How to write a scholarship resume?
Are you getting frustrated to write a perfect resume for a scholarship application?
We don’t recommend that making the best resume is the only way to bag the best scholarships.
Well, you could write a book, build a company, win a prize. But, writing a winning resume for scholarships is undoubtedly the easiest way to describe why you are a good candidate for a scholarship.
And your recruiters only want to know whether you are as skilled and whether you know it.
In this blog, we will walk you through:
A resume for scholarships is very different from what we often consider it to be. A student resume for scholarships is not the same resume that you use for a corporate job.
Not only should it be relevant and elaborate, but it also must be tailored according to the scholarship description.
Your scholarship resume plays the first role in getting the targeted scholarship.
Your scholarship resume can serve as a reference for you to fill out your college applications and your scholarship entrance forms.
With your scholarship resume in hand, you can be assured that you will not leave out any vital information that could help you get your target scholarship or gain admittance to the college of your choice.
Let's look at the following college scholarship resume examples as we guide you through writing the most important sections that are relevant to the scholarship you are targeting.
Before writing the perfect scholarship resume template, the first important step is research.
The send step is listing all your academic achievements and other notable information in a Master Resume.
Your master resume could comprise of information ranging from the assignment you nailed, to the volleyball match you championed.
Once you have your Master Resume, start filtering out the irrelevant information. The actual relevance can be assessed from the targeted scholarship.
Not all of your previous accomplishments will have a bearing on your educational future. Consider contests won, higher grades achieved, jobs held, and community activities participated in.
Concentrate on those accomplishments that demonstrate your potential as a student and showcase your characteristic strengths.
After you have sifted through your past and found the achievements best representing you, it is time to make your final scholarship resume.
From the given scholarship resume template, you can start your resume by dividing it into 4 sections with the following main headings:
Almost all the necessary information to put on a scholarship resume falls into these four categories.
To fit your scholarship resume best, you may rephrase the headings according to the experiences they highlight. Also, leave enough spaces between sections to maintain a visually pleasing resume.
The name and contact should be the first thing a recruiter sees.
For the same reason, this must be on top of the resume. This is called the header section. This includes:
| Personal Details | Examples |
|---|---|
| Your Name: | Summer |
| Phone Number: | +1 234 512 1134 |
| Email Address: | summer@xyz.com |
| Location: | LA, US |
To add a professional touch to your scholarship resume, make sure:
The scholarship resume title must include the target domain and your current professional expertise.
The title is the next targeted step on your resume header. It demonstrates the level of your expertise.
It could be anything from an "Economics Scholar" to a "Financial Analyst" or a "Software Developer" to a "Finance Graduate.”
You may also include your licenses or certifications on the student resume for the scholarships, such as "FAA Licensed Commercial Pilot.”
Make sure that it is the first thing right after your name.
The scholarship resume objective should showcase how you exemplify the values underlining the scholarship and how your accomplishments are along the lines of previous scholars.
The objective is a short summary of your skills and expertise to rationalize your claim for getting that scholarship.
Your scholarship resume objective could be a tad bigger than a normal job resume. This is because the objective also acts as a snapshot of your statement of purpose.
It's okay if your purpose cannot be limited to just 2 - 3 lines. However, do not take the liberty to keep writing your scholarship resume objective till one or two pages.
It should still be short, relevant, and convincing.
We have exemplified a few scholarships resume objectives and corresponding skills to put on a scholarship resume.
Your scholarship resume objective is commonly followed by the skills for scholarship resume section to add a professional touch.
Every academic institution is eager to accept candidates who, apart from having flawless grades, display qualities like Curiosity, Self-motivation, Leadership & Enthusiasm.
These are a few solid skills to put on a scholarship resume. However, instead of merely mentioning that you possess these skills, showcase just how exactly you personify these skills. Mention where all you demonstrated your leadership and community-centric approach.
Let's look at one of the scholarship resume objectives from one of the college scholarship resume examples:
Meticulous & detail-oriented Development Research Analyst armed with an extraordinary acumen for research encompassing both primary and secondary methodologies. Possesses a track record of consistently securing a top rank throughout the academic career. Adept at leading teams and coordinating with relevant stakeholders to analyze key parameters for consolidating information into actionable reports and presentations. Proficient in investigating significant social issues with keen insight and a unique perspective, and conducting socio-economic impact assessment (SIA) for development and research projects.
KEY SKILLS
| Team Leadership | Reporting & Documentation | Impact Assessment |
| Research & Analysis | Communication | System Modelling |
| Behavioural Analysis | CBA Analysis | Primary/Secondary Research |
TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY
| Microsoft Office Suite | SPSS |
Result-oriented Mechatronics Engineer highly skilled in conducting research development predominantly in the Automotive Research domain. Possesses a rich experience of ~3 years in chassis & vehicle integration, research fund management & cost & business reporting. Additionally, I have undertaken a wide variety of technical projects in other domains to hone my research ability further and demonstrated the ability to lead a technical team effectively by providing direction, leadership, and motivation and hence ensuring that the team members perform to the best of their skills and deliver consistently.
KEY SKILLS:
| Chassis & Vehicle Integration | Technical Team Leadership |
| Partnerships | Research Fund Management |
| FEA Analysis | Research Fund Raising |
| Cost & Business Reporting | Automotive Research & Development |
SOFTWARE SKILLS:
| CAD Modelling – Solidworks, Siemens Uni-graphics, Creo Pro-E |
| Altair Hyper mesh (Finite Element Analysis) |
| C++ |
| Microsoft Office tools |
| CAM Programming |
Proactive Law Graduate with a strong work ethic and experience in handling major internship projects for a wide variety of client organizations. Offers strong communication, leadership, and organizational skills and an ability to work effectively with internal and external multidisciplinary teams. Highly skilled at interacting with clients and identifying their needs to create strategies that help them achieve their goals effectively. Adept in conducting legal research, drafting & vetting legal documents & meeting time-sensitive case objectives. Possesses hands-on experience of working on a wide variety of projects ranging from legal research, review & analysis to Due Diligence covering multiple domains such as finance, fair agreement terms, etc. Keen to apply the acquired gamut of skills to a challenging role in the management consulting domain
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
| Due Diligence | Coordination & Liaison | Drafting |
| Legal Research | Vetting Documents | Document Review |
| Contracts | Agreements & Compliance | Legal Documentation |
Result-oriented Clinical Psychology graduate skilled at Patient Observation, Case History Examination, Patient Counseling, taking notes, etc. Have successfully pursued B.A. (Hons.) in Psychology from the University of New York & currently pursuing M.A. in Clinical Psychology. Have amassed vast experience in the domain of Clinical Psychology by working & interning in multiple organizations & assisting experienced Clinical Psychologists in OPD as well as IPD cases. Gained hands-on experience of examining detailed case histories of patients (including children) suffering from various conditions, including alcohol abuse, bipolar affective disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, etc. Proven leader who has demonstrated excellence in all domains, including professional engagements, academics, leadership roles, and extra-curricular activities. Deeply interested in the field of Clinical Psychology looking for challenging opportunities in this space.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
| Clinical Psychology | Patient Observation | Case Examination |
| Psycho Oncology | OPD & IPD | Patient Counseling |
| Art Therapy | Psychological Screening | Mental Health |
The scholarship resume objective is followed by:
List your Educational Qualification at the top of your scholarship resume.
Most scholarships ask for a certain GPA. For the same, you may include your weighted or unweighted GPA.
Add your advanced placement or honors classes along with any majors or minors. Include your expected date of degree completion.
Use action words to convey your qualifications and experience.
The information mentioned above is a must-have for a scholarship resume. But to make your resume stand out from other resumes, write the following information.
Include only your high school educational information when applying for an undergraduate scholarship.
When applying for a graduate scholarship, you can skip writing about your high school unless you've got some outstanding accomplishments or it is a very prestigious school.
When applying for a postgraduate or a Ph.D. scholarship, mention both your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in your scholarship resumes.
Follow your academic experience with academic or extracurricular activities
This section should also be targeted, and the activities should specifically be for the domain you are targeting.
For example, if the scholarship emphasizes computer programming, do not list your volunteer hours for community service. Instead, fill it up with a dated list of all the programming competitions you have won and your created applications.
The following template from a resume for scholarship sample should help you write the main pointers under the Achievements section.
The following snippet from a resume for scholarship application sample should help you understand how to write your academic and non-academic awards.
In the above example, we've highlighted a few places in yellow where there's scope to add performance figures. Follow a similar approach to identify more such places in your scholarship resume for high school students where you can include numbers.
Maintain the following thumb rules while writing your awards on your scholarship resume:
Within this section, you should include other scholarships that you have already won. But how to list scholarships on your resume?
Including a previous scholarship is easy within the "Academic & Co-curricular Achievements" section. Let's look at the following example.
Your work experience is included in the third section. Even if you just had a summer job at the local supermarket, you should mention it.
Scholarship directors do not expect every applicant to do amazing internships abroad, but they do expect you to have spent your time doing something productive.
Work experience shows how you managed both your studies and your job.
If your work experience is directly relevant to the scholarship you are pursuing, you may reorder your sections too to showcase your expertise in the domain. Let's consider the following snippet from a scholarship resume template.
The technical expertise section is significant for the resume of a Mechatronics Engineer as it showcases that in addition to only educational qualification, the candidate has the right experience in the domain.
This increases your chances for a scholarship.
For a scholarship resume for high school students, the work experiences section or the internship section should ideally be placed below the "Educational Qualification" or "Academic Achievements" section.
However, here a few exceptions:
For the scholarship resumes of a "Law Graduate,” it is essential for the candidate to represent his or her practical expertise in the field rather than theoretical knowledge.
Prioritizing the "Internships" section over the work experiences section does the same.
The same priority is maintained if you are writing a resume for scholarship application for a medical school.
Let's look at the following high school scholarship resume template in the medical domain.
List your awards and honors in the last section.
Include academic honors or honorary memberships.
To list your awards and honors on your scholarship resume, you may use the following academic award template:
Let us follow with a few examples:
Once you have included all the necessary skills and relevant details, your scholarship resume should be passed through a final step of quality check.
Once you have created a general list of your personal and academic accomplishments, it is time to get them organized.
First, list your achievements in descending order, from current to earliest.
Always begin your scholarship resume with your most current accomplishments as they are typically the most relevant to your college applications and scholarship entrance forms.
You may organize your resume in different ways. But once you've chosen the reverse chronological order, you must format it in the following way:
An ideal resume contains distinct sections, so it is easier for you to highlight all the essential points.
Write your scholarship resume. Let it sit for a day. Then proofread it.
Remove fluff and out-of-context points. Ensure that you follow the right guidelines before submitting your resume.
You should ask a domain-specific professional or career counselor to proofread your scholarship resume for typos or grammatical errors.
Write your resume using standard fonts like Calibri or Open Sans.
Using different fonts often makes your resume appear unprofessional, while many stylish fonts do not comply with all systems.
Ensure that all your accomplishments are true and avoid the temptation to exaggerate or make them up.
Limit your resume to 1 page unless suggested otherwise.
A neat and detail-oriented resume could increase your chances for a scholarship.
Scholarship resumes benefit most by outlining personal accomplishments. It is the most important document to refer to while completing the necessary forms or essays during the scholarship process.
The resume should first introduce you to a scholarship committee by highlighting your background relevant to the target job description.
The content of scholarship resumes should be specialized.
Considering that the readers in the committee want evidence for a high level of aptitude and performance, your resume should convince them that you are the most capable candidate.
So how does a scholarship resume offer the aura of expertise? Through details.
Your scholarship resume should be high detail-oriented by applying acronyms (and expanding them) used within the field like IPM, TRIP, ASTM, ARM, NCGE, etc., correctly writing the practical outcomes.
The use of active verbs within the scholarship resumes should be highly targeted. Use words or phrases like:
These imply important roles involving authorship, collaboration, learning, leadership, and management.
The goal of the scholarship resume is to demonstrate advanced skills and a high level of achievement complemented by the most relevant evidence.
Your lack of experience should be covered in the scholarship resume using the following tips:
Highlight the most positive and relevant factors about you.
Resumes for college scholarships must include information around:
Check out the given example of resume for scholarships created using our Online Resume Builder:
