Top 5 Tips for Writing Winning Study Abroad Scholarship Essays

The Essay: A time consuming, often dreaded part of any scholarship application. However, the essay is a very crucial part of the application and a great way to stand out from the crowd of applicants and make your application shine. This is an opportunity to convey why you want to study abroad and how the scholarship will help you reach this goal. Here are a few simple tips that will help your scholarship applications essay stand above the others.

1. Be authentic.
   Why are essays a crucial part of a scholarship application? Because they are able to draw a picture of who you are as a person more so than just your transcripts, GPA, or test scores. So, show them your true self! Take the time to introduce yourself, explain who you are and how the study abroad experience will impact you academically, professionally and personally.
   
   
2. Stay on topic.
   Address the prompt and don’t get side tracked. After each paragraph, go back and make sure that the information that you wrote in that paragraph is a necessary part of sharing your story. Any extra added details will only take away from your core message. Remember, a concise essay will be more impactful than one filled with“fluff”. Stick to the prompt and make sure you answer all the questions listed.
   
   
3. Be specific.
   When writing about your accomplishments, experiences, or anything else about yourself, it’s important to illustrate a complete picture. This can achieved with the CAR method: First, provide the context of the situation. Next, describe the action you took. Finally, share the results of the situation. Follow this method and the impact of the situations you describe will be very clear to the people that read your essay.
   
   
4. Submit early.
   As a college student, you probably already know that technological problems often strike at the least convenient times. Therefore, it’s a good idea to get your essay submitted early so you can avoid any last minute inconveniences that come in between you and submitting a quality application on time. You can stay on top of your goal of submitting your essay early by setting a deadline to wrap up the writing process about two weeks prior to the actual submission deadline. Creating weekly reminders in your phone or planner will help you stay on track of your goal to submit your essay early.
   
   Also, finishing an essay early allows you the opportunity to…
   
   
5. Have someone peer edit your essay.
   Typos and grammatical errors can escape even the most polished writer. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to have another pair of eyes read your paper to pick up anything you’ve missed. In addition to scouring your essay for errors, the person proofreading your essay will also bring a fresh, new perspective to your work. They can pick out parts of your essay that seem wordy or unnecessary, suggest stronger word choices, or find a way to make your transitions flow a little bit better.
   
   

If your family or peers are too busy to read your essay, check with your university to see if they provide a service where students can have a writing consultant look over your work for free!

Now that you have the tools to write an outstanding essay, check out these study abroad scholarship opportunities!

Author: Amira Beasley