With the 2019 college admissions bicycle kicking off, Allison Medlin, director of the Goodnight Scholars Program, wants to address one of the "dreaded" tasks facing applicants: writing scholarship essays.

To a busy student, writing successful essays can seem like a daunting job. They are oftentimes the deciding factor for whether a student receives a scholarship offer or moves on to the next stage of a selection process, and yes, application reviewers do read them. In fact, for many prestigious scholarship programs, essays are read past two, three, or more reviewers, often with the assist of a rubric which students won't have admission to. So how do you know what to write about? Luckily, we're hither to help with some pro tips on taking your essay writing from good to smashing.

Take Stock

Earlier you begin writing your essays, accept time to reflect on what makes yous, well, yous! What experiences have shaped who you are? What are your interests, values and goals? According to Dr. Callie Womble, founder and possessor of The Life Of A Scholar, LLC and a Gates Millennium Scholar alumna, " Self-sensation is key. Accept a personal inventory of your life and experiences. What do you lot savor? What are you most proud of? What are the most important lessons you have learned?" The more time you lot put into answering these questions and building your personal inventory at the beginning, the easier your writing procedure volition exist.

Tell an Authentic Story

The all-time way to show who you are and what you are well-nigh is through storytelling. Don't just tell the reader you desire to work with children, tell them a story about your experiences working with children in the past, and what y'all've learned. Don't just tell the reader that you lot're hard working and resilient – demonstrate it through storytelling almost your specific experiences, choices, and actions. Most chiefly, brand it authentic. Ask your friends and family if the stories y'all're telling accurately reflect the "you" that they know and love. Lack of authenticity is a ruby-red flag for application reviewers. Every bit Johanna Donovan, south enior banana director of scholarships at NC Land University , warns: " Believe information technology or not, after reading essays for over 30 years, I tin tell if an essay was written by someone other than the student."

…sharing data that is specific, personal and accurate will appoint your reader more, and will help distinguish y'all among a sea of applicants.

Save the Best for First

Application reviewers read a lot of essays, and yes, they can start to alloy together. Don't make your readers expect until the end for "the adept stuff." Past that time your awarding might already exist in the rejection pile. Dr. Womble encourages students to "catch their attention in the first paragraph." Once more, sharing data that is specific, personal and accurate will engage your reader more than, and will help distinguish you amidst a body of water of applicants.

Connect the Dots

Every scholarship program has its ain unique mission, history, and culture. In addition to considering an applicant's unique experiences and merit, application reviewers are oft considering the bidder'southward potential fit within the programme. How do an applicant's goals and values marshal with the programme's? Your essay should demonstrate an agreement of the program, and how you would specifically do good from, and contribute to, its mission. Scholarship programs similar the Goodnight Scholars Program aren't merely selecting individual students; we're building a accomplice. We're interested in what potential scholars will bring to our customs, during their college career and as alumni.

Write. Edit. Repeat.

Don't wait until the last minute to write your essays. This may seem obvious, but you will need fourth dimension to write and rewrite each essay. Dr. Womble advises students to " write multiple drafts and enlist several editors, if possible. Often students wait until the last minute to begin a scholarship essay, simply quality writing is an iterative process." Ms. Donovan stresses that students should edit to ensure that what they accept written makes sense to the reader: " Information technology may make sense to the student because they know the situation, but have an exterior party read the essay and make sure it makes sense to them." Finally, make sure each essay is gratis from grammatical errors, typos, or slang. You want your readers to be drawn to the quality and content of your essay, not a misspelled word.

Taking fourth dimension to reflect, write, edit, and repeat will ensure that your essays stand out and enhance, rather than backbite from, your scholarship applications.

Allison Medlin is manager of the Goodnight Scholars Plan at NC Country, and a doctoral student in NC Country'southward Educational Research and Policy Analysis program. Dr. Callie Womble is f ounder and owner of The Life Of A Scholar, LLC and a Gates Millennium Scholar alumna. She is a commission research specialist with the NC Section of Commerce. Johanna Donovan is the senior assistant managing director of scholarships for NC State University . She has over thirty years of experience in scholarship administration.

Photography credit: Roger Winstead/NC Country