Scholarship Essay: Format, Examples and Don'ts

Summary

In this video, Jon Pearson, founder of the Scholarship System, emphasizes the critical role of scholarship essays in distinguishing applicants. He outlines key 'don'ts' to avoid, such as excessive emotion, disregarding essay requirements, clichéd topics, filler words, and neglecting proofreading. Pearson suggests focusing on personal growth and perseverance, adhering to guidelines, and seeking professional feedback to craft a compelling and unique essay that can enhance a student's chances of securing financial aid for college.

Takeaways

• 📚 Scholarship essays are crucial for standing out among applicants who meet the criteria.
• 🎓 It's important to ensure essays are strong, well-written, and avoid common mistakes to increase chances of winning.
• 📈 Jon Pearson, founder of the Scholarship System, emphasizes the importance of essays in securing scholarships.
• 📝 The essay provides an opportunity for the scholarship committee to gain deeper insight into the student's life and experiences.
• ✍️ Structuring an essay effectively with a dynamic introduction, detailed body, and memorable conclusion is key.
• 🚫 Avoid getting too emotional; focus on perseverance and determination rather than victimization.
• 📋 Adhere strictly to the essay requirements, including word count, topic, and deadlines.
• 💡 Think outside the box and avoid clichés; strive for unique and compelling narratives.
• 🗣️ Avoid using filler words that do not contribute to the essay's content or message.
• 👀 Ensure the essay is proofread by someone with experience in creative writing to enhance its quality.
• 🔄 With careful crafting, a well-written essay can be reused with minor tweaks for multiple scholarship applications.

Q & A

What is the significance of a scholarship essay in the application process?

A scholarship essay is crucial as it allows the scholarship committee to gain deeper insight into the applicant's life, experiences, character, and future aspirations, which can set them apart from other applicants who meet the basic criteria.

Why is it important for a scholarship essay to be strong and well-written?

A strong and well-written essay can make a student stand out among other applicants who also meet the scholarship criteria. It's an opportunity to showcase their personality, experiences, and goals in a compelling and memorable way.

What are some common mistakes that students make when writing scholarship essays?

Common mistakes include getting too emotional, disregarding the essay requirements, using cliché words, using filler words, and neglecting to have the essay proofread by someone with experience in creative writing.

How can a student's essay demonstrate their worthiness for a scholarship investment?

By providing a personal narrative that illustrates perseverance, determination, and growth from challenges, a student can demonstrate their potential and worthiness for the scholarship investment.

What is the correlation between a scholarship essay and a written paper in school?

Both require a structured format with an attention-grabbing introduction, a body with key points and supporting evidence, and a conclusion that leaves a lasting impression.

Why is it advised not to let the essay become too emotional or sappy?

While personal stories are important, the essay should focus on how the student learned and grew from their experiences rather than dwelling on the emotional aspects, to maintain a tone of resilience and determination.

What are the consequences of disregarding the essay requirements or rules?

Disregarding the requirements can lead to disqualification, as the essay may not be considered if it does not meet the word count, answer the prompt, or is submitted after the deadline.

How can a student avoid using cliché words in their scholarship essay?

By thinking outside the box and choosing unique words or phrases that are less commonly used, and by digging deeper into their personal experiences to create a more distinctive narrative.

Why should students avoid using filler words in their essays?

Filler words can detract from the essay's impact, waste valuable word count, and reduce the space available for more meaningful content and storytelling.

What is the importance of having someone else proofread the scholarship essay?

Having an experienced proofreader can help enhance the essay's creativity, clarity, and overall quality, ensuring that it is free from grammatical errors and effectively communicates the student's story.

How can students find scholarships that require essays?

Students can utilize resources like the free scholarship training provided by the Scholarship System, which offers steps on how to build a legitimate scholarship list.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Importance of Scholarship Essays and Avoiding Common Mistakes

This paragraph emphasizes the critical role of scholarship application essays in the selection process. It highlights that even if a student meets all the criteria, standing out through their essay is crucial. The founder of the Scholarship System, Jon Pearson, introduces himself and his organization's focus on assisting families in securing scholarships. He shares insights into common mistakes to avoid when writing a scholarship essay, such as not being overly emotional, disregarding requirements, and missing deadlines. The paragraph also mentions the importance of the essay in providing the scholarship committee with a deeper understanding of the student's life, experiences, and potential. It encourages viewers to subscribe for weekly strategies on paying for college and to check out a linked video on structuring a winning scholarship essay.

05:02

🚫 Scholarship Essay 'Don'ts': Avoiding Clichés and Improving Quality

The second paragraph delves into specific 'don'ts' for writing scholarship essays. It advises against using clichéd words like 'perseverance' and 'hardworking,' which can make essays blend together and lack uniqueness. The paragraph stresses the importance of originality and depth in essay topics and stories. It also warns against using filler words that do not contribute to the essay's quality and can waste valuable word count. The speaker suggests that transitional words should be used sparingly as they can also consume word count without adding substantial value. Lastly, the paragraph underscores the necessity of having an experienced individual, preferably with a background in creative writing, to proofread the essay. It mentions that the Scholarship System offers one-on-one essay reviews for its course members and encourages viewers to engage with the content by commenting on additional 'don'ts' they might have encountered. The paragraph concludes by reminding viewers of the available resources, including a blog with scholarship essay examples that have won awards, and encourages subscribing for more content.

Keywords

💡scholarship application essays

Scholarship application essays are crucial documents that students submit as part of their scholarship applications. They carry significant weight in the selection process, as they allow the scholarship committee to gain insight into the student's experiences, character, and aspirations beyond mere academic achievements. In the script, Jon Pearson emphasizes the importance of these essays, noting that even if a student meets all the criteria, a well-written essay can set them apart from other applicants.

💡stand out

To 'stand out' in the context of the video refers to the need for students to differentiate themselves from other applicants through their scholarship essays. The video suggests that while many students may meet the basic requirements, it is the essay that can provide a unique perspective on the student's life and experiences, thus making them more memorable to the scholarship committee.

💡essay structure

The 'essay structure' mentioned in the video refers to the conventional format of an essay, which includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should be dynamic and attention-grabbing, the body should elaborate on key points with supporting evidence or stories, and the conclusion should leave a lasting impression. This structure is essential for crafting a compelling scholarship essay.

💡perserverance and determination

In the video, 'perseverance and determination' are highlighted as key themes that students should focus on when writing their essays. Instead of making the essay overly emotional or victimized, the script advises students to concentrate on how they have overcome challenges, showing growth and learning from their experiences. This approach is meant to demonstrate the student's resilience.

💡disregard the requirements

To 'disregard the requirements' in the context of the video means not following the specific instructions or rules set by the scholarship provider. The script warns against this, as it can lead to disqualification. For instance, not meeting word count requirements or missing essay prompts can result in an essay being disregarded, regardless of its quality.

💡deadline

The 'deadline' is a critical aspect of any scholarship application. In the video, it is stressed that missing the deadline is a sure way for an application to be rejected. Scholarship committees expect applicants to be punctual, and late submissions are usually not considered, regardless of the quality of the essay.

💡think outside the box

Encouraging students to 'think outside the box' in the video suggests that they should avoid cliches and common themes that are overused in scholarship essays. The script mentions that many students write about perseverance or resilience, which can make their essays blend in. Instead, students are advised to find unique angles or personal stories that will help them stand out.

💡filler words

'Filler words' are unnecessary words that do not add meaning to the essay but are sometimes used to reach a required word count. The video advises against using such words, as they detract from the essay's impact and can make it seem less focused and persuasive.

💡proofread

To 'proofread' an essay means to review it for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The video emphasizes the importance of having someone else, preferably someone with experience in creative writing, proofread the essay. This step is crucial for ensuring the essay is polished and professional, which can significantly impact the scholarship committee's perception of the applicant.

💡legitimate scholarship list

A 'legitimate scholarship list' refers to a curated collection of scholarships that are genuine and reputable. The video mentions that most legitimate scholarships will require an essay. The script advises students to build a list of such scholarships to increase their chances of finding opportunities that align with their needs and capabilities.

💡scholarship system

The 'scholarship system' mentioned in the video is an organization founded by Jon Pearson that focuses on helping families secure scholarships for college. The system provides strategies, training, and resources, including essay reviews, to assist students in crafting compelling scholarship essays and navigating the application process.

Highlights

Scholarship application essays are crucial in distinguishing applicants who meet all criteria.

The essay should be strong, well-written, and avoid common mistakes to stand out.

Jon Pearson, founder of the Scholarship System, shares insights on essay writing for scholarships.

Essays offer a chance for scholarship committees to gain deeper insight into the student's life and experiences.

Structure of an essay includes a dynamic introduction, a body with key points, and a memorable conclusion.

Students should avoid getting too emotional and focus on perseverance and determination.

Disregarding essay requirements such as word count and deadlines can lead to disqualification.

Essays should be unique and avoid cliché words like 'perseverance' or 'hardworking'.

Using filler words or unnecessary transitional phrases can detract from the essay's impact.

Proofreading by someone with creative writing experience is essential for a strong scholarship essay.

The Scholarship System provides resources and training to help build a legitimate scholarship list.

Essays should be well-crafted, creative, and captivating to secure scholarships.

The Scholarship System offers one-on-one reviews for essay crafting.

Essays can often be reused with minor tweaks for different scholarship applications.

Legitimate scholarships often require essays, so it's important to write them well.

The Scholarship System course teaches frameworks for writing essays quickly and creatively.

Avoiding common 'don'ts' in essay writing can significantly improve a student's chances of winning scholarships.

Transcripts

scholarship application essays carry a

ton of weight when it comes to choosing

a winner even if your student meets all

the criteria perfectly there will be

other applicants that can do the same

and so how do we stand out your student

will stand out with their essay and so

that is why it is so important to make

sure that it is strong and well written

but also we want to make sure that it

does not do certain things so in this

video I want to share some of the

biggest don'ts when it comes to writing

a scholarship essay now make sure you

hit subscribe because every single week

we release a new strategy when it comes

to paying for college hey there my name

is Jon Pearson founder of the

scholarship system so scholarship essays

is what we do we focus on how to help

families secure scholarships to help pay

for college and in fact our families

have secured well over 10 a. half

million to date in fact the most recent

month they got over

$155,000 only in a of 30 days so we've

seen quite a few essays and we've seen

quite a few mistakes and so that's why

we want to help you and your student

avoid

those so the essay provides scholarship

committee is the opportunity to learn

more about your students life a deeper

insight into what they've experienced

who they are and where they're going

whether or not they're worth the invest

investment this is again also where your

student can really shine now I have a

whole video on how to structure an essay

called how to write a winning

scholarship essay we'll link to that in

the description or somewhere here on the

screen so check that out after this

video but just a very quick summary when

we're talking about writing an essay

there is somewhat of a correlation

between and a scholarship essay and a a

written paper that say they do at school

where we have the introduction we want

to be dynamic attention grabbing we have

a body where we can really draft out and

and sketch out a few key points and have

proof or some kind of story that shows

our our argument and then we have a

conclusion where that's our final

opportunity to really make a lasting

impression on the reader and on the

scholarship committee and make it

memorable now before I get into the

don'ts if your student is not finding

SCH ships that require essays or if

you're just wondering where to find more

scholarships that require essays then

make sure you check out our free

scholarship training you'll find it

again Linked In the description or

somewhere here on the screen I will give

you the exact steps on how to build a

legitimate scholarship list because if

it's legitimate nine times out of 10 it

will require an essay okay let's get

into the don'ts one is don't let your

student get too emotional we do want the

essay to be personal but that's

different than making it too sappy or

kind of victimized instead we want to

focus on perseverance and determination

as we overcome the challenges so while

we can get sappy and sad for a little

bit we want to focus on more how we

learned and Grew From that experience

number two is don't disregard the

requirements or the the the rules you

would be amazed at how many times we

have read essays in fact through the

scholarship system we give out thousands

of dollars every single school year and

they are required to write essays to win

our scholarship so we've seen I think

just this last year over 700 essays so

that said we've seen a lot of this where

there are certain word counters and the

students don't meet them or maybe we ask

a question and the student just totally

misses it they don't answer it you can

tell usually that happens when they're

reusing an essay and forcing it to fit

or maybe we ask for one example of

something and the student just goes on

and on with a million examples so paying

attention to that topic paying attention

to that word count and then most

importantly paying attention to that

deadline so missing the deadline is a

sure way for a student to have their

application thrown out and I would hate

for them to focus on and and spend so

much time writing an amazing scholarship

essay just for it not to even be

considered because they simp missed the

deadline you've got to remember that

there are going to be tons of other

students that applied that did meet the

deadline so the the the incentive to let

a student submit late is is not really

there unless they haven't received any

applications now the third one is to

think outside the box so we had and if

your student wrote about this it's okay

because again we've seen this over and

over but one of the examples this past

year was that our team read so many

essays about perseverance or resilience

those two words by the end of the week

when we were done reviewing a lot of the

stories just kind of blurred together

because we saw that that keyword so many

times I think Co really blew that

keyword up and it just it and and for a

student to know that everyone else is

writing about it there's the only way to

know that is if you're following someone

like us at the scholarship system and

we're telling you guys this this Insight

uh but but that said we want to avoid

cliche words or hardworking is another

one so these are ones that we see over

and over we really want to try to pick

something that's more unique try to dig

a little bit deeper try to have stories

that go with it because again we want to

stand out and if we're choosing a key

word to describe ourselves that everyone

else chooses then pretty much our our

essay there's no way we're going to be

able to stand out unless we really have

a unique story around it next one is to

not use filler words or words that just

are deemed

unnecessary it it really takes away from

the essay I know students like to use

them to get to their word counts I think

there's funny memes out there about um

when I'm writing an essay paper and it

says he starved but then the the essay

paper is without food he withered to

hunger right it it was like a 10-word

version of saying something that could

have been said in two words by doing by

creating that fluff we are wasting word

counts okay and uh just taking away from

the opportunities to tell more story to

to better describe it to use more

examples Etc some examples could be

clearly obviously somewhat perhaps I

believe I think these are are words that

really if you removed those from the

essay the essay would still continue on

just fine another one that that falls

into this or another category could be

uh transitional words things like in

conclusion first the next point is if we

really need to create a transition we

can but I would be careful with these as

well as we could they can also be a big

waste of a of word count now the last

one that we really really need to

remember is to make sure that we don't

neglect having someone else proofread

the essay so don't skip that step of

having someone review the essay and

while parents if you are if you feel

qualified then that's great but really

we want someone that has experience in

creative writing maybe it's a teacher a

professor or if you're a creative writer

as a parent that's great but as someone

who just understands basic grammar

Corrections and structure that's really

not enough when it comes to scholarship

essays we really need them to be

creative and captivating memorable so

this is something actually through the

scholarship system for our course

members in the scholarship system on

online program where we actually have

one-on-one reviews that families can

take advantage of because again we focus

on the crafting of the essay not

necessarily capitalize this dot your dot

your eyes cross your te's kind of thing

it's much much more than that now did I

mention any don'ts that you can think of

if so comment below what do you think

are some essay don'ts that come to mind

I would love to see what your family has

found to not be help or to sabotage your

students chances of winning comment

below with those now we'll also we are

linking to an amazing resource in the

from our blog in the description and it

is scholarship essay examples that won

money so if you want to check out actual

essays that have done well you can check

out that resource again all of the the

free resources I mentioned are linked in

the description including that free

training where you can learn exactly how

to build a legitimate scholarship list

with your student so that said essay

writing it's time consuming but if we

put the time up front to write a

well-written compelling strong essay

then we can often reuse it with just

minor tweaks so really the amount of

time and effort we put up front we

benefit from it every application

thereafter usually if not the same essay

prompt we usually can at least pull the

same stories but we want to remember

that if a scholarship is legitimate most

likely they will require a Ansa so we

want to make sure that we're not doing

these don'ts that I covered now in the

scholarship system course we do cover

exactly how to write essays we have two

different main Frameworks that teach

students how to write quickly but then

also how to write creatively we also

share we have a specific lesson on how

to reuse essays what tweaks to watch for

and how to make sure that we don't get

caught kind of thing um so that's all

inside the the scholarship system course

so you can learn more about that at the

free training also don't forget to hit

subscribe I'll see you in the next video