Believe it or not, scholarship committees generally ask the same types of questions and have similar applications.
That’s right! The scholarships you find are going to fit into specific themes which you must be able to identify in order to save your family time, frustration, stress, and most importantly – money.
The 16 themes below are designed for you to use as a reference until you can spot them on your own. Also, make sure you check out our Scholarship Fast Track videos, specifically the Application Accelerators Module, that outlines these scholarship essay themes and questions even more!
I’ve provided a definition as well as common scholarship question examples for each theme.
[info-box type=”success”]Real Talk: These questions are not made-up and, in fact, come from actual scholarship applications that are open to students at all levels. I hope that they serve you well in preparing for your upcoming applications.[/info-box]
The career theme is pretty self-explanatory. The committee wants to know any and everything relating to you or your student’s career goals.
Common Scholarship Questions:
This is a student’s life summary or autobiography which usually includes information about the past, present, and future. Some committees refer to it as a personal statement or brief bio. (Warning: Not all personal statements will be looking for a life summary. Make sure you read the application carefully.)
Common Scholarship Questions:
Everyone loves a good underdog story. An essay theme that focuses on Challenges asks the student to identify a time when they were down or faced conflict. The committee wants to hear how instead of giving up, you rose to the occasion or at least learned what was necessary to achieve success.
Common Scholarship Questions:
Why you? Out of all the available applicants, why should you or your student earn the scholarship?
Common Scholarship Questions:
This is one I’m starting to see more and more of in the scholarship world. Committees are interested in the opinions, thoughts, and ideas of applicants. With topics like legislation, population control, and the environment, committees want to see analytical and critical thinking skills.
Common Scholarship Questions:
As Defined by Merriam-Webster, “Character is the way someone thinks, feels, and behaves.” Essentially, it’s what makes you who you are.
Common Scholarship Questions:
Academics, teaching methods, assignments, and anything that pertains to student learning fall under this category.
Common Scholarship Questions:
This is one of the most common scholarship essay themes. The premise: Why do you want to go to college?
You’ll often see this theme attached to others as an additional question or a required component of the application.
Common Scholarship Questions:
Is this helping you? Are you beginning to see how this can save you a lot of time? If so, let me know in the comments below, Tweet Me @ScholarshipTalk, or just share the following message and I’ll know you see the benefits of organizing your scholarships based on themes. ?
[clickToTweet tweet=”Organizing my scholarships based on the 16 core essay themes has saved me time! #OwnYourDegree” quote=”Organizing my scholarships based on the 16 core essay themes has saved me time!”]
I’m sure you’ve seen some of the eccentric scholarships out there that challenge you to write about your favorite ice cream, talk about using their product, or design a logo for their company. These scholarships tend to be unique or inspired by the sponsoring organization.
Common Scholarship Questions:
This is also a popular scholarship theme. Instead of looking at a student’s GPA, test scores, or major, the community essay theme focuses on community service, community initiatives, and community improvement.
Common Scholarship Questions:
A common theme for athletes, band members, dancers, or those involved in groups/organizations is the Competition scholarship essay. It highlights participation and its associated benefits.
Common Scholarship Questions:
Again, this is another scholarship essay theme that you may see added to another scholarship question or application. The committee wants to know about you or your student’s contribution to society at various levels.
Common Scholarship Questions:
Control, i.e. leadership, oftentimes stands alone as a scholarship theme because of the many questions that can be asked. From being a leader to follower and everything in between, the committee is seeking answers regarding group interaction, the organization of people, or participation within a group setting.
Common Scholarship Questions:
I’m starting to see a rise in Creative scholarship essays as well. You may notice some similarities with the Committee Composition theme because these scholarships are usually committee-driven and created.
The committee will provide a question, but give you freedom in depicting or representing the theme or category they’ve selected.
Common Scholarship Questions:
As defined by Merriam-Webster, “Credentials are a qualification, achievement, personal quality, or aspect of a person’s background, typically when used to indicate that they are suitable for something.”
These scholarships will require specific credentials to apply or may use the credential within application questions.
Common Scholarship Questions:
Cultures can be comprised of many different components. From college communities to hometown traditions, the Culture theme is based on the defining characteristics of a student’s environment.
Common Scholarship Questions:
[info-box type=”alert”]Do you want a downloadable version of these themes and questions for your notes? Click here for a FREE copy.[/info-box]
Scholarship applications may have one or several themes present. Focus on identifying your possible scholarship themes.
Labeling scholarships by themes and working on them at the same time allows the student to divide and conquer. If your family can get good at identifying themes, you’ll immediately save hours of time on applications.
As I start to see new themes emerge, I’ll be sure to add them to the list. For now, this should keep you pretty busy as you continue to find and apply for scholarships.
Feature Image Artwork Credit: iStockPhoto/tostphoto
