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Scholarship Cover Letter Example

A scholarship application can be incredibly tough to write but the time spent completing it can be rewarding financially. It’s very common for hundreds or even thousands of people to be competing for one position with a scholarship so your cover letter really needs to shine. Whether you’re showing off your academic accomplishments or telling your life story, a scholarship cover letter is a great way to be offered a particular scholarship. Here’s how you can write your scholarship application cover letter more effectively.

Scholarship Cover Letter Example

Top Scholarship Cover Letter Sample

If you want to write a great cover letter, then you first need a cover letter to build from. Here’s a short scholarship cover letter sample to use.

Dear Scholarship Committee,

When I saw this scholarship program for first-generation college attendees with immigrant parents, I knew that it was meant for me. My high school experience has been largely driven by my parents; they were never able to attend college, and only one of my parents completed high school. I witnessed firsthand how difficult that has made their lives. They had to work doubly hard to make a better life for me. With that being said,  that’s why I’m so excited to be attending college.



I fell in love with archeology from a young age. My parents remember me as a young child, digging around in the backyard for bones or anything else I could discover. This field of study is something that has interested me for more than a decade, and my interest was strengthened further during high school. You see, I regularly volunteered at a local museum to learn more about anthropology and the ways in which we can discover more about our history. It was an awesome experience. I worked very hard on my studies and my exemplary 4.0 academic record allowed me to get accepted into my first-choice school to study archaeology.



Financial aid is one of the main reasons I can attend college, and the financial assistance from this scholarship would be incredibly helpful in allowing me to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Archaeological Science. I look forward to hearing from the scholarship committee soon.



Best regards,



Númi Ámundason



Although this is a fairly short cover letter, it’s a great starting point.

Scholarship Cover Letter Sample

Top Scholarship Cover Letter Sample
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How to Write Your Scholarship Cover Letter With This Example

The salutation of your scholarship cover letter is often a bit different than the salutation of a traditional cover letter. Although it’s best to address a traditional cover letter to a specific person, you’ll often need to address your cover letter to a scholarship organization or committee. Despite this, using “To whom it may concern” is still not generally recommended, as it might look too generic.

First paragraph: Hook, introduction

The first paragraph of the cover letter is the hook and your general introduction. Typically, this explains the scholarship program you’re applying for, the type of education you’re pursuing, and an introduction to what your scholarship letter will cover. Here, the applicant discusses her familial background, as the scholarship is based on the challenging circumstances that her parents faced by not attending college. She clearly states her excitement about getting a college education.

Second paragraph: General information and skills

The second paragraph is where you can talk about why you’re the best candidate to get this scholarship. You can talk about extracurricular activities, part-time and full-time work experience, academic excellence and GPA or graduation honors. In this case, the applicant mostly talks about a love for the field of archaeology, as not all scholarships are based on academic records but instead based on a financial situation or need.

Closing paragraph: Call to action

In the third paragraph, you should wrap up the letter and create a call to action for you to move through the rest of the application process. Here, the applicant states that financial assistance is extremely important for her to continue in her field and states that she looks forward to hearing from the committee soon. She also takes a comfortable but formal tone with the sign-off, using “Best regards” instead of the slightly more formal, “Sincerely.”

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FAQ: Scholarship Cover Letter Example

A cover letter is often one of the main ways that a scholarship committee decides who will receive a scholarship. If you’re applying for a scholarship, then be sure to take the time to write a powerful letter to impress the scholarship committee and convince them that you are worthy of the scholarship.

Most scholarship cover letters are the same length as job search cover letters. Write between half a page and 3/4 of a page or 250-350 words long. This gives you enough space to talk about everything that you want to discuss in the letter while also making sure it’s not so long that it puts someone off from even reading it. However, it’s also important that you look at the requirements, as there will often be a length requirement. A scholarship cover letter longer than a single page or around 500 words will often be called a “scholarship essay.”

Yes. Not all scholarships are based on academics. The experiences and academic knowledge you discuss in your cover letter will be completely dependent on the types of scholarships that you’re applying for. There are some scholarships available that require very high grades and other scholarships that are more financially based.. Either way, write a scholarship cover letter that tells your personal story and why you deserve the scholarship. You need to stand out among other scholarship candidates.