How to write a winning scholarship essay - Gen Tanabe, Kelly Tanabe 2018
Tip #3 from a scholarship winner
Real interview questions & answers
Emanuel Pleitez, Stanford University
“Be confident. Confidence is going to help you out in immea-surable ways. Some people think the interviewer is there just to ask questions and make you falter. Usually the interviewers are really nice and they want to get to know you. As long as you let the interviewer know what you’re really about, you’ll be fine. Smile and let the interviewer get to know you. To do this all you really need is confidence.”
a: My major is sociology. I hadn’t planned to study sociology, but in my first year I took a class on women and the law. We covered the history and effect of laws on women including laws covering maternity leave, pornography and employment. It was an eye-opening class in which we got to interact with women who had been personally affected by these laws. I was hooked. One of my most recent research papers is based on a survey of working-class women. I really care about this field and can relate to it in a personal way.
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Both answers share the applicants’ inspiration for selecting their majors.
Try to bring the judges into your mind so that they understand why you are passionate about your field. Examples also help the judges, who may have no idea what your major is about, understand why you chose the field. Bring up some interesting facts about the major or hot issues in the field. You might try to also think about how the degree will help you after graduation. What effect on your future might your choice have? What are your plans for using the degree in the future?
Q: which educator has had the most influence on you?
a: Without a doubt my economics professor. In his lectures he made the theories come to life by showing real life examples of how they worked. He also took the time to meet with each of us individually to get our feedback and to see if we were interested in majoring in economics. My meeting with him lasted for two hours. I explained that I was thinking about majoring in economics but I wasn’t sure if I had the mathematical ability. He convinced me that I could work on my math skills as long as I had a passion for learning. I met with him several other times, and he agreed to be my thesis advisor. Of all my professors, he’s the one who has made the most effort to make sure that I was learning and excited about the field.
a: I had a professor last year who taught design. He assigned us projects that I never imagined I’d be doing. At the start of class, he had a handful of toothpicks. He asked us, “What is this?” We all said matter-of-factly, “Toothpicks.”
“No,” he said. “It’s a bridge.”
So our assignment was to build a bridge that could support the weight of a bowling ball out of toothpicks. This professor taught me to look at everyday things in a different way, to notice the shape of a gate, the color of the sky after it rained or the shadow of a building on the ground. I learned to pause and appreciate all of the efforts that went into creating what’s around me.
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As much as possible try to illustrate the specific influence of a teacher or professor. Give concrete examples of what he or she has done to help you learn. This will give the judges insight into your learning style and what motivates you.
Be sure that you don’t just select an educator who was cool, friendly or popular. If you had a teacher or professor with whom you shared a love for baseball but not for the subject matter, this is not a great choice.
The judges want to learn about an educator who has inspired you to learn, not one who was a buddy.
Also, don’t criticize other educators. In describing an influential teacher or professor, it is tempting to point out the negative traits of the others.
Try not to do this. In many cases, the judges will be educators themselves or will be well-connected with educators. It would be a mistake to insult the profession. Focus on the positive aspects of the educator you choose.
Q: can you tell me about an academic class, project or other experience that was meaningful for you?
a: One of the most meaningful projects I did was in my English class. We were assigned to develop a plan for the future of our local community. The problem was that the local agriculture industry was deteriorating and within the next five years would leave hundreds in our small community jobless and farmland without a use. We were assigned to create a five-year development plan. We planned the growth of our town, training programs for the displaced workers and redevelopment plans for the land. We each published a report and built a scale model of what the town would look like. Mine was one of the handful selected to be presented at a meeting of our city council.
a: For one of my sociology classes, I had to write a paper based on primary interviews. I knew that in order to be motivated to do the paper, I needed to write about something close to me. So I chose to write about the ethnic identities of first-and second-generation Asian American teenagers. Speaking with the teens, I learned how those in the first generation still had close ties to their home country while those in the second generation strived to just fit in with being American. It made me think about my own identity as a third-generation Asian American, and I started to ask questions of my own family. I could see that my family too went through a similar experience. What began as a class assignment actually helped me learn more about my family history.
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A question of this type is a great opportunity to show off an impressive project. Be sure to give a lot of detail and demonstrate why the project or class was so meaningful. If appropriate, select a subject or project that relates to the scholarship since it will help demonstrate why you deserve to win the award.