Showing Your Interest in a Scholarship

Scholarship applications: the bane of every student’s existence. You know that you need to put your best foot forward with every line that you fill in. This isn’t just a generic listing of your accomplishments; it’s your chance to earn money toward the school of your dreams.

That means that you have to put in your best effort. Sure, it feels like just another assignment when you’re already bogged down with schoolwork, but you need to put forth your best effort so that when the committee looks over your application, you’ll know that you’ve done your best. That starts with your letter of interest.

Personalize, personalize, personalize. It’s tempting to just throw together a generic letter of interest, isn’t it? Even if you’re working from scratch as you fill in the blanks, by the time you’ve written one or two of those letters, you have the format memorized. “My name is Suzy Smith, and I’m a senior at Rock City High School. I plan to major in biology, attending my local community college for a couple of years before moving on to a bigger university.” Then, you list out all of your accomplishments in somewhat random order, express your hope that the scholarship committee will choose you, and move on to the next part of the application.

Unfortunately, unless you have a fantastic list of accomplishments that’s drastically different from what most students are writing, this isn’t going to get you anywhere. Instead, personalize your letter to the specific scholarship. Talk about your interest in the field, the accomplishments you’ve already made, and anything else that you think will help set you apart from the other applicants.

Keep it simple. You don’t have to go on for pages to express your interest, especially if you’re tempted to start adding filler material. Instead, talk about your specific interest in the scholarship and how it applies to you personally. When listing your accomplishments, keep it relevant to the field. For example, if you’re applying for a science scholarship, you probably don’t need to add in that you were the president of your foreign language club for two years. While these diverse accomplishments add color and flavor, they aren’t what the committee will focus on when the time comes to select the scholarship recipient.

Keep it real. Don’t lie in your letter of reference. Avoid the tendency to exaggerate if possible. Instead, talk about who you are and what you’ve done. What sets you apart from the crowd? How are you more deserving than the hundreds of other applicants who are also vying for this scholarship? There are plenty of things that you can say about yourself without lying or exaggerating.

Set aside time specifically for scholarship applications. It’s tempting to tuck scholarship work, from the letter of interest to the essay, into the same chunk of time that you’d use to do your schoolwork, but that is often counterproductive. If you do the scholarship work first, you’ll be worried about whether or not you still have time to complete your schoolwork. If you do your schoolwork first, you’ll be tired and ready to move on to something else. Instead, designate specific time to work on scholarship letters and applications so that you’re fresh, ready to do your best work, and giving it your full attention.

Remember: not every scholarship is for you, and you’re competing against hundreds of other students who all have the same goal you do. Be patient, don’t take rejection personally, and make the effort to set yourself apart so that when the committee sees your application–from the letter of interest at the beginning to the essay at the end–you’ll stand out from the crowd.