A college education costs much more than the average high school senior has tucked away from part-time retail gigs. But higher education is a necessity for long-term career satisfaction and financial security. Personal savings are a start, but many students need loans, bursaries and scholarships to make it through college. Thinking critically about your educational and career goals will help you write the impressive essays you need to win scholarships and minimize your debt load.
Read Questions Carefully
Some institutions ask scholarship applicants specific questions about their educational goals and future career direction, while others are much more general. If the questions are specific, you need to choose an angle in your essay that answers them. For example, if you're applying to engineering and the school's scholarship committee asks "What are the key attributes of a successful engineer? How have you shown these traits in your life so far?", you need to decide on a few important qualities and explain them within the context of your own experiences. You probably don't have the space to discuss other themes that might figure into a more general essay, such as why you find engineering inspiring or what kind of engineer you plan to be after you graduate.
Choose a Theme
Sometimes, essay questions don't dictate specific themes and are more open-ended. For these essays, Ph.D Kay Pearson advises coming up with your own theme in an article on Southfield, Michigan's public school board website. Think of the main thing that you want to say about yourself and your goals. That idea is your theme, and there should only be one or two of them in a scholarship essay. For example, perhaps you want to go to school for science because you want to become a doctor. Your academic dedication and your compassion for others are your two main qualities that make you well-suited to this kind of work. Dedication and passion, therefore, are your two main themes. Discuss your achievements, activities and involvement in a way that links every story to one of your themes. This approach will give your writing a sharp focus.
Show Your Story and Goals
Use descriptive language and imagination to make your passion and goals come alive for the scholarship judges. For example, saying that your long-term career goal is to become a pediatric nurse is great, but linking that objective to a vivid image is better. Talk about how you picture yourself using your sense of humor and a clown nose as you stand by a sick child's bedside. Discuss your plan to treat parents with compassion and explain diagnostic terms in plain language. The same principle applies to explaining past circumstances and accomplishments. As the website Scholarship Help points out, you shouldn't just say that your family struggles financially. Paint a vivid picture of busy days juggling school with your family responsibilities and part-time job.
Show Continuity
Link your future aspirations clearly with past accomplishments to show a clear progression between who you were in the past and what you want to become. For example, if you want to work in journalism, it probably doesn't make sense to focus on your volunteer work at the animal shelter. Instead, talk about your work for the school newspaper and the political blog you write. Discuss how you discovered your passion for writing and an interest in other peoples' stories through participation in these activities.
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