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7 Scholarship Motivation letter tips - Coggle Diagram
7 Scholarship Motivation letter tips
Motivation letters for universities VS. Scholarships
A motivation letter for the scholarship, however, would be entirely dependent on the type of scholarship you are applying for.
And at university you’ll study alongside a good mix of people from all over the world, bringing with them all kinds of perspectives and experiences.
Freedom to Roam
The Swedish freedom to roam is a right protected by the law that allows you to sleep and eat and walk pretty much wherever you want. The only thing you have to pay is respect for nature and the animals living there. Peder Curman is a guide at Tyresta National Park in Sweden and an expert in the freedom to roam.
Sweden is a country that values a balanced life.
Freedom, equality & sustainability. The Swedish Way is about creating a radically better world, and doing it together. Even if we stand 3 metres apart at the bus stop.
What type of scholarship are you applying for?
Different scholarships will have different profiles of people they are looking for because each scholarship has specific goals.
Start with Brainstorming.
After clearly understanding WHO exactly your scholarship is looking for, it is time to evaluate yourself to see how you compare with the person they aim to attract. A simple exercise that can help you discover if you make a great fit for a scholarship is through having a brainstorming session. It could be with yourself or with a friend/colleague who knows about your academic and professional journey.
Brainstorming can be done through questions such as:
What course have you applied for? How does it relate to your long term plan? How does it relate to the Scholarship goals?
What makes you unique?
What have you achieved so far? (Could be academic, professional based on the scholarship type)
What impact have you created so far?
What are your short and long term plans after getting the scholarship? How will the scholarship help you realise these plans?
What impact will this scholarship have for you and society?
Write this up in an easy to read format.
One of the biggest tricks to stand out is to put yourself in the position of the person who is going through your application. They should have an easy understanding knowing who you are, what moves and motivates you, why you stand out from the rest and why you deserve the scholarship.
The overall structure and format guidelines include:
One of the ways of making sure your motivation letter is easy to follow is to ensure that each paragraph communicates a specific point. This grounds and structures your writing and makes it easy to follow.
Avoid typos through the use of proof-reading tools such as Grammarly. It is a no brainer that typos make you stand out less however, we are not perfect and a typo or grammar error may crop up after several edits of your letter. Using proof-reading tools helps you tighten the loose ends.
Be as precise as possible
only include information that is relevant to the requirements listed for the scholarship since those are the only details that will be considered. This process needs you to be quite critical and practical.
Show, don’t tell.
There are certain common words that can be fetched from any motivation letter. They include “Motivated. Leader. Hardworking.” It is common for everyone to say that they are motivated and want to create a change and this is why you need to differentiate yourself through examples. You are motivated yes, but can you show or prove this? Here are 2 examples of how 2 candidates describing themselves that help to illustrate this.
Example 1:
“I believe that I am motivated and that getting this scholarship will allow me to fulfil my professional and personal goals as well as create an impact in my society”
Example 2:
“I plan to set up a women’s community education centre after I graduate to empower women with basic accounting skills to run small and medium-sized businesses. The scholarship and master programme will allow me to acquire skills that will help me to create tools and resources for their training”
See the difference? Who is more likely to be considered for the scholarship?
Go through your letter over and over again.
It is important that the process of writing is done in cycles. After ensuring that step 1 to 6 is complete, you are ready to compile the first version of a motivation letter. Read it. Ask yourself, would you be convinced to give yourself a scholarship if you read what you have written? If not, tweak your application and revise it until you feel that what you have written is the best and cannot be changed. After doing this, ask your colleague to read it and ask for their opinion. You might be surprised how a different view of your application would allow you to add useful information that you may have left out before.
Look for organization, companies, NGOs that could show you how Sweden is working for a better world.
Don’t be redundant
Don’t forget that in the CV you have already presented your entire resume, so you do not need to explain any of that. You must be more concise, imagine that they are levels. At this level the recruiter will already knows your CV where you worked and other aspects of your life. Don’t forget to have a coherent entire application.