Essay Scholarships For High School Students
For students that don’t mind writing, essay scholarships for high school students can offer a great opportunity to get some free money for college! However, writing an essay doesn’t always come easy to every student. Many high school kids see the word “essay” as part of the scholarship requirements and run the
other way as fast as they arrived. But, listen… DO NOT let an ESSAY scare you off from applying to any scholarship!
Now, we understand that writing is not every student’s strong point. So what we are going to do in this article is two things:
- Show you a couple tips on how to get your scholarship essay to stand out
- Provide you with links to some scholarship opportunities that require an essay
Hopefully after reading these tips, you’ll have a different attitude toward essay scholarships for high school students. Our hope is that we can give you a fresh perspective on essay writing which will help you gain favor in the eyes of the scholarship committee! Let’s get started…
Be Unique in Your “Hook”
This seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many students really don’t know how to be unique and different from the rest of the pack. Getting yourself to stand out from the crowd is the first, and most difficult step to winning an essay scholarship. When you find out what your specific essay topic is about, try and think of a different angle of approach than everyone else. Don’t just start off the essay with an ordinary, boring sentence that every other kid is going to start with. Think of something unique, out of the ordinary and SHOCKING (if that applies).
Have you ever heard the phrase, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”? This statement has never been more true than when writing an essay for a scholarship or even for admission to college. Your first couple sentences are the “hook”, and they really need to start things off well so that the ready is intrigued and WANTS to continue reading. If you fail at this, you will probably get the rest of your essay “scanned” by the reader and put into the”no pile.
Follow Directions To a “T”
The truth about scholarships is that there are literally THOUSANDS of students applying for them. Knowing that, do you think a scholarship committee would make an exception if you send yours in late? I highly doubt it, so your first order of business is to make special note of what the deadlines are for ALL the scholarships you’re applying to. Don’t miss them.
Another common mistake that applicants make is not following directions. If the essay scholarship calls for you to write on a given topic, then write on that topic! Don’t stray from that, or go off on a tangent that is unrelated. Many scholarships will give you the topic and even a few sentences about what specifically they want you to cover. Make note of those points and even make an outline if you have to, but don’t write off-topic. That’s a sure fire way to get yours pushed aside.
Lastly, if there is a word count that they want you to adhere to…please, by all means…ADHERE to it! Don’t just assume that they won’t count the words and you’ll be fine if you go over by 10 or 20 words. Trust us, as former scholarship committee members, they can tell when an essay is just a bit too long. IF they flag yours as one of them, the words WILL be counted and you will be disqualified for not following the rules.
Now for the good stuff…free money!
Essay Scholarships For High School Students
- The Fountainhead Essay
$10,000 (First Prize), $2000 (5 Second Prize), $1000 (10 Third Prize)
Must submit an essay online on one of the three given topics - AFA Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness
$5000 (First Prize), $500 (2nd), $250 (3rd)
Students are required to submit an autobiography and write a 1,200 to 1,500 word essay that answers 3 questions (See link). - Signet Classics Scholarship
$1000 (5 total) plus a Signet Classics Library for their school!
Must complete an essay on one of 5 given topics - Healthy Respect Win-Win
$500-$1000 with several possible maximum awards ranging from $5000 to $25,000
Must complete the application form and follow all required steps - Healthy Lifestyles
$5000
Must write 2 essays and submit application - NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund
$4,000
High school students willing to participate in a writing contest - Outstanding Students of America Scholarships
$1,000
For high school students who have a minimum GPA of 3.00 who demonstrate excellent commitment to community services. Must write a 250 word essay.
We will be continually updating this list of scholarships as new ones come available. If you haven’t been following this article series on free scholarships for high school students, now is a great time to sign up for our email list so you get updates sent to your inbox. We promise to respect your privacy! Sign up HERE!
Also, make sure you get registered at ScholarshipPoints.com. It’s a great, 100% FREE resource that awarded over $123,000 in scholarship money last year alone! Also, enter your zip code below and begin your search for additional scholarship opportunities!…every little bit helps!
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