Scholarship Essays Forum

[girlmonster]

Hello,

I'm trying to write a scholarship essay for one of the T6, but I really don't know where to begin. Are these supposed to have the same style as personal and diversity statements? Or do they generally just want a more detailed explanation of my resume? I understand different scholarships are looking for different things, but I just want an idea of tone and structure. Any and all help is appreciated of course. Examples of successful scholarship essays would be awesome.

Thank you!

[midwest17]

I'm not sure how helpful generic advice will be, but let's take NYU's RTK as an example. (Bear in mind that I'm a 0L, and this is just my best guess of what they're looking for):

Supplement your admissions personal statement with a short public service essay not to exceed 750 words. Discuss your public service commitment and goals and the factors that have most significantly influenced them, or any other aspects you consider relevant to your qualification for the scholarship(s). If your admissions statement directly addresses your public service commitment, you may choose not to submit a separate essay and instead indicate on the admissions statement that you would like it to also serve as your public service essay.

In this case, since they specifically say you can substitute your personal statement for the extra essay if it already answers the question, I think it's pretty clear that the scholarship essay is going to be similar in tone/style to a PS.

The main differences (depending on how you wrote your PS) would be that the scholarship essay should probably address multiple experiences (if you have multiple relevant experiences), whereas a PS might legitimately focus on one. Don't just restate your resume, though -- what you want to do is tell a story about why your resume/personal experiences make you appropriate for the scholarship.

I think the important general points are (1) read the question carefully, and (2) still write an essay that has a story and a point, not just a list of accomplishments and brief anecdotes.

[girlmonster]

Thank you! That actually makes it surprisingly more clear. I think I've been overthinking it (like pretty much all other aspects of the application process). I really appreciate your cogent explanation and help!