Most scholarships are awarded with an eye towards the financial situation of the applicant. If that’s the kind of grant you’re gunning for, though, you’ll need to know how to properly demonstrate financial need on your application. Here are a few ways to help you.
Use a Positive Tone
If you’re applying for a scholarship, that means you either have exemplary talent (for merit scholarships) or you are an academic genius (need based talent). That means you already deserve that spot. For that reason, don’t use a tone that makes you look or seem pitiful. That’s not the impression you want to create in your essay. Instead of self-pitying, you want to show the panel that your experiences have made you stronger emotionally.
Don’t Belittle Your Competition
Yes, scholarships are competitive. If you want to be the recipient of the APJ Abdul Kalam scholarship, for instance, it’s only right that you want to highlight and emphasize how much you are the right person for that grant. However, learn to do that without belittling your competition. If you diminish their suffering, that could backfire on you big time because you’ll come across as a bully and that might turn off the panel.
Think of a Specific Event
Scholarship applications include a personal statement essay. Are you good at organizing your thoughts? If this is a weakness, one tip to help you improve your concentration and organization is to center the narrative around a specific event. That will help you create a tangible experience, one that they can relate to.
Give Them Context
When you write the essay, provide specific details. Give the panel context on who you are, what your background is, what difficulties (financial and otherwise) you faced to help you shape who you are today. Who are your heroes? What makes you unique? What do you believe in? Connect the answers to financial hardship and how you overcame them. These are just some of the ways that you could demonstrate financial need.
Be Honest
Don’t try to hype up the circumstances just to create more drama. The panel will find out sooner or later if that’s true. If you’ve been lying or embellishing the details, that could get you to lose your spot on the short list or get you disqualified. Make sure you stay true to the facts. You don’t have to be dramatic with the details. Your story-telling skills can take care of that, along with your mindset or how you think of the situation. Your way of seeing things could already be unique enough that it could offer new insight to the panel.
Proofread
Don’t forget to proofread your content. Grammar mistakes can detract from the value of your copy. It’s a sign of carelessness and would be such a shame if your work turns out to be a killer essay. Make sure you spot those mistakes and fix them before you send the application. You could also ask for help from a friend, your parent, or teacher. Let them go over the piece. They might have suggestions on how you could improve the tone, direction, or details of the work even more. Their help can be invaluable in producing the kind of content that will get you the top spot on the list.
When applying for the APJ Kalam Scholarship make sure you know – What are your plans? What do you plan to do once you graduate or get to college? How will the scholarship help you? In what ways will it change your life? Draw them that picture. Make them see that scenario in their head. Talk to them about what will happen if your dream comes true.
