Scholarship Search Secrets
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Scholarship Portfolio
We'll get to the construction of your scholarship portfolio in a couple of pages, but it's important to know what one is and why to build one. Each scholarship application asks for information about you. Questionnaires, essays, quizzes, and forms all want generally the same information about you.
Rather than re-invent the wheel each time, develop a portfolio of materials that you can draw on, time and time again. Have a standard biographical profile of yourself, plus answers to common questions in typical lengths for essay-style questions of 250 words, 500 words, 750 words, and 1,000 words.
Some typical scholarship questions, such as those asked on the Common Application, may ask you to write about topics such as these:
- Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
- Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
- Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
- Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
- A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience or experiences that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
As you write essays for scholarships, you'll find that some essays perform better than others. Remember to customize answers for each application. Ask judging committees for feedback on your essays and fine tune your answers over time so that the essay which was rejected out of hand for award #1 is a first place winner by the time you get to award #6. Have friends and family review your portfolio and offer insight and advice. If you don't know anyone who is a strong writer, check with your school or English teacher. Which brings us to the next point...
