THE SCHOLARLY POST # 1 

Welcome to the first in what will be a series of six posts designed to help you understand, be prepared for, and ultimately apply for successful scholarships. In this edition, I strive to explain what scholarships are all about and bust the Scholarship Myths!

WHAT ARE SCHOLARSHIPS?

First, let's consider some key terms so everyone is on the same page when it comes to understanding funding sources for post-secondary studies. 

What are scholarships, bursaries, and awards and how are they different from each other?

SCHOLARSHIP: Is non-repayable amounts of money from a funding organization or donor. So is a bursary. The key difference is that scholarships are often merit based, meaning that you must earn the scholarship in some way - through your academics, community involvement, athletics, or diversity, etc.

BURSARY: Is non-repayable amounts of money also given by a funding organization or donor but is solely or mainly based on demonstrated financial need. While a scholarship may have a financial need component to it, it is not usually the main requirement.

The other main difference between scholarships and bursaries is that bursaries are usually in the hundreds to low thousands of dollars, and they are meant to augment other forms of funding. Scholarships, on the other hand, range from the low hundreds up to $100,000.

AWARDS: Do not necessarily come with any monetary value but rather are given as a recognition for your achievements. In the strictest sense of the word, very few awards come with money attached. Occasionally I will use the word “award” in a general sense to mean earning money. 

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Now let’s look at the two main groups of scholarships, also known as EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIPS:

1. University awarded and 
2. Those offered by all other organizations like banks, community groups, employers, etc.

Generally speaking, university scholarships are focused mainly on your grades and leadership activities. Many Canadian universities have “tiers” of entrance scholarships. These may include one or more of the following:

Automatic: these scholarships are assessed using only your grades. You do not need to complete a separation application form. The assessment is done “automatically” when you apply and supply your transcript. This assessment is typically done when you apply at the time of “Early Admission.” It’s important to note that all universities are different, and they calculate averages in different ways, so it's impossible to know how every university arrives at their scholarship decision. 

General application: some universities have an application that you can complete if you wish to be considered for other financial funding. This is usually a short application possibly requiring a small (300 to 500) word essay. This money will come from a variety of donors within the university.

Separate application: some universities will have separate applications for specific funding, such as faculty or program specific money, or a president’s or chancellor’s scholarship. Sometimes a nomination (from a teacher or administrative staff) is required for these elite scholarships. 

The second category of EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIPS are those offered by organizations other than universities like banks, credit unions, foundations, employers, community & church groups, service organizations and individual donors and even our school. These scholarships vary greatly in value and requirements. Generally speaking, external scholarships are usually focused on community involvement rather than grades. If grades are a requirement, the average is typically around 75%.

Depending on the funder, external scholarships may be national (meaning that students across Canada can apply), provincial, or at the community or school level. Your chances of winning increases as the pool of applicants becomes smaller. So, community or school level scholarships will be easier to garner money from than a Canada-wide scholarship.

There is also a third kind of scholarship - those you can win by random selection or by taking action for a cause, such as sharing a post on social media or being involved in some type of community activism project. If these opportunities arise over the course of the year, I will inform you.

 IMPORTANT TO NOTE: you should never be required to pay to apply for a scholarship. Any organization that asks for payment is A SCAM! This was evident ins past years when an organization tried to scam a few of our students. BE AWARE and if in doubt, please see me!

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BUSTING SCHOLARSHIP MYTHS 

Myth #1 - My GPA/ grades are too low to apply for a scholarship.

Not all scholarships are merit-based (based on grades or test scores). In fact, many programs reward students for their talents, athletics, creativity, or other non-academic skills. Even if your GPA is hovering around a C+ or B, plenty of scholarship programs are still open to you.

Myth #2 - My family makes too much money, so it's not worth applying for a scholarship.

Guess again! Unless you are applying for a need-based scholarship, most providers will not ask about your family’s income. And what you may think is “too much” income may actually qualify for some need-based aid at certain private universities/ colleges. Never assume you’re not eligible, until you’ve read ALL the scholarship program details. Only about ⅓ of scholarships are needs based. 

Myth #3 - I’m super athletic, so I’m likely to get a big, fat scholarship.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the odds are not in your favor. Only two percent of high school athletes actually receive an athletic scholarship. And of those who do, very few receive enough aid to cover all their expenses. Only full-ride scholarships to major US universities will provide you with enough money to cover all your expenses. Typically, Canadian athletic-based scholarships range between a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. It is still worth considering, since SOME money is better than NO money.

Myth #4 - If I win one scholarship, I won't be eligible to apply for other scholarships.

You can apply for as many scholarships as you like. There are no restrictions on the number of scholarships you can apply for. 

 Myth #5 - There is too much competition and not enough scholarship money available.

The sad reality is that many scholarships go unclaimed every year. In fact, about 59% of organizations want more applicants. Organizations are truly focused on giving out money because if they don’t, they’ve got to justify why, which sometimes leads them to review their scholarship terms, so they can make them more accessible. 

 

THE SCHOLARLY POST # 2 

Over the course of the next few weeks (and well in advance of application season) I will send out regular communications on scholarships to help you understand the “nitty gritty” of applying for them. But first let’s look at the ‘Tools and Means’ of staying organized before you apply for some of those exciting scholarships!

 Here are some important Tools and Means of staying on top of the scholarship process:

1. Create a scholarship specific email … something like candylee.scholar@gmail.com Use this email for all correspondence with all external scholarship funders. You want a professional looking email and one that helps you keep your correspondence separate from all your other emails, and thus much easier to find. Remember to check it regularly, including looking through your Trash folder on a regular basis.
    
2. Create a Google document shared folder. Use this folder to keep all your scholarship info in one place, so you and your family can access the info easily. If the folder is shared your family might have some time to help you in the process.
    
3. Use a Scholarship Tracker. Create a spreadsheet where you can record info about the scholarships you apply for. Include the name, type of scholarship (i.e., music for females), deadline date, references used for the application and any other column of information that will help you stay on track. 

 

4. Use an online calendar. It is important to note all deadline dates and have some way tracking them beyond the spreadsheet.

 

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Searching for Scholarships

THIS IS A MUST FOR EVERY STUDENT WANTING TO EARN A SCHOLARSHIP

There are three main Canadian websites a high school student can browse through and find scholarships.

They are: 

PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP SITES

http://www.scholarshipscanada.com/     

ScholarshipsCanada gives you access to about 100,000 scholarships that range from provincial to national. (They don't list the smaller community awards). Do make sure that you are applying for scholarships for students entering post-secondary from high school. Scholarships listed in this website are for students at all levels, from high school to undergraduate and graduate. 

http://studentscholarships.org

 

https://yconic.com/?redirect_from=studentawards

As a start, you should set up profiles and accounts in these three above listed websites. Set filters so that you will automatically receive information about the relevant scholarships you are interested in applying to.

 As well, you can use Google to search for scholarships. This is a time-consuming activity so be prepared to put some effort into doing this job. Here you will likely find the small community type awards.

Here is a general formula you can use for scholarship searches using Google:

For example, since you live in the Lower Mainland and you might be interested in music scholarships, you can search for these in a few different ways:

A very broad search: British Columbia + scholarship
Or if you wish to go broader with your location: Music + Canada + scholarship  

Narrowing the search: Music + British Columiba + scholarship
Narrowing the search further: Music + Vancouver/ Richmond + scholarship

Narrowing or broadening your search will depend on how many hits you get.  But do be aware of what you find and make sure you are not paying to be on any scholarship subscription list.

Starting in a few weeks, I will send out weekly emails with upcoming External Scholarships that you can apply to. The list will grow as the year goes on, with peak scholarship application time between late November to May.  

University Awarded Scholarships

University scholarship deadlines tend to be earlier than general admission deadlines. For example, UBC’s general admission deadline is January 15, but the highly prized scholarship deadline coincides with the early admission deadline of December 1. So, start reviewing the scholarship information for the post-secondary institutions you are considering, do this in the September - October timeframe. 

Each college/ university offers their own scholarships which have their own deadline schedule. Many universities offer different kinds of scholarships. That means if you are applying to one or more post-secondary institutions, you will want to keep track of each one’s specific deadline for admission, scholarships, and if required - deadlines for personal statements, supplementary information and so on. 

In some cases, university awards and external scholarships require a school nomination. One or more students can be selected by the SLSS Scholarship Committee, and the name(s) put forth to the post-secondary institution. So, I suggest looking at my webpage’s calendar which will list all upcoming scholarships. I suggest you bookmark this page https://slss.sd38.bc.ca/students/slss-career-centre-information and review this page regularly.

Scholarships awarded by post-secondary institutions can change year to year depending on the donations a funder may give, or by factors a specific faculty are required to meet (i.e., inclusion and diversity has become an important topic for many post-secondary departments now and quotas need to be met). So read the information on the post-secondary websites carefully to see if you meet the specific requirements. 

 

Where to find University Awarded Scholarships
 

1. University Website: The university’s website will provide the most accurate, up-to-date and reliable source of information. You will have to do some digging for scholarship information. Start with searches for “Scholarships,” “Student Awards,” “Entrance Awards,” “Financial Aid.” You can usually start your Google search with the “university name + scholarships” (i.e., Queen’s University scholarships), this will take you directly to the page.  Once there, you will see a variety of awards. Make sure you look at Entrance Scholarships specifically for students entering from high school. You will need time to visit the many different pages, and drop-down boxes, etc. Allow yourself plenty of time for this task … it could prove to be rewarding.

2. University Communications: Each applicant must set up an account within the university’s student system, using a portal system. Once you have set up a profile on the university’s student portal, you will be in their email system, and you will receive emails that will prompt you to continue your application process by visiting scholarship sites. Make sure to read all emails sent to you from the post-secondary institutions there may be easily accessible scholarship opportunities for you.

3. Attend Postsecondary Events: Many colleges and universities will offer information sessions during the recruitment season (October to December). Not only will there be a number of online events this fall, but SLSS will host an in-person event with some 15 post-secondary institutions visiting our school on November 19, 2024. This is a great opportunity to ask a recruiter about the different types of scholarships they offer, what kind of grades/ activities will be assessed, and what will help you present a strong application.
 

4.  Ask an Admission Officer or Financial Aid Officer: If you need help the best and most direct route is to email or call the post-secondary Admissions Office or the Financial Aid/ Awards Office. 

5.  Follow the Post-Secondary Institution on social media: Often there is useful information about admissions and scholarships posted on the college/ university’s prospective student social media channels. Some institutions will come up on scholarship search engines like ScholarshipsCanada.com. When you set up your profile you can indicate the university/ college you are interested in. 

Hopefully this Post has given you some great ideas on how to stay organized when applying for scholarships, as well as where you can start looking for external scholarships. Remember to start early, especially for the Entrance Scholarships and create your profiles on the above listed public scholarship sites; before you know it, the information will start flowing to your inbox.

Note that given the amount of work involved in scholarship applications, it’s best to view this activity as kind of a mini part-time job. One in which you set time aside on a weekly basis to complete whatever tasks you can related to the scholarship application process.

 

THE SCHOLARLY POST # 3

In this Post, I discuss the importance of References.  Who will act as your Referee for a scholarship (and for that matter on any application form)?  

ALL ABOUT REFERENCES

Most scholarship applications require at least one Reference person. This is an important part of your application, so you should be strategic when deciding who you ask. When a scholarship committee is considering two equally strong applicants, a student’s Reference person may be the sole determining factor of who wins the award.

WHO TO ASK FOR A REFERENCE?

A Referee should be someone who knows you well and can speak to your character, activities, and experiences. A Referee cannot be a family member or a friend. 

Your Referee should be someone who’s known you for a year or more, and they should have (or have had) regular contact with you in some capacity so they can comment on your role in the activity and discuss your integrity, work ethic, leadership skills, etc.

Ideally, they should be able to give specific examples of when you demonstrated the kinds of skills and qualities the scholarship committee is looking for. Generally speaking, the more specific the person can be when providing your reference, the better.

It is also preferable — and even sometimes required — that a Referee write their reference letter on letterhead from their place of work or organization.

ACADEMIC REFERENCES

 Some applications will ask for a particular kind of Reference person. For instance, if an academic reference is required, that usually means a teacher, guidance counsellor or school principal. It is best to ask someone with whom you’ve had some recent experience, like a grade 11 teacher rather than a grade 9 teacher.

It’s also wise to align your Referee with the type of scholarship you are applying for. For example, if it’s a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) scholarship, the best bet is to ask a math or science teacher. If it’s a leadership scholarship, ask a teacher or club sponsor teacher who has seen you take on leadership roles in the classroom, on a sports team, or in a club. 

 OTHER KINDS OF REFERENCES

 If the scholarship application does not specify the kind of position your Referee must hold, then you can choose anyone (except family and friends) who you feel would give you a great reference. In this case, examples of Referees could include a sports coach, direct supervisor of a paid or volunteer position, music or dance teacher, or church or spiritual leader.

HOW AND WHEN TO ASK FOR A REFERENCE

It is your responsibility to ensure that your Referee has everything they need to give you a great reference. It’s very likely that your Referee is a busy person, possibly writing more than one letter of reference, so it is VERY IMPORTANT to give your Referee as much time as possible to provide you with the best possible letter.

RULE OF THUMB: Try to ask at least 3-4 weeks in advance of the due date.

You should ask your Referee in person, by phone, or by email.  If you speak with them in person, follow up with an email so that the Referee has all the info in a written format. This also serves as a reminder for them. Make sure to follow up with your Referee three days before the due date as a gentle reminder of the upcoming deadline. 

Most people like to help and are willing to write a reference letter, but sometimes a person is unable to do so. For this reason, it is important to always have a backup Referee in case your original Referee can’t complete the letter for whatever reason. 

WHAT A REFEREE MIGHT NEED

 Here is a handy list of items that are typically required by a referee:

•  A copy of the scholarship application or an online link. Indicate where they can find the reference instructions and note the deadline date by which they’ll need to submit their letter.

• A copy of your resume/activities list.

• Any other information you feel might give the Referee info about your skills, experience, or personal qualities. 

• Ask your Referee to put the name of the scholarship in their reference letter.

• Once you have sent off your application and your Referee has completed their letter, you must make sure to follow up with a short thank you message. Let them know that you will inform them of the results — Referees love to know how you do, and they like to share in your success if things go well! 

 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION

Are you on social media? If so, ensure that your social media feed is free of any posts or pictures that could negatively affect your ability to receive a favorable reference. Some referees and scholarship committees (especially university committees) do check the social media profiles of their candidates.

 Remember that when you ask a person to be your Referee, you are asking them to vouch for you, your character, and your abilities. You are putting their reputation on the line, so be respectful of that. Do a social media audit!

 You should now have enough information to start thinking about who will act as your Referees this year, not only for scholarship applications but for your post-secondary applications as well. 

THE SCHOLARLY POST #4 

Are things starting to pile up? Are you already feeling overwhelmed by everything you need to tackle this year? First of all, remember that procrastination and inaction will only lead to more stress. If you take one BABY STEP at a time, you will get there eventually - I promise!

Let’s begin by looking at a few ways to help you feel less stressed and get you started with your scholarship applications.

The three ways you, your family or friends can help you streamline the scholarship process:

1.  Divide and Conquer.  Make a list of all of the places you can find potential scholarships and add as many as you can to your personal list. Divide the list into categories that each person will take responsibility for searching and inquiring, (e.g., work, sports teams, music groups, places of worship, banks, community clubs, etc.). Then, indicate the ones you will be responsible for (e.g., your work, your sports clubs, school) and what others on your support team will help you with. Remember that you should take on the bulk of the responsibility; the purpose of dividing the list is so that you’re not all searching in the exact same places and wasting time. You can cover more ground—and find more opportunities—if you search in different places on a regular basis.

2.  Sign up for scholarship accounts as previously mentioned.  By now, you should have set up your personal accounts for the three major public scholarship sites I spoke about in Scholarly Post #2.  If you find time is slipping away, perhaps your parents or older sibling can help you set up a free account and profile to match with scholarships according to your post-secondary studies of interest.  Make sure your working folder is cloud-based (like Google Docs or Dropbox) so it can easily be shared with your family. Having everything in one place will save time!

3.  Find a way to organize scholarship information so that you actually read it and act on it. You can collect hundreds of scholarship opportunities, but if you don’t act on them, they’re all worthless. Disorganization is one of the best ways to overwhelm you and impede your results.  So have your parents or siblings help keep you on track. Think of yourself as the driver of the car, your family is helping you keep it clean, filled with gas, and in good working order. 

Do talk with your parents about the cost of your post-secondary education. If you’re not sure about all the costs you will need to cover in college or university, I suggest finding a “cost calculator” on the post-secondary websites that will calculate tuition based on program, residence fees, meal plans, estimated book costs, etc.  For example, here’s a great cost calculator from UBC: http://you.ubc.ca/financial-planning/cost/ 

Once you have a sense of the costs, you’ll have a better idea how much scholarship money you want to go after. 

Remember scholarships present themselves as a temporary window of opportunity, but the payoff could last a lifetime, so it’s important to make them a priority. The best way to make this happen is to dedicate a few hours to scholarship applications every week, just like a scheduled class - this way, you’ll be in great shape to make your dreams of winning scholarships a reality! 

If there are no actual scholarship applications to be submitted during your devoted scholarship time, you can also use the time to search for new scholarships and keep on top of my scholarship emails to read about new and upcoming opportunities.  

THE SCHOLARLY POST #5

In this post my focus is to provide an overview of the scholarship application essay. Yes, the vast majority (like 98% of them) will ask you to write a short 250 to possibly 1500-word essay. Each scholarship will have its own set of questions and essay length. The essay is a critical component of any scholarship application process.  Funders want to get to know who applicants are, what they’re interested in, and what their goals are — here’s your chance to tell them.

 The Essay 

The essay is not the place to restate or expand on your activities. Reciting a laundry list of involvements doesn't tell readers why you did the things you did, nor what you learned from them. Deeper, more meaningful information is what you should be aiming for when writing your essays.

 Different Kinds of Essays for Different Types of Applications

Unfortunately, there is no standardized scholarship application essay. That’s because scholarships are determined by many different funders with a wide variety of different purposes. Ultimately, the funder determines everything about the scholarship, from the amount of the award to the requirements and the deadline.

Even though all scholarships are different, certain similarities can be expected. For instance, the kind of essay you’ll be asked to write is usually a reflective essay, which asks the writer to reflect on one or more experiences in their recent past, discuss why they took part in it, and reflect on what they learned from it. 

The reflective essay will be the main focus of this post because it’s the most common type of essay you will be asked to write.

Another type of essay you may encounter is the “success-based” essay, which is often included in applications for business programs and scholarships. Here, the student is asked to focus on a leadership experience; they must discuss how they set a goal and took strategic steps to achieve the goal. In this case, the funder is not as interested in what you learned from the experience, but rather in your goal-setting skills and your ability to achieve these goals. 

More rarely, you’ll have to write a creative or research-based essay to showcase your artistic or research skills.

Reading the Essay Question

First step: it might seem silly but read the question carefully. The question is chosen for a specific reason — the funder wants to know something specific about you. You’d be surprised how many students don’t answer the question or don’t answer it with enough detail. I often suggest taking a highlighter and highlighting key words in the essay prompt, then ensuring that those words appear at least once in your essay. Words like risk-taking, comfort zone, leadership, etc. will help you focus your writing and relate your answer to the prompt. 

To make sure you’re staying on track, cut and paste the question at the top of the page when you start writing your first draft. Some questions will have multiple parts, so make sure you are writing a response to each individual part of the question. 

How to Choose a Topic

For the majority of your essays, you should try to stick to one experience. Unless you are asked to discuss several things, it's always better to go deeper with one experience than superficially discuss several experiences. 

Most essays range from 250 - 500 words, so it's tough to write about more than one meaningful experience with such a small word count. If an essay has a word count over 500, you can add a second personal experience if it makes sense — however, it’s usually preferable to go deeper on one experience with extra analysis and reflection.

It’s important to select the right experience(s) to highlight in your essays. Sometimes you only have one experience that fits the question, but if you have several relevant experiences to choose from, I suggest selecting the one that has had the greatest impact on you. 

What does that mean? Well, it means an experience that has affected or changed you in some significant way. For example, an experience that taught you an important life lesson, helped you develop certain skills, or made you come away with a new attitude or perspective. 

It could also mean an experience that had an impact on your community. Maybe you started a new group or club at school that has raised awareness for a cause, or a program for marginalized or diverse groups. These types of activities have had an impact not only on you but on the community as well — this would come across very well in an essay.

In short, write about the experience that has had the most impact on your worldview or your life.

 Making the Essay Readable

Your essay must be organized and readable. It needs to be structured well, your writing needs to flow, and your information needs to make sense to the reader. You don’t want your reader to be confused and have to go back and reread parts of your essay to understand what you are trying to convey. 

After reading your essay, you want the reader to be able to put it down and think, “Wow, that was interesting/memorable,” not “Wow, I don't have a clue what they are trying to say.” 

The best way to develop good essay structure is to organize your essay into an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Typically, an essay of 500+ words will easily give you the space to structure your essay. Essays of fewer words are a bit trickier, but it’s still doable. 

 Outline for Basic Essay Structure

Opening: Introduce the topic of the essay (using one to two sentences). The trick is usually to write the opening last, and it is often the part that needs to be polished several times.

Body: 1-2 experiences using the S.T.A.R. method … see below. This usually consists of two small paragraphs.

Conclusion: Summarize the impact, and end on a positive and often forward-thinking note.

 

Order of Writing: 1. Write the body first; 2. Write the conclusion second; 3. Write the opening last. 

 The Body: The body is the main part of the essay; it should describe your experience and the impact it had on you and/or your community.

You can write your body paragraphs using the S.T.A.R. method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This will provide a clear prompt to get you writing instead of sitting and staring at a blank page. 

More specifically, the S.T. (Situation/Task) piece of the method describes the situation before you took action or the task/problem/challenge you faced before taking action. 

The A. (Action) refers to what you did, who you involved, and what skills and personal qualities were necessary or developed through your action. 

The R. (Result) is where you describe the impact of your action. How did your actions affect you and/or the community? What did you learn? Were you changed by the experience, and if so, how? 

The Conclusion: Write the conclusion after you write the body. It should be a brief restatement of the main thing(s) you learned and the impact of your experience. It should be positive, reflective, and turn an eye toward the future if applicable. For example, you might say how you will use what you learned from your experience while in university and beyond. Your conclusion should never introduce new information or bring up something that wasn’t mentioned in the body of the essay, as this will confuse the reader and detract from your main point. 

 The Opening: Since this is a very important part of your essay, it should be written last. 

The purpose of the opening is to pique the reader’s interest so that they will want to continue reading. It should set the tone of the essay and give the reader a very clear idea of what the essay will be about. 

I feel the introduction should be written last because students often change their minds halfway through the body of the essay, creating a disconnect between the opening and the body. By having finished your body and conclusion first, you make it easier to then bring that material to life in the opening. Hopefully this concise overview gives you some ideas of what is expected when writing a good, solid scholarship essay. 

In my next and last post, I will use this skeleton draft to help you further elaborate on essay writing …

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THE SCHOLARLY POST # 6 -  LAST ONE!

ESSAY WRITING IN-DEPTH

THE OPENING

As mentioned last week, the opening is a very important component of your scholarship essay. In fact, it’s so important that it should be written last.

The objective of the opening is to grab the reader’s interest and make them want to continue reading. This is where you need to set the tone and give the reader some idea of what the essay will be about. Writing this section last will not only save you time, but it will also make it easier to write a strong opening — once you have written the body and conclusion, you know exactly what you want to say and how best to introduce the rest of your essay in an opening paragraph.

GIVING THE ESSAY MEANING

While a well-thought-out essay is critical to the foundation of the writing process, the next important aspect is bringing your writing to life. This means giving it pizazz and letting your personality shine through, so the reader goes, “Wow!”

 It doesn’t mean you need to write flowery, rambling prose or use big words; rather, it means simple, clear diction with straightforward words and concise sentences. The pizazz should come from the description of your actual experiences.

 Remember, the purpose of the essay is to get to know you. The best way to achieve this goal is by using the P.I.M. method:

 Make It Personal | Make It Interesting | Make It Memorable 

Using the P.I.M. method will help you make your essay unique because no one else will have the same motivation, experience, and story to tell as you do.

 Now, let’s learn how you can meet each one of these objectives.

• Make It Personal: Communicate your values and motivation. 

One of the best ways to make your essay personal is to tell the reader what’s important to you.

You don’t need some earth-shattering passion; you just need to tell the reader why you do the things you do (your motivation) and why you are engaged in the activity you are writing about. 

Getting to this point may require some self-reflection and a deep dive into your beliefs and motivations — whatever it takes to discover or unpack your foundational values.  These are the things we believe in so strongly that on some level they motivate us and help guide our behaviour. An important part of our general well-being is ensuring that our behaviours are aligned with our values.

For instance, if one of your core values is honesty, and circumstances required you to say something that wasn’t true, you would feel extremely conflicted about it. Telling a lie goes against your values, and contradicting these values would cause you to feel guilt, discomfort, or even anxiety.  On the flip side, if protecting the environment is one of your values, it would make you feel very good to organize an event to raise awareness about the climate crisis. 

By knowing your values, you demonstrate self-awareness and some level of maturity. When you actually name your value in your essay (the motivation for the action you took), it shows that you understand who you are and the reasons why you do the things you do.

Some examples of naming your value/motivation in your essay:

• Staying active in community sports has always been important to my family. So, when the local U15 soccer team needed a coach, I volunteered for the position. Now, I get to pass on my love of sports to other younger players.

 

• My parents came to Canada knowing very little English, and I saw how they struggled to communicate with others every day. I volunteer as an English tutor because I want to help new Canadians enjoy a smoother transition to life in Canada and not have to endure the same challenges as my parents. 

 

• I strongly believe that challenging myself to do new things is the best way to grow. While reflecting on my strengths and weaknesses, I noticed that while I’m perfectly comfortable taking on academic challenges, I do not take similar steps to address my athletic shortcomings. In response, I decided to join the school swim club to make an important change in my life.

 As you can see, it often only takes one or two sentences to communicate your values and motivations, and it’s a highly effective way to help the reader better understand who you are.

 Make It Interesting: It’s got to start with a BANG!

A boring opener is unlikely to impress an impartial reader. A strong essay piques the reader's interest right away, making them eager to read more. The opening should encapsulate what you’ve said in your body paragraphs and set the tone for what the reader will learn about you in your essay.

 Examples of Openers:

• For me, the basketball court was a place to get exercise and hang out with my friends. I never imagined it would be where I would learn some of life's most valuable lessons and face some of my toughest challenges.  

 

• Overcoming an eating disorder has been the greatest challenge in my life. It’s also the greatest gift life has given me.

 

• I believe that everyone has a right to clean water. When I learned that thousands of people in Northern BC lack access to cleaning drinking water, I decided to educate those in my community and find ways to help make a positive change. 

You will notice that these openers do not re-state the essay question, and they don’t just list or announce what the essay will be about. But they do give us an idea of what’s to come in the body and conclusion of the essay; even though we haven’t read the full essay, we have a pretty good idea of what the essay will be about.

 Here are some ideas for a strong opening:

 -Tell the reader your greatest fear, lesson or challenge.

-Tell the reader what you believe in, a value, or something that’s important to you.

-Use a quote that encapsulates your experience.

-Use a short, powerful sentence.

 Make It Memorable: Tell a short story.

 Adding a short story or anecdote to the essay will make it unique and memorable. Our brains are wired for narratives; it's a known fact that people tend to recall stories more often than they do facts. According to Paul Zak, Director of the Centre for Neuroeconomics Studies at Harvard, “When you want to motivate, persuade, or be remembered, start with a story of human struggle and eventual triumph. It captures people’s hearts — by attracting their brains.”

A small story should be brief (especially for an essay of 500 words or less), personal, and specific. If you’re writing 500 words or less, the story should be three or four sentences in length. You don’t need a lot of information for this technique to be effective; you just want to plant the idea in your reader’s mind.

One way to do this is by taking the reader into your thought process at a critical point in the experience.

 Example: I knew it was risky to intervene, but then I remembered how I felt when I was in the same situation — scared, alone, and helpless. I knew I would have wanted someone to help me, so I spoke up. “Hey,” I said. “That’s not okay. He said he doesn't want to get involved, so best to leave him alone.”

Another way to add a small story is to simply provide a detailed description of something or someone that’s important to your essay. This helps set the scene and make readers feel like they’re right there with you. 

 Example: The team has kids with different kinds of disabilities. My buddy Alex is eight years old, but he’s small for his age. He’s non-verbal and uses a wheelchair. Alex loves to play baseball. His face lights up when he sees me. His mom told me he gets so excited on game day that he can’t even eat his breakfast. When I push him around the bases in his chair, he laughs and waves his arms in the air. It makes me feel great to see him having so much fun. 

Another tip is to describe an emotional situation. Don't just talk about what happened; put the reader in the moment and tell them how you felt. 

 Example: I was giving the customer some options when she began screaming at me in front of everyone else in the store. I just stood there, stunned. My face felt hot (I’m pretty sure it was beet red). I was so embarrassed that I started tearing up and couldn’t speak. All I wanted to do was cry, so instead, I took a deep breath and got control of myself. 

Using small story techniques will help your essay become more memorable and more you, ensuring that you stand out.  Always remember to use your authentic voice, walking the line between formal and casual language to appear professional but still genuine.

EDITING THE ESSAY

Proper editing is critical for producing a great essay!

Scholarship committees will evaluate you on your writing ability, but this doesn’t mean you need to be an excellent writer; it just means your essay should be free of grammatical errors. Submitting error-free work shows that you have taken your time, and you care about the end product. 

​As you review your essay, make sure you answer the question you are being asked. You would be surprised by how many essays I have read that do not answer the question(s) the student was asked to respond to. 

Here’s a technique I always suggest to students so that they are sure they’ve answered the question(s) in the essay: read the essay question, and then highlight the answer in your essay. If you cannot find the answer in your writing, there is a pretty good chance you didn’t answer it clearly enough. If it’s a multi-part question, make sure you’ve answered each part individually. I also suggest using some of the same wording in the question to help direct you to your answer.

Oftentimes, it’s more difficult to write a short essay than a longer one. If you’ve exceeded the word count, go back and check each sentence in the document. You should only include information that is vital to your theme or message; remove any information that’s not critical to your main point. You might also be able to paraphrase — combine several sentences into one sentence and retain the same meaning, even if it includes fewer details.  

Once you have created a solid copy of your draft, give it to someone else to read. This should be someone with a good command of the English language, like a teacher, older student, or sibling. Your proofreader should never rewrite the document for you so that it no longer reflects what you are trying to say. Rather, their job is to point out any gaps or mistakes so that you can improve upon your essay. Then, once the editor is done, you can make your corrections and rewrite as necessary.

You should repeat this process a couple of times to ensure you have a perfect final draft. While you edit, don’t forget to keep an eye on the word or character count; going over the limit will risk disqualifying your essay entirely.

This concludes my Scholarly Post series; you should now have enough information and the tools to start crafting strong scholarship applications that catch the attention of key decision-makers. Remember, the most important thing is to let your personality shine through — be yourself, and happy writing! 

Best of luck with winning a scholarship!