Comments on: How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay – Part 2: Planning the Essay

By: Trmehta60

Trmehta60 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:41:00 +0000

Hi, I am trying to help my 5th grader son to write essay to get into academy school and the theme is leadership, creativity and community service. How can he explain his involvement as he is so young.

By: Shen

Shen — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:35:00 +0000

Hey Joshua!
When I found these articles, it actually made my week. This is EXACTLY what I need!
A quick question I hope you can answer soon, I’m applying for the Chancellor scholarship at Queens, and I was wondering what style of writing I should use? How formal?
Should I say things like “to be a good leader, you must…” or rather “to be a good leader, someone must…”. I know this sounds really unimportant, but I’d really appreciate it if you could help me out!

By: How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay – Part 3: Writing the Essay | MedHopeful.com

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:15:53 +0000

[...] Part 2: Planning the Essay [...]

By: Joshua

Joshua — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:01:50 +0000

Thanks!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 02:26:21 +0000

Thanks Aris! Means a lot

By: aris

aris — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:25:55 +0000

Thanks for sharing this post! Not a lot of people who won scholarships are willing to share their secret to success like you. I admire your generosity.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:29:35 +0000

@Mahalia: I think it's absolutely fine to not know exactly what career you want. I think it might help to explain what "type" of field you are thinking of, and what types of things you like to do, and then from there, perhaps suggest a few different careers that could meet those interests. Talk about your interest in health, and say maybe that means being a doctor, maybe that means being a nurse, maybe that means being a health researcher – that's all okay, but it shows you've thought about it!

By: Mahalia

Mahalia — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:53:11 +0000

Hey Joshua!

I'm applying for the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Scholarship, which requires an essay about my career plans for the future. This is a different type of essay than I have written for other scholarships (most have been about leadership experience or volunteer work), and was wondering if you could give me any advice about it. I know I want to pursue a career in the Medical field, but do you think it's okay if I don't know exactly what career I want?

Thanks so much – your advice has been very helpful!

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 17:17:46 +0000

@Lea: I'm glad you're finding this blog so helpful

I think telling a story is a great idea – if you're going to talk about leadership qualities you possess, then you need to back that up with evidence. I think you should focus on a few leadership experiences in which you have made the most impact, and which have made the most impact on you. You can list off a few extra experiences near the end of your essay if you like, but it's probably best to focus your essay on just a few experiences and use them to detail your leadership traits. Good luck!

By: Léa

Léa — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 03:59:50 +0000

Hi Josh! First of all, I wanted to take the time to say that I absolutely love your blog and am so thankful for your great tips! I've been searching everywhere for scholarship tips but none of them seemed to strike a chord with me the way yours have!

Next, I was hoping you could give me some advice on a scholarship essay (seems to be your forté… heh). Anyway, the essay is asking to explain what leadership qualities I possess and how I inspire others. Every time I try writing it, though, I feel like I'm just spouting a very boring list! There's a 500 word limit so I'm not sure if I should try being creative with it or not since "creativity" is one of the things mentioned under the criteria. Should I try telling a story about a past leadership experience? I'm not sure how to set this up!