Scholarship Essay Examples About Career Goals


With the outline in hand, your student now has a guide for writing a high-quality first draft of their scholarship essay. How they decide to approach this phase may depend on their personal style.


Here is an example below of a scholarship essay of 500 words, written for the essay prompt: “Share an event that sparked personal growth and shaped who you are today.”

For example, if the question is “what kind of research would you do with this grant,” your introductory paragraph should include a sentence that sounds something like, “With the University Summer Research Grant, I will spend three months in Washington, D. C. conducting archival research on the role of four prominent national newspapers during McCarthyism and the Red Scare.”

Scholarship Essay Sample About Why I Deserve The Scholarship

Starting off your essay with a Googled quote is a well-known, cliched tactic. Resist the urge to do this, no matter how much a philosophical quote resonates with you. Unless the scholarship essay specifically provides you with a quote and asks that you discuss it, you should avoid quoting someone else’s words at all costs.

Remember, many scholarship essays come with a word count. Every word matters. If you’re not careful, the introduction is an easy way to get caught up with additional waffle.

Once you have completed one essay, you can save it and tweak it to fit other scholarship applications. You only need to craft one solid, core essay that highlights who you are, how you got here, and what your goals are for your degree.

Just as bad is the classic “I will first discuss my motivations, then my qualifications, and finally what this scholarship would mean to me personally and professionally.” You just used 21 words and all you’ve said is “duh”.


Top Scholarship Essay Examples: Winning Essays for 2024

Many scholarships include essays you need to write in order to complete the scholarship application. Take heed to the following tips and tricks so you can learn how to write a successful scholarship essay.Â

Here are some ideas of what to include in the essay:

With your past experiences informing your current goals, where are you headed? This is an opportunity to tell your story. How will college help you achieve your next big step? Think about if you were in the position to give a student a scholarship, what kind of characteristics would you look for? Make sure to highlight any events where you went above and beyond expectations or did the right thing even though it was hard. You are in a position where you are selling your skills, so it’s important to be confident! Don’t sell yourself short. It’s okay to boast here! With that in mind, it is also important to be gracious and honest. Try to avoid the feeling of entitlement or over-confidence.

Wondering what format should I use for a scholarship essay?

If you don’t have an essay prompt, you can write a general scholarship essay that highlights your aspirations and background. In these cases, aim for 750–1000 words to provide a comprehensive view of your story.

High School Scholarship Essay Example

The scholarship application will time out after a certain period. You don’t want to lose all your hard work! Always write and save your essay in Microsoft Word first, then copy and paste it into the application box. We also highly recommend not writing the essay from your phone.

Scholarship Essay Sample About Why I Deserve the Scholarship?

Every semester, the EFSC Foundation receives hundreds of scholarship essays for review, which are graded on a points system based on specific criteria. However, many of these essays lose points due to easily avoided mistakes. We spoke with the EFSC Foundation (the people behind the scholarships) to get their top tips for avoiding mistakes and increasing your odds of being selected for a scholarship:

500 Words Scholarship Essay Examples

Before we go over the key tips to writing the best scholarship essay, let's take a moment to go over the steps you should take when writing a scholarship essay.Â