A personal statement for a scholarship is any narrative or story you want to tell about yourself and your career goals. It can be a short anecdote, a longer essay, or even a series of points.
The scholarship officer will read your personal statement closely, so make sure it’s solid and clear! They will probably take notes as they do so, making eye contact with you at times.
In addition to helping them determine if you are eligible, this also gives an idea of how you communicate and what you like. Both of these things are important to consider when deciding what field you would like to study.
There may be some questions about your choice of school, so make sure yours sounds convincing! While it’s not required to include all details about your life, they might ask why you have chosen this specific program over others.
A good way to avoid being questioned is by creating a detailed argument that supports your decision. This step-by-step guide will help you to write a winning personal statement for scholarships.
You can read this article for writing an effective email to professors for scholarships and Sweden government scholarship.
Read the requirements carefully
While most scholarship applications ask you to include a personal statement, some require nothing more than saying why you want the scholarship!
Some programs even pay nominal fees to write your own personal story. If this is the case with your program, then writing about yourself is totally free!
So how much weight do these statements carry? For many scholarships, it’s very little. The reviewers of your application already have a profile of you as a person that can help them determine if you are a deserving student.
For other awards, the personal statement can make or break your chances of being accepted. It may be the only piece of evidence they look at beyond the standard forms like transcripts, test scores, and essays.
In those cases, yours needs to show not just that you know who you are but also convince them that you deserve to receive their award.
Create a list of your best qualities
A personal scholarship statement should tell someone about you, what you have done in past studies, who you are as a person, and what you want to do with your education and career.
It is very common to see scholarships that ask you to write a short paragraph based on the following topic and bullet point. So let’s use those as templates! T he next part of this article will help you create a great personal scholarship statement template based on the following topic and bullet point: “What I like to do in my free time.”
Bullet point: Doing something creative
I played the guitar for nine years so I could actually pay attention while I listened to songs and learn some new ones.
Music has inspired me to create my own tunes, which I then record myself. It helps take my mind off of things and I still enjoy it now. Art has helped shape who I am today and gave me inspiration to keep learning more ways to express myself.
Whatever artistic expression you love – painting, drawing, sculpture, designing clothes, making crafts, writing stories, composing music, anything – go beyond what you have done before to experiment with it.
Create a list of your best accomplishments
One of the biggest parts of writing a personal scholarship statement is creating a strong narrative about yourself. You will want to take some time to think about what you are doing with your life, and what achievements matter most to you.
It’s not enough just to say that you studied hard and got good grades. What else did you do? Did you volunteer? If yes, then tell us how much you helped through your experience in community service.
You can also describe projects that you worked on, or lessons that you learned from others. For example, if you were trained in science, talk about how you applied what you had learned to improve upon something or make sure everything was organized properly.
If you have done things like traveling or spending money on hobbies, emphasize how these skills prepared you for college. Talk about how you invested in yourself by giving yourself more opportunities.
With all of this as the nucleus of your essay, use it to explain why you deserve scholarships. Emphasize the importance of education in your family, and how investing in yours has been an investment in yourself.
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Combine the two lists into one long list
When writing your personal statement, combine the two lists in this article into one. Make sure to focus on how you have lived your life so far, and include examples of these behaviors.
These are not talking about being married twice or having children at an older age, but instead examples of teamwork, self-motivation, responsibility, and leadership. These are all things that show someone cares about others and wants to do good.
This way, your readers will see that you understand what it means to live with conviction and why you are worthy of their time and money.
Personalize your statement
A personal scholarship statement is not like other types of academic statements, such as a college or career synopsis. This type of statement does not contain information that can be found elsewhere.
It’s your story — we mean that literally! Your personal scholarship statement should tell your own unique story about you, what makes you an important part of the community, and how you contribute to the success of others.
Your personal scholarship statement should also emphasize things such as leadership skills, teamwork, communication, and motivation. All these qualities are valuable in people who want to pursue scholarships so they can further their education.
You might mention something related to this in your statement, but don’t make it the focus otherwise it will lose its impact.
Proofread your statement
After you have written your personal scholarship application, it is time to proofread it to make sure that everything makes sense and is clearly stated. As mentioned before, most scholarships require you to include some kind of proof of your academic achievement or career goal. This can be an essay, a testimonial, or even just a letter stating how you are committed to education.
Make sure that your statements agree with each other and tell a cohesive story! If there are any major points that do not match up, then either rephrase them or look at what else the organization has asked for as proof. You want to make sure that everyone understands who you are and what you like so do not take short cuts in this area!
Also, double check your spelling and grammar- nothing looks bad if you pick just one mistake. When editing, use a good quality writing program such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs to improve upon their built-in tools.
Send it to the scholarship organization
Once you have gathered all of your applications, it is time to send them! Depending on the type of scholarship, you will need to submit these documents via email. Some may even require you to log into their website using your social media accounts or pre-existing account tools.
Make sure to check that they provide a specific timing frame for receiving submissions. Many scholarships tell recipients how long it can take to process applications, so be aware of this!
After sending off your application, wait for a response. If one isn’t received in a set amount of time, you might want to consider whether this fellowship is worth your precious money. You would also want to verify that they actually award the prize – nothing fake here!
Hopefully you will find this article helpful as you prepare to write an effective personal statement for a scholarship! Best of luck out there.
Narrow down your list of best qualities and accomplishments
When writing your personal statement, you will want to focus on why you deserve this scholarship. What are your strengths? What achievements do you have that show how talented you are?
You can’t write about yourself all the time, so look at the past instances where you showcased your talents and see what you could add to make it more persuasive as an argument in their favor.
Your personal statement should be a concise, smooth narrative that paints a picture of you as a person — not only what you like and what hobbies you have, but also how you interact with others, what values you hold dear, and anything else that may help connect you with other people (or avoid connecting you with others!).
If there’s something you’d like to improve, consider whether or not it makes sense to devote extra effort to improving it now. Sometimes, things just aren’t worth the investment if you’re trying to pursue something new.
