A lot of college scholarships and grants require an essay. Scholarship and grant officers have thousands upon thousands of essays to read through, so make yours stand out! If you have the right GPA, the community involvement and the school activities, a strong essay can set you apart from the rest. Here are some tips:
- Have a trusted adult or teacher review your essay before you submit it.
- Understand the purpose of the question and what they are asking. If you are going to write an essay, make sure you stay on track and write about what they are asking for.
- While you are writing, keep asking yourself if you would be interested in reading this essay if someone else wrote it. If you are, great. If not, you may want to consider a different angle.
- Make it clear that you are a unique individual with goals and who has accomplished goals that you are proud of. State your intentions, motivations, and aspirations for the future. Be careful not to come across as self absorbed.
- If you haven't had a tough life, don't make up a story. However, if you have overcome adversity or a major obstacle in life, mention it. Show that you are a strong individual. However, do not make it look like you are after pity.
- Show, don't tell. Don't make lists of various clubs and activities you have taken part in. Show the reader what you've learned or accomplished. If you've played a leadership role, show us what you did and how it affected you.
- Spell check and proofread. Be careful, spell check is not going to correct all errors. Read and re-read.
- Be precise. If you have an idea, make sure the reader is going to understand it, avoid being vague.
- Don't rush through an essay just to get it over with. This essay could potentially save you thousands of dollars. Don't wait to the last minute to write it.
- Be original. Make things that otherwise seem boring interesting. It's all about your word choice!
- Make an opening and closing statement to remember. A great opening will engage your reader and a great closing will bring it all together.
- Make sure to use the right words. If you are looking to use big words, make sure you use them in the right context.
- Appeal to the five senses of your readers. Make it interesting.
- Transition well from paragraph to paragraph.
- Make your opening strong. Don't summarize. Intrigue your reader to want to know more.
- Revise and revise some more. You want this essay to be perfect.
