Transcript Writing a Strong Scholarship Essay

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE TO
CIBER SUMMER PROGRAM
PARTICIPANTS

Campus-wide Scholarships

CIBER Scholarships

Outside Scholarships
IEFS (INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION FEES
SCHOLARSHIP)
Campus-wide competition
 Need/merit
 Committee composed of faculty & staff members
from across campus
 Award amounts range from $1000-$1500
 Awards announced by April 1
 References and essays required
 Minimum in residence GPA required: 2.0
 Deadline March 1
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

AMERICAN AIRLINES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
SCHOLARSHIP
Campus-wide competition
 One per summer
 Free flight on American Airlines
 Committee composed of advisors and staff
members
 Requires a blog while you are abroad
 Minimum GPA is 3.25
 Deadline FEBRUARY 15
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

TEXAS EXES AND FLYING LONGHORNS STUDY
ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS
Texas Ex Scholarship
 Must be US citizen
 Academic excellence and financial need will be considered
 Deadline March 1
 $1,450 will be awarded to one recipient
Ex-Students Association - Flying Longhorns Study Abroad
Scholarship
 Must be US citizen
 Academic excellence and financial need will be considered
 Deadline March 1
 One award of $600
 Access through the TexasScholarships.org
Info for both:
http://www.utexas.edu/student/abroad/funding/ut_scholarships
.html
CIBER SUMMER PROGRAM NEED/MERIT
SCHOLARSHIP
For enrolled CIBER summer abroad program
participants
 Students must have financial need
 References and essays required
 $1500 awarded to one student per program
 Deadline December 1 each year
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

CIBER PROJECT-BASED SCHOLARSHIP
Student proposes an innovative and creative
project that shares his/her international
experience
 Specify your target audience and your project’s
purpose
 One award of $800 per program
 Deadline March 1
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

BHP SCHOLARSHIP
Need/Merit based
 Must be a BHP student
 Requires references and essays
 5 awards of $1000
 Deadline March 1
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

DELOITTE & TOUCHE SCHOLARSHIP FOR
INTERNATIONAL STUDY
Awarded to MPA students participating in any of
CIBER’s three MPA programs in Hong Kong,
Paris, or Prague
 $6000 will be awarded to MPA students going
abroad through CIBER International Summer
Programs in the summer of 2010
 Need and merit based
 Requires essays and references
 Deadline March 1
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER OF
EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP
Restricted to Supply Chain Management majors,
undeclared majors who intend to declare SCM as
a major, or ERB students with a SCM business
concentration
 Minimum GPA of 3.0
 Need and merit based
 3 Awards of $1000
 Reference and essay required
 Deadline March 1
 Application through GLOBAL ASSIST

ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS
Let everyone know you are looking for money!
 Inquire with local (in Austin and in your
hometown) organizations
 Propose that local companies or organizations
match funds you raise or have earned through
other scholarships
 Inquire with any local, state, or national chapters
of religious, political, professional, or service
organizations
 Write up a quick one-page fact sheet introducing
you, detailing costs, and outlining your goals to
give to any contacts

SOME NOTES ON USING GLOBAL
ASSIST
Your program code is required. This is a code
specific to your study abroad program and
connects you to scholarships that are available to
your specific program.
 You can find your program code by clicking the
appropriate link within the GLOBAL ASSIST
database or searching on the SAO search engine.
 You must know your session: first summer
session (all CIBER programs except Edinburgh)
or second summer session (only Edinburgh).
 Save as you go and save your essays as Word files
on your computer before you paste them into the
text box just in case there is a computer glitch.

SOME NOTES ON USING GLOBAL
ASSIST
Your “Study Abroad Advisor” is the CIBER
Program Coordinator, Angie Carter
 Your references will be sent an automatically
generated email from the system either as soon
as you enter in their information OR once you
submit your final application (your choice)

MAKING A STRONG
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
How
do I find a reference?
Who
will read my application?
What
should I say in my essay?
What
will my audience want to know?
REFERENCES
Ask professors or instructors EARLY (one month
in advance is very nice!)
 Academic references are always preferred unless
the scholarship specifies otherwise
 Make sure they know that their reference is
important to you
 Provide them a SHORT description of the
program, why/how it fits your educational and
professional goals, and why this scholarship is
important to you
 Politely remind them of approaching deadlines
 Thank your references with a thank you note

WHAT MAKES A STRONG APPLICATION?
START EARLY
Recommendations must be submitted online
before the due date, so you must ask your
references in advance of the due date
 Give yourself time to research your audience
 Give yourself time to double-check that
everything is submitted in advance of the due
date, if possible

WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
REFLECTION
Before you begin writing:
Define your purpose: Your purpose is NOT to
discuss how expensive the program might be, how
you love listening to Scottish punk music, or how
much you want to learn to dance flamenco. Your
purpose is to persuade your audience why YOU
deserve this scholarship.
2) Define your goals: Your main goal is to persuade
the committee that you not only need this
scholarship, but that you deserve this scholarship
and its use will be an investment in your future
educational and professional success.
3) Organize your thoughts: Your words are limited.
What must you get across in your essay?
1)
WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Find out as much as you can about the
scholarship committee
 Find out all you can about the goals or objectives
of the department, program, organization or
company offering the scholarship
 Target their goals and objectives in your essay
 The committee will choose recipients who will be
good ambassadors for their goals and objectives
 Write from the heart but concentrate on
maintaining a professional tone and writing style

WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
BE SURE TO ANSWER THE PROMPT
The committee has asked this question or
presented this prompt because they want to
know certain information about you: your
intentions, goals, educational objectives, future
career path
 Clearly respond to the specific essay prompt and
make sure you don’t forget to address any of its
points
 Use the prompt to differentiate yourself from the
others—think about how it applies to YOU.
 Plan how you’ll respond to an essay with multiple
prompts so that you don’t repeat yourself or have
to write “I already explained this above.”

WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
VOICE
Make sure your personality is on the page
 Share your story: let them know who you are and
what makes you unique
 Be respectful, gracious, humble
 Speak in your own voice (rather than letting a
thesaurus speak for you!)
 Show that you are reflective and introspective
and have thought about this experience beyond
how amazing it will be to be abroad.
 Express your excitement to go abroad AND your
realization that this is a special opportunity

WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
SHOW DON’T TELL
Of course study abroad “means a lot to you” and
of course it will “change you a lot”
 SHOW the committee why this is the case and
how this experience will make you more
marketable when you recruit or apply to
graduate programs
 Illustrate your points with examples about how
this experience will improve job prospects,
graduate school applications, undergraduate
experience, work with student organizations, and
your personal growth
 Use specific examples

WHAT MAKES A COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
IMPACT
Why did you choose this specific program?
 How will this program influence your educational
experience?
 Why are you choosing to take part in a study
abroad program rather than going on a vacation
or trip?
 How will awarding you this scholarship add
value to or help you accomplish your future
professional, personal, and educational goals?
 How will you give back? How will awarding you
this scholarship add value to your campus,
degree program, peers back at UT Austin?

WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
NEED
What difference will this money make to you or
your family?
 Do you have obligations you want the committee
to be aware of as they read your essay?
 They are investing in you. Tell them why you are
worth this investment.

WHAT MAKES AN COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
REVISION
Give yourself time to read through your essay
with fresh eyes
 Share your essay with a friend to make sure that
it makes sense
 Take your essay to the writing center for
additional help
 Write the essay in a Word document to spellcheck
it before you submit it in the online application’s
text box
 Read it out loud once before you submit it so that
you can catch anything that sounds funny

WHAT MAKES A COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
SUMMARY
Reflect upon your decision, goals, and purpose
 Avoid typos by spell checking your document
 Specify why you must go abroad on this program
 Specify why you need the money and how it will
be used
 Describe the program as an educational
experience that will be challenging and of value
to the your future (rather than a “trip” or
“vacation”)
 Insist you need the money because the program
is an investment in your future (rather than
“because it is expensive”)

WHAT MAKES A COMPETITIVE ESSAY?
SUMMARY
Research your study abroad location and find it
on a map so that you know where you are talking
about when you write about the location in your
essay
 Be realistic and avoid erroneous generalities such
as “Europe is a great country to visit” or “I can’t
wait to speak Brazilian!” or “I’m sure I’ll become
fluent in French while I’m in Paris for five weeks
because I’ll work hard!”
 Adapt for your specific audience and make it
clear that you have tailored this essay for them
(rather than recycling one essay over and over)

RESOURCES

Undergraduate Writing Center
Appointments and walk-ins
 45 minute consultation
 http://uwc.utexas.edu/
 Call 512-471-6222 or stop by the Center in FAC 211
to make an appointment

Your study abroad advisor might be able to help
guide you
 Former scholarship recipients can share their
advice
 Purdue Online Writing Lab OWL
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
