Writing Your Personal Statement
Writing a personal statement can be hard work. This is your chance to represent yourself to the scholarship committee. Here are a few basic rules to follow when writing your personal statement.
- Follow the Instructions in the Application. Address the issues requested.
- Be Clear and Brief. If there are no length requirements, keep your essay to one page.
- Organize Your Thoughts. Write as though you’re talking to the selection committee.
- Type Your Application, Personal Statement and Essays. Use standard font size and style, follow guidelines in application for margins, most applications will tell you what topics to address.
- Put a lot of Time into Your Statement. Have friends or college staff review your statement. Revise, Revise, Revise.
- Do Tell About Your Accomplishments. Tell the scholarship committee why they should choose you. Share your experiences and what you learned from those experiences.
Suggested Outline
- An introduction and a background statement- what is your background? What obstacles have you overcome? Talk about big changes in your life that you have handled, and the effort you have made to come back to school.
- Your career and academic goals- if you have specific career or academic goals, describe with detail. What occupation, degree or certificate, goals and timelines have you selected? What research did you do to develop this plan?
- Your personal qualities-Why are you deserving of this scholarship? Why are you a good investment? Give examples of past accomplishments. Include accomplishments such as, academic, work or volunteer projects that demonstrates, initiative, commitment and reliability; personal history demonstration courage and strength to achieve goals; service or volunteer work showing leadership and community service skills.
- Your financial need-Don’t discuss this unless the scholarship requires. Your may want to discuss what steps you’re currently taking to fund your education.
- Conclusion- Finish your statement with a conclusion. This might include how you will put this scholarship to use and what difference it will make to you.
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