. The easiest scholarships to apply for are the ones that involve things that you are interested in, such as hobbies, athletics, literary interests, and even pop culture,.
Majoring in marketing? There are plenty of business scholarships out there! Going to art school? Apply for an art school scholarship! Passionate about a particular social cause? I guarantee you can find a scholarship for it. Play a sport? There’s something out there for you, too.
Point being, there are scholarships for all types of students - not just the ones who scored high on the ACT and maintained a 4.0 GPA in high school. Finding the ones that feel the most aligned with who you are will make it easier for you to write because your thoughts will flow more naturally.
Step 4: Apply, apply, apply.
There’s a Wayne Gretzky quote that is now famous from being quoted by Michael Scott in The Office. It goes: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” (Check out the classic episode here.) Meaning, if you never try, you have no chance to succeed. When it comes to scholarships, the most important step is to actually apply! While having to write about yourself can seem intimidating, or it’s just not your favorite thing to do, making the attempt is the only way you have a chance at winning. Believe in yourself!
Some Resources
Some scholarship websites feel as dated as that (now famous) Education Connection ad. Need some help finding the right scholarships for you? We like Scholly, Unigo, and Niche. We also have our very own scholarship picks page on our website filled with scholarship hand-picked by one of our college & career coaches! You can check it out here, and apply for scholarships through the summaries we provide.
Want more? Check us out on Instagram to see what we’re up to, and to get important updates for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Download our free mobile app (more info below) to access to other resources.
Still need help? The Career Compass ASK ME! App is available for free in the App Store and Google Play. You can find scholarships, FAFSA and TOPS information, ACT and SAT reminders, application dates, important reminders, and more! Download it here.
Image by Retha Ferguson from Pexels.