Applying for a scholarship to study abroad is a nerve-wracking process. Every year, students graduate with debt worth thousands of dollars, and a scholarship is an excellent way to make higher education experience more affordable. There are many kinds of scholarships available for international students, such as entrance scholarships, academic or merit-based scholarships, and automatic scholarships.
When applying for entrance and merit-based scholarships, the student must submit a college scholarship letter to convince the committee that you deserve a particular scholarship. It is no surprise that students worry that they might not be able to produce a worthy piece of writing that would help them bag a scholarship.
The major problem is that most of the students don’t know the importance of a scholarship letter. It is one of the most important letters needed to help you stand out from your competitors. It demonstrates your personality and capabilities beyond your academic results. If you wish to craft a winning college scholarship letter, follow these tips:
1. Identifying the Scholarship Criteria
Identifying the scholarship criteria is first and one of the most crucial steps to write a winning scholarship letter. It is vital to understand the type of candidate scholarship committee is looking for. To do so, it is important to analyze the scholarship eligibility page very carefully.
An example of scholarship criteria is as follows:
- Must be the citizen of India
- Possess outstanding academic results
-Demonstrate strong leadership capabilities and potential
- Possess excellent records in co-curricular and community activities
- Must be applying for admission to a full-time degree program at an academic institute.
Once you have gone through the organization's requirements, now is the time to list out your qualifications.
2. Make a list of all your qualifications
Next, you will need to list out all your qualifications and achievements. There is one of the easiest ways to do this is by retrieving your graduation certificates. You also have to make a list of your academic and non-academic achievements.
Here is a tip from our experts: Begin with your academics as they are the most straightforward ones. Next, make a list of your non-academic achievements such as you must have won debates, or a quiz, or a leader or executive member of some committee. If you have worked in community service projects, you might want to write that down. It will reflect that you have learned a lot during your participation.
Also, write about your hobbies, for instance, you love drawing or photography and enjoyed working part-time in your field.
3. Time to put them all together
Now that you have created both the lists, it is time to put them all together to match your achievements to the scholarship requirements. Try to connect the two lists and make sure they describe you in a positive manner. This will help you write your essay more appropriately.
4 – Writing your essay
Finally, it is time to begin writing. The best way to write an essay is to break it into paragraphs and make sure that each of these paragraphs addresses the committee's requirements. Make sure each of the paragraphs in the essay strategically responds well to the qualities they are looking for. After writing the first draft, save it on your computer/ laptop and review it. Review it very carefully. Highlight the expressions and components you think sound repetitive or redundant, or you feel need improvement. Now your second draft is ready. Now review it even more carefully, and repeat the entire process until you are satisfied with your grammar, and overall structure of the essay.
After you have achieved your final essay, now is the time to get a second opinion. You can ask your friends and your teachers to review it and give their point of view. Be open to receiving positive criticism.
We understand it is not easy to write a scholarship essay, but believe us, with our expert’s top tips, you will be able to craft a winning college scholarship essay! If you also wish to study in Canada and want to win a scholarship to cover a part of your tuition fee, then visit iApply.io. We provide you a comprehensive list of scholarships, and our smart advisors can help you find the best scholarship that you qualify for.
