Updated on February 7th, 2025
Most students know that impressing the scholarship selection committee is essential if you want to secure awards. But what do scholarship committees look for in a scholarship application? Is there a way to answer scholarship committee interview questions that are guaranteed to impress?
Essentially, students want ways to ensure they position themselves as strong candidates. Whether they’re writing a letter to a scholarship committee, answering essay questions, or interviewing in-person, there are ways to stand out from the crowd, as long as you know what the scholarship selection committee wants to see. Additionally, exploring various scholarship opportunities can significantly aid in financing college education.
If you and your student want to learn more about the scholarship process, including how to find scholarships, tips for applying, and insights to ensure they impress the scholarship committee, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a quick trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve a spot today.
While every scholarship committee is different, the bulk of what they’re looking for is largely the same. Here are some insights regarding what scholarship selection committees look for when choosing candidates.
7 Things a Scholarship Committee Looks For When Evaluating Candidates
1. Scholarship Rule-Followers
Doing something a bit outside of the scholarship’s guidelines does help students stand out, but not in a good way. In fact, a single misstep usually means disqualification, even if it’s small.
Scholarship committees review every application to ensure that the student follows the rules along the way. Reviewing scholarship applications involves checking eligibility, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and personal statements. One of the biggest points is whether the student is genuinely eligible for the reward. Some students may apply for scholarships that they don’t qualify for, hoping the committee won’t notice. The thing is, this is a point that’s practically never overlooked, making that approach a time-waster at best.
However, those aren’t the only rules a scholarship committee is concerned about when evaluating candidates. Sticking to the question asked when responding to essays, staying within the word count requirements, providing the proper supporting documentation, and anything else listed in the instructions are all priorities.
If a student doesn’t follow the rules, immediate disqualification is the norm. As a result, a scholarship rule-follower is usually the first thing the committee hopes to see.
2. Solid Writing Skills
When it comes to how to impress the scholarship committee, your student shouldn’t overlook the power of solid writing skills, especially in their personal statements. Your student doesn’t need to be poised to write the next great American novel; instead, they just need a firm grasp of the fundamentals.
Proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation are essential. Otherwise, the scholarship selection committee may worry that your student lacks attention to detail or wasn’t interested enough in the award to take an extra moment to review their work. In some cases, they may even doubt if your student has the written communication skills needed to perform well in college. In the end, the outcome is often the same.
Similarly, using the right scholarship essay format is a must. Proper formatting improves readability, allowing the committee member to see where transitions occur in the response and review what’s written more efficiently. Additionally, it supports overall flow, ensuring your student covers key elements in a well-structured response with greater ease.
3. A Cohesive Narrative
In many cases, scholarship essays involve telling a story. For some essays, a student may need to outline an achievement, explaining what they did and its impact. For others, a student might have to describe a hardship they overcome, discuss examples of how they’re unique, or simply talk about why they deserve the scholarship.
In any of those cases, a cohesive narrative in the essay is essential. Highlighting personal growth is crucial, as it showcases development and commitment to self-improvement. Along with remaining focused on the main point, each paragraph needs to flow logically to the next. That way, all of the information clearly connects to what proceeded it, making it easier to follow. The same is often true when answering interview questions.
For example, the “tell me about yourself” scholarship interview question is incredibly common. With that, the best “tell me about yourself” scholarship interview answer does not involve stating random facts. Instead, it needs to be a story with a beginning, middle, and end, discussing where the student came from, where they are now, and what they hope to achieve moving forward. There’s a logic to what’s shared, making the response more compelling.
4. Key Scholarship-Related Characteristics and Relevant Experience
Every scholarship committee has specific characteristics or relevant experience in mind when they’re considering candidates. Some are often universal. For instance, confidence, passion, dedication, and academic achievement are widely sought since they significantly impact a student’s college success odds. Similarly, reasonably strong academics, signs of growth over time, and involvement in extracurricular activities are typically things they’ll all view as must-haves.
However, what the scholarship selection committee looks for beyond that may be more personalized. For community-oriented non-profits, compassion and a desire to help may be priorities, as well as past community service or volunteer experience. For large corporations looking to support the next generation, leadership, ambition, and innovative thinking might fit their preferences better.
Often, students can learn more about the traits or experiences a scholarship committee is seeking by researching the organization. Mission and values statements are excellent places for this kind of information, as well as announcements regarding the scholarship itself.
5. Strong Level of Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is surprisingly important to many scholarship selection committees. Often, college represents the first time a student is heading out on their own. Without self-awareness, they may struggle when faced with the challenges of being in control of their lives to a higher degree, causing them not to reach their academic potential.
Often, there is an easy option for demonstrating self-awareness. When a student shows the scholarship committee members that they understand their strengths and weaknesses, it’s a decent indicator that they do well in this arena.
In contrast, when students try to present themselves as weakness-free, it typically backfires. Everyone struggles in one area or another, so the committee member will question why the candidate thinks they’re an exception, as no one is in the end.
By being open about strengths and weaknesses, students are essentially showcasing their self-awareness. Additionally, students can go further, outlining how they’re working to overcome the weakness. This allows them to pivot a shortcoming into a potential future strength. Plus, it shows that the student is growth-oriented, which also works in their favor.
6. Clear Passion for Their Futures
An exceptional academic history or a laundry list of achievements won’t help a student land a scholarship if they don’t seem enthusiastic about what the future holds. If a student wants to impress the scholarship committee, demonstrating a clear passion for the field they’re pursuing, aligning their long-term career goals with the scholarship’s mission makes a significant difference.
Often, passionate students are more likely to thrive in college than those who are unsure about the direction of their future. Since that’s the case, scholarship selection committees generally want to award funds to those who’ll use it best, so they opt for enthusiastic candidates over their counterparts.
7. Something Distinctive
Often, members of scholarship committees review dozens – if not hundreds or thousands – of applications each year or academic period.
There isn’t a specific thing your student should choose if they’re trying to decide what to tell a scholarship committee to meet this requirement. In fact, following any explicit advice that your student finds in advice articles on the topic is likely a poor move. If they go that route, there’s a good chance other students are, too, effectively defeating the purpose.
Instead, your student should consider what makes them unique. Often, that means avoiding clichés and certain topics as a starting point. Beyond that, your student will need to reflect to determine what’s distinctly their own. Examining the social media accounts of scholarship committee members can provide valuable insights into their passions and interests, helping your student tailor their submission effectively. That way, they can increase their odds of leaving a lasting, positive impression.
If you and your student want to learn more about the scholarship process, including how to find scholarships, tips for applying, and insights to ensure they impress the scholarship committee, sign up for our free college scholarship webinar! Take a quick trip over to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to reserve a spot today.
Leave a Reply