How To Write Application For Scholarships
Table Of Contents
Getting admission into the school of your dreams is always an exciting moment. Especially after all the hard work you put in, both during school and in the admission exams.
What is not exciting is the tuition fee for higher education, with some courses or schools charging more than the average tuition fee. A lot of dreams of studying for a higher degree would have been cut short without scholarships.
However, most scholarships require an application letter from applicants. In this article, I would show you how to write a captivating scholarship application letter.
1. Pay attention to the scholarship eligibility requirements
Before you bring out your pen to write a scholarship application letter ensure you qualify for the scholarship. Every scholarship has requirements that could come in form of age, academic grade, nationality or locality, or even special attributes. You must meet all the set scholarship requirements to win the scholarship.
2. Start with the contact information
After confirming that you match the eligibility requirements you can start writing the scholarship letter. The first thing to write in the letter is your full contact address followed by the date then the organization’s address.
If you know the name of the person or department handling the scholarships you can include their name and title alongside the address. A scholarship application letter is a formal letter so all the rules of formal letter writing apply here.
3. Write out the scholarship heading
For example ‘Subject: Application letter or Turkish MBA Scholarship’ or ‘RE: Application letter or Turkish MBA Scholarship’. if you are sending it as an email put your full name then the scholarship heading as the subject of your email.
The point of the heading is to tell the reader which scholarship you are applying for. An organization can have multiple scholarships so it is important to confirm the name of the scholarship you are applying for.
4. Write out the greetings
If you do know the name of the individual handling scholarship applications you can write ‘Dear Name’ or Dear Sir/Madam’ if you do not know their name. The greeting should be below the scholarship heading.
5. Writing the first paragraph
This first paragraph is the first impression you make on whoever is reading your letter. The first paragraph should contain the degree you are studying for and the scholarship you are applying for. This paragraph does not need to be too long, the more straightforward, the better. You should sound more excited about the degree you want to study and less about the scholarship.
6. Writing the second paragraph
In this paragraph talk about your educational and career goals. Talk about what inspired you to choose that particular field of study. It could be a family member that inspired you, it could be an event that changed the course of your life. This paragraph is simply you showing your passion for the degree you have chosen to study.
Organizations want to give scholarships to those who they believe would value it and not squander it. They want to give scholarships to those that are convinced of their career path and goals.
7. The third paragraph
This is where you talk about your strengths. For example, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, volunteer work in the field you want to pursue a career in, and many more. Ensure you talk about your strengths here and not leave anything out. Did you graduate with the highest GPA in your class? Talk about it here.
8. The fourth paragraph
In this paragraph, you need to talk about why you need the scholarship. Do not act desperate but be professional and explain how winning the scholarship would assist you in terms of pursuing your education. It might be that you need the scholarship for housing on the school campus or for books. Overall ensure you are clear on what you need the scholarship for and why it is important to you that you win the scholarship.
9. Ending the application letter.
You can choose to end the letter with a closing remark saying you hope to hear from them soon or not. It is totally up to you. End your letter with ‘Yours sincerely’ or ‘Best Regards’ followed by your name and surname in the next line.
Kindly visit here to read more on how to end a scholarship application letter
Things you should consider before submitting your scholarship application
The application start dates and deadline
It is important to know these dates to keep yourself on track so you do not miss out on the scholarships.
Is your letter free of grammatical and punctuation errors?
Use words checker tools or ask someone to read through for you.
Was there a guide, checklist, or note given by the organization stating the things they wanted to be in the application letter?
If there was have you covered the necessary topics? Not including topics specified by the organization can reduce your chances of being granted the scholarship.
Were there other items that the organization requested to be submitted alongside the scholarship application?
Failure to submit required documents alongside your application letter can result in your application being discarded.
The mode of submission
How does the organization want the application submitted? Via email, via post, or via an application form online. This is important to know as every organization has its way of doing things.
If the application letter is to be sent via email you can skip the contact information and go straight to the body. Remember to add your name to the subject of the email unless the organization has information out there that says otherwise. Also, ensure you use a professional email address if the application is to be sent via email or if you are to submit your email in an application form. [email protected] is not the kind of email you use for scholarship applications, it makes you look unserious.
See here to read more on how to apply for scholarships in 2021
Do you needs help in writing a good application letter for your dream scholarship? Here is good guide for you. Click on the link to see some amazing scholarship application letter templates
Conclusion
Your scholarship letter should show the organization, your strengths as a student and an individual, and how winning the scholarship will help you further your ambitions. Through your letter, the organizers of the scholarships should be able to see why you deserve the scholarship the most.
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