You are 60 seconds away from the trash bin - The secret to winning a scholarship

How to write a winning scholarship essay - Gen Tanabe, Kelly Tanabe 2018

You are 60 seconds away from the trash bin
The secret to winning a scholarship

In this chapter:

Why you are 60 seconds away from the trash bin

How your essay or interview will make or break your chances of winning a scholarship

Why you can win even without straight a’s

Who we are and why we know so much about winning scholarships

How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay

You are 60 seconds away from the trash bin

If you witnessed the judging of a scholarship competition, you’d be surprised at how quickly decisions are made. It’s not unusual for scholarship judges to decide in less than 60 seconds whether your application advances to the next round or gets tossed into the rejection pile.

With so little time, how do you capture the attention of these discriminating judges and improve your chances of winning? For most competitions the secret is in your essay or interview. These give the judges the insight they need to separate the winners from the runners-up.

If you are like the majority of scholarship applicants, you probably aren’t sure what makes an essay or interview a “winner.” And how would you know? It’s unlikely that you have access to dozens of past scholarship winners who can share their experiences and show you their winning essays and interview answers. And it is even more unlikely that you’ve had the opportunity to speak with actual scholarship judges who can tell you exactly what qualities cause a candidate to stand out as a winner.

Obviously, anyone with this kind of access and knowledge has a tremendous advantage for winning a scholarship.

now you can have this advantage.

In this book you will learn about scholarship winners, read their essays and interviews and learn the strategies that they have used to win more than $3 million in awards. (That amount is not a misprint. In fact, one incredible student received over $250,000 in scholarship offers!) You will also have the opportunity to hear from scholarship judges who will take you inside the selection process to reveal what they look for when choosing winners.

Unlike any other book on scholarships, by reading How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay you will learn how to: find the scholarships you are most likely to win. We identify the best places to find awards and strategies for selecting those that you have the best chances of winning.

craft a winning scholarship essay. The best way to learn how to win scholarships is from the experiences of others.

You will read 30 actual scholarship essays that were used by students like you to win free money for college. Our complete essay-writing workshop will also guide you step-by-step through selecting a topic, writing about it and editing your own winning scholarship essay.

avoid costly essay mistakes. Failure can be a great teacher, too. Through 12 essays that were less than exemplary (in other words they bombed), you will see exactly how to avoid the mistakes that have doomed others.

Interview confidently and skillfully. With comprehensive interview strategies and examples of over 20 questions you are likely to be asked along with successful answers, you will have everything you need to ace the scholarship interview.

discover what scholarship judges want. Three special chapters called The Judges’ Roundtables reveal what scholarship judges seek in selecting winners. This knowledgeable group of experts has seen thousands of applications and decided the fate of many applicants. Their lessons and advice are indispensable.

While the thought of making a winning impression in 60 seconds is certainly daunting, it is also an opportunity. By investing the time to learn the skills presented in this book, you will give yourself a tremendous advantage over other applicants. While most of them will be quickly eliminated within the first 60 seconds, your application will steadily progress through each round and ultimately help you to emerge from the competition a winner.