How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay: 30 Essays That Won Over $3 Million in Scholarships, Third Edition

256 Pages·2009·1.91 MB·english

by  Gen Tanabe

How To wRITe
a wInnIng
scHolaRsHIp
essay
IncludIng 30 essays THaT won
oveR $3 mIllIon In scHolaRsHIps
You can win or lose a scholarship with your essay.
Learn how to write an essay that wins.
Step-by-step instructions on how to craft a winning
scholarship essay and ace the interview.
Get valuable advice from actual scholarship judges
and winners.
This book is a ‘must have’ for high school and college
students who want to learn how to win scholarships.
Gen and Kelly Tanabe
Harvard graduates and award-winning authors of
Get Into Any College ■ Get Free Cash for College
1001 Ways to Pay for College
Special contributions by Gregory James Yee
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield
Critical Acclaim for
“How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay”
By Gen and Kelly Tanabe
“This how-to book is full of good advice for college-bound students.
Thirty essays with brief introductory notes give teens concrete ex-
amples of what works. Twelve essays that ‘bombed’ are also analyzed,
pointing out pitfalls to avoid. Examples of interview questions and
answers are also included. An excellent guide for all students who are
hoping to continue their education.”
—School Library Journal
“A wealth of tips, tricks, techniques, advice and useful strategies…ab-
solute ‘must-read’ for anyone interested in competing for scholarship
funds.”
—Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review
“Sound advice for the college bound and useful for counselors as well
as for libraries.”
—Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT
Praise for Other Books by Gen and Kelly Tanabe
Authors of Get into Any College, Get Free Cash for College and
Accepted! 50 Successful College Admission Essays
“Upbeat, well-organized and engaging, this comprehensive tool is an
exceptional investment for the college-bound.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Upbeat tone and clear, practical advice.”
—Book News
“What’s even better than all the top-notch tips is that the book is writ-
ten in a cool, conversational way.”
—College Bound Magazine
“Invaluable information ranging from the elimination of admission
myths to successfully tapping into scholarship funds.”
—Leonard Banks, The Journal Press
“A present for anxious parents.”
—Mary Kaye Ritz, The Honolulu Advertiser
“When you consider the costs of a four-year college or university
education nowadays, think about forking out (the price) for this little
gem written and produced by two who know.”
—Don Denevi, Palo Alto Daily News
“The Tanabes literally wrote the book on the topic.”
—Bull & Bear Financial Report
“Filled with student-tested strategies.”
—Pam Costa, Santa Clara Vision
“The first book to feature the strategies and stories of real students.”
—New Jersey Spectator Leader
iv How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay
How to write a winning scholarship essay
By Gen and Kelly Tanabe
Published by SuperCollege, LLC
3286 Oak Court
Belmont, CA 94002
650-618-2221
www.supercollege.com
Copyright © 2009 by SuperCollege, LLC.
Previous editions: Copyright © 2006, 2002 under the title: Money-Winning Schol-
arship Essays and Interviews
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the written permission of SuperCollege. This book is protected under
International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
credits: Cover design by TLC Graphics, www.TLCGraphics.com. Design: Monica Thomas.
All essays in this book are used with the permission of their authors.
Trademarks: All brand names, product names and services used in this book are trade-
marks, registered trademarks or tradenames of their respective holders. SuperCollege is not
associated with any college, university, product or vendor.
disclaimers: The authors and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book.
It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matter. Some narra-
tives and names have been modified for illustrative purposes. SuperCollege and the authors
make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the
contents of the book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties or merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose. There are no warranties which extend beyond the descriptions
contained in this paragraph. The accuracy and completeness of the information provided
herein and the opinions stated herein are not guaranteed or warranted to produce any
particular results. SuperCollege and the authors specifically disclaim any responsibility for
any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly
or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.
ISBN13: 978-1-932662-37-5
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tanabe, Gen S.
How to write a winning scholarship essay / by Gen and Kelly Tanabe.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-932662-37-5 (alk. paper)
1. Scholarships. 2. College applications--United States. 3. Universities and
colleges--United States--Admission. 4. Exposition (Rhetoric) I. Tanabe, Kelly
Y. II. Title.
LB2338.T363 2009
808’.066378--dc22
2009026470
Contents at a Glance v
conTenTs aT a glance
1 The Secret to Winning a Scholarship / 13
2 Where to Find Great Scholarships / 19
3 Judges’ Roundtable: Inside the Selection Process / 31
4 Essay Writing Workshop / 45
5 30 Winning Scholarship Essays / 63
6 12 Essays That Bombed / 129
7 Judges’ Roundtable: The Scholarship Essay / 151
8 Winning Interview Strategies / 159
9 Real Interview Questions & Answers / 175
10 Judges’ Roundtable: The Interview / 203
11 Final Thoughts / 211
Appendix A: Scholarship Directory / 215
Appendix B: Web Resources / 239
Index / 243
About the Authors / 256
vi How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay
Table of conTenTs
chapter 1. The secret to winning a scholarship / 13
You are 60 seconds away from the trash bin / 14
The scholarship strategies you’ll learn / 15
Why we know so much about scholarships / 17
Not just looking for straight A students / 17
chapter 2. where to find great scholarships / 19
Exploring scholarship goldmines / 20
Ambassadors wanted / 22
Work experience & financial aid / 25
Which scholarship is right for you? / 26
When & where to find scholarships / 26
Make learning their mission your mission / 27
Making the match / 28
chapter 3. Judges’ Roundtable:
Inside the selection process / 31
Meet the scholarship judges / 32
What is the purpose of your award? / 32
Who typically judges the scholarship competition? / 35
How does your scholarship selection process work? / 36
What qualities do you look for when selecting the winner? / 38
What sets the winner apart from the runner-up? / 40
What advice do you have for future applicants? / 41
Participating judges & experts / 43
chapter 4. essay writing workshop / 45
Why the essay is critical to winning / 46
The making of a powerful essay / 46
Focus on solutions / 47
Four common features of all winning essays / 49
Hard to believe but true essay mistakes / 50
How to find the perfect topic / 54
Putting words on paper / 54
Go beyond the superficial / 55
Table of Contents vii
Use examples & illustrate / 58
The importance of editors / 59
Recycle & reuse / 60
How to write a great introduction or conclusion / 60
Essays get better with each revision / 61
Stay motivated / 62
chapter 5. 30 winning scholarship essays / 63
The money-winning essays / 64
Experiences & challenges / 64
A scholarship support network / 69
Essays about family / 75
The intangible benefits of applying / 79
Essay advice from the winners / 81
National or international issues / 87
The importance of getting editors / 96
Community service & volunteerism / 99
Career plans or field of study / 106
Essays about leadership / 115
Academic accomplishments / 117
Seeking genuineness / 120
Essays about athletics / 125
Artistic talents / 127
chapter 6. 12 essays That bombed / 129
Learning from failure / 130
Where’s the point? / 130
The attempted tearjerker / 132
Miss America essay / 133
The life-changing voyage / 135
Convoluted vocabulary / 136
Behold! My statistics / 137
The most influential person in the world / 139
Creativity overload / 141
Be true / 141
The future me / 142
My life as seen on TV / 144
Excuses, excuses, excuses / 146
Complex problem, simple solution / 147
viii How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay
chapter 7. Judges’ Roundtable: The scholarship essay / 151
Meet the scholarship judges / 152
How important is the essay to winning a scholarship? / 152
What qualities make an essay powerful? / 153
What common mistakes do students make on the essay? / 155
Participating judges & experts / 157
chapter 8. winning Interview strategies / 159
Face-to-face with the interview / 160
Friendly & hostile interviews / 160
How to ace the interview / 161
Transform an interrogation into a conversation / 161
Advice from a Rhodes Scholar / 163
You are not the center of the universe / 164
The group interview / 165
Dress & act the part / 166
What it’s like to be an interviewer / 167
How to make practice into perfect / 168
The long-distance interview / 169
The hostile interview / 170
The disaster interview / 172
Post-interview / 173
Make sure you make your point / 173
chapter 9. Real Interview Questions & answers / 175
Giving the right answers / 176
Achievements & leadership questions / 176
Tip #1 from a scholarship winner / 179
Personal questions / 179
Misinterpreting the judges / 181
Why you deserve to win questions / 184
Education & college questions / 186
Tip #2 from a scholarship winner / 187
Academic questions / 189
Tip #3 from a scholarship winner / 191
Your career & future questions / 194
Tip #4 from a scholarship winner / 195
Activity questions / 198
Opinion questions / 200
Tip #5 from a scholarship winner / 201
Table of Contents ix
chapter 10. Judges’ Roundtable: The Interview / 203
Meet the scholarship judges / 204
How important is the interview in determining who wins? / 204
What are some typical questions that you ask? / 205
What are qualities of a good interview? / 205
What common mistakes do students make in interviews? / 206
How should students prepare for interviews? / 207
Poor ways to begin an interview / 208
Participating judges & experts / 209
chapter 11. final Thoughts / 211
A personal ending / 212
Special request / 213
appendix a: scholarship directory / 215
A directory of select awards and scholarships that appear in this book
including information on how to apply.
appendix b: web Resources / 239
The best resources on the Internet to help with scholarships and
financial aid.
Index / 243
about the authors / 256