Effective Scholarship Essay Workshop Flashcards
Good __________, everyone!
As _________________ stated, my name is Ben Reitz. I’m the College Prep Zone Coordinator for the RRCC Learning Commons and Tutoring department.
One of my roles here on campus is to visit…
…various student groups and share student success strategies and workshops.
________ has asked me to come and share a newer workshop offering in that series, this one on writing an effective scholarship essay.
We are going to get into that in a moment, but first…
…I always like to preface these sessions with the comment that I prefer them to be casual and conversational - please feel free to speak up as you think of questions or things to contribute….
This workshop really includes two sections in its overall agenda…
…first, we’ll cover some basic principles for maximizing the effectiveness of your scholarship essays in a larger group discussion.
Then, we’ll break into smaller groups and go into an exercise that will allow us to put some of those principles into practice by looking at/analyzing some sample essays together.
Without further ado, let’s crack in!
Slide: Why Apply for Scholarships?
Critical for creating a successful scholarship essay (or really a successful essay of any kind) is getting into the right headspace for doing impactful writing.
I used to work as a writing center tutor for many years, and in my experience, one of the best ways to help students get into the right mentality for scholarship essay writing was to get them to contemplate their own motivations for applying for the scholarship in the first place.
So why should you apply for scholarships, even though they are competitive and though the application process requires so much of your time/attention?
[allow responses/affirm]
All excellent reasons to apply! It’s great to see that you are all already thinking about the many benefits going beyond the chance of paying less for a college education.
The list of good reasons for applying continues…
First off, your story deserves to be read, and no one can tell it better than you can!
It’s critical to recall that these are not just essays we write to check boxes in the application process…these are expressions of our lived experience, which we deserve to have an avenue for that expression…and others deserve to hear our insights gained from our lived experience as well…
And of course there is the most obvious (though no less legitimate) motive that scholarship awards will reduce our future college-related debt…
As an average, students who prioritize scholarships save about 14,000/yr at four-year universities (according to the Education Data Initiative).
Additionally, the odds of winning the scholarship award may be better than we might be tempted to think…
submitting many applications will improve your chances of winning SOMETHING (significantly so). Ultimately, about 1/8 students will win at least one scholarship (and not every college student applies), so the probability of winning if you apply is generally greater than 1 in 8.
A third possible motivation (and certainly a benefit) is that honing these skills will prepare you for future writing-based applications.
Advocating for and promoting yourself in writing will not end with the scholarship application process.
Whether it is resumes, job applications, cover letters, or applications for graduate school, the skills emphasized in this workshop will continue to pay dividends throughout your life.
Finally, it can be motivating just to realize and remember that you are not alone in this process!
Whether it’s the RRCC Writing Center, or Leah with the STEM Leadership Academy, or Ellie with COSI or any other resource, we are devoted to helping you succeed in school and to helping you do so at a reasonable cost!
So again, plenty of reasons for applying and continuing to apply exist…
…some of which relate to the benefit of winning a scholarship itself, and others of which derive from how you grow and who you work with in the process.
Slide: Getting into a Positive Mindset
So much of effective writing goes beyond inhabiting a motivating and productive mindset but also taking on a positive mindset.
Some things to help you maintain positivity even in scholarship essay writing (which some can find really daunting) would include…
Recognizing first and foremost that YOU ARE NOT AN IMPOSTER! Your skills and accomplishments are yours to own.
Who in here knows or has read about imposter syndrome? What do people mean by that phrase? [allow responses]
Right! It’s a feeling that our success and responsibilities were entrusted to us by mistake, and that if people only knew us “for real”, they would never have put their faith in our abilities and experience.
But ultimately, our success in life depends on our actions and decisions as much as on any other factor…so we are free to own those accomplishments and we don’t need to be “perfect experts” to be worthy of recognition.
Seeing that your experiences of adversity are legitimate and that stories about them have the power to inspire.
We live in a society that sometimes downplays and dismisses the lived experience of people who have suffered or been victimized.
However, it is precisely because we are not alone in our struggles that sharing about them can be relatable and inspirational. No matter what challenges you have faced, your essay’s reader’s sense of empathy will allow your story to resonate in ways you as the author can’t even begin to predict.
Keeping the stakes in perspective.
Not to be the bearer of bad news here, but in all likelihood, you will have to apply to more than one (or even more than several) scholarships before you see any award money…and that’s okay.
There will be many opportunities and the most you will have lost if you don’t win is the time spent on improving a very valuable skill - promoting yourself in writing.
From that perspective, every scholarship application is a low-stakes endeavor, at least enough to maintain a positive outlook while you write.
Trying to see the essay as an exciting opportunity to engage your audience with a compelling story…
Later, we will see examples of successful scholarship essays, and you will notice that crafting a compelling narrative from your specific life experience is a key component for success on these essays in 202_.
Not sweating the nitty-gritty details at first.
It can feel overwhelming (and quite negative) if you are trying to create a perfect essay down to the details from the first moment you start the writing process.
But in the WC, we always would remind students that it’s called the writing process for a good reason!
In the early drafting phases, it’s most important to get your ideas and your story onto the page - you can afford to focus on just that goal to start…so long as you have scheduled enough time later on for polishing and editing.
But at least in the beginning of the process…don’t sweat the small stuff! That too can help you feel less overwhelmed and inhabit that positive headspace going in…
Slide: Plan your Approach
Speaking of scheduling time and doing appropriate planning, it can pay (in this case, literally PAY) to maximize the effectiveness of a draft by planning your process in advance. Tips for doing that would include:
Mark the submission deadline on your personal calendar; and start the process long before (weeks before) the essay is due.
Don’t let the submission deadline date creep up on you!
Effective writing takes time (especially if it is not going to become overwhelming).
So give yourself the gift of time from the moment you decide to apply.
Schedule as much time for prewriting and for proofreading/editing as for creating the actual draft itself
It can be tempting to rush right into drafting, overlooking prewriting and polishing, but these phases are at least as important as the main drafting phase, and are never overlooked by effective essayists…
Commit to creating an outline; schedule time specifically for outlining
Creating a coherent essay with a logical flow of ideas is EXTREMELY hard to do WHILE drafting…
Instead of assuming that you will do that flawlessly, take some time to organize the events in your narrative and consider how you will present them and transition between them in advance.
Consider outlining with the “Foolscap” method: take a single sheet of notebook paper and fill it with all the main points of your story - repeat the process until those points are in the order that makes the most sense for presenting them - from the standpoint of engaging the reader and sharing your narrative…
This technique will ensure that you are keeping the essay concise (given the restricted size of the notebook paper) and well-organized.
Take note of word count restrictions; keep them in mind as part of your writing plan…
I say “keep them in mind” because it’s okay if your initial draft is too long/short for the word count, but ultimately, it is important to bring the final essay in line with the word count given… some application algorithms reject applications solely on this basis…
Determine if an earlier, successful essay can be adapted for this prompt to save time.
When it comes to scholarship essays, not only is it ALWAYS OKAY to steal from yourself; it’s sometimes vital for protecting your time/energy - especially if you plan to submit LOTS of applications…which we would, of course recommend.
So maybe that narrative paper from English class last year could be perfectly adapted to reflect this scholarship essay prompt. You would be wise to put it to the new use.
Slide: Choose a Powerful Story
Again, by far the most effective scholarship essays today are those centered on the applicant’s own life experience in a way that powerfully speaks to the writing prompt. But what do we mean by “powerfully” in that statement?
Well, key components of a powerful story include:
Making sure that you are comfortable sharing and INTERESTED IN the narrative…
Don’t just choose something you think the COMMITTEE will want to hear about. Consider how the story you choose is important to you and how it makes you feel.
Choose a story you feel strongly about sharing…Remember: If you are bored, the reader is too…
Make sure the story is relevant to the writing prompt, if one is given.
If the prompt asks you to describe what your ideal career path is, don’t talk about that time you learned the true value of friendship. Instead, you’d want to share the events that gave birth to your dreams/ideals, informing your vision of the perfect career.
A pretty common-sense point there, but worth remembering all the same.
Choose a story that will set you apart and highlight your own unique experiences.
Emphasis here on UNIQUE! A good rule of thumb is to assume that the scholarship committee will read hundreds of these essays at least. You want yours to stick out of the crowd.
Try to avoid common topics like teachers who inspired you once, the happiest and/or worst moments of your life, unless a prompt asks for that specifically or it’s somehow relevant to the prompt…
Pick an event in your life that helped develop your passion and life goals.
A story about that time you found 200 dollars buried in the sand at the beach may be a compelling and great narrative for a different paper, but maybe keep that one in your back pocket for creative writing class or for a social media post…
The committee wants to see how dedicated you will be to your academic and career pathway…don’t be afraid to let your passions shine through in your writing,
But don’t simply state that you have passions. Your story should illustrate your passions so that you aren’t explicitly having to state what they are.