How to Express Financial Need in Scholarship Essays
Scholarship essays are often your only way to convey your financial need to the scholarship review board. You must convey your need in a way that the board can understand fully why you need the scholarship and how it will help you succeed in your educational goals. While discussing your financial need can be embarrassing, it is the only way that the scholarship committee can see what it is that brought you to them in the first place.
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Instructions
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Answer the essay question fully. Do not exclude information you feel is unnecessary in your first draft. For example, if the essay questions asks you to describe how your financial situation has effected your high school career do not leave out the fact that you worked to help support your family or that because of your experiences you disagreed with the personal finance course your took.
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Stay on topic throughout the essay. You want to highlight why you need the financial assistance and your educational background. It is unnecessary to include information about the jobs you performed in high school or other scholarships you are applying unless the essay specifically asks for that information.
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Explain your desire for the scholarship including whether you felt you would be able to afford higher education without the award. If the only way you could attend would be to max out your student loan allotments tell the scholarship committee. Scholarship committees would rather students do not end their college career in massive amounts of debt if they can help.
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Provide documentation of your need to the scholarship committee. This is often a requirement along with the essay but when you gather it, you will get a quick idea of how much you really need. Keep that in mind as you proof read and rewrite your essay.
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Tips & Warnings
Remain honest throughout your essay no matter how tempting it is to exaggerate your need. If you are awarded a scholarship based on need that is based on a lie you risk losing the scholarship, having to repay it and being expelled from school due to breaking potential honor codes.
