So I had won the scholarship that my mother’s work offered last year, but now they have opened it again this year and I’m applying once again. However, the prompt is the same as last year with the same questions that make it difficult to write another whole essay (I.e. Career goals, effects of getting the scholarship, etc.).
Should I just reuse the one from last year? I’m completely stumped trying to write a new essay when all my answers are the exact same as last year.
Can you tell how you’ve grown in the last year? That would work.
Don’t re use the same identical essay. Hopefully you have something new going on after a year in college…with their help.
How you think about how your career goals hasn’t evolved in any way over the last year since you were last awarded the scholarship? You are a year older and a year more educated- I’m surprised that you are completely stumped and can’t imagine how to improve on what you wrote last time. The changes don’t have to be major.
Well, I would write about how they’ve evolved if they had. It’s my first year and I’m full time, only doing general education courses right now so it’s not like there’s been much that’s changed when the essay is over my career goals and such…
Even as a new college student, by now you certainly have become more knowledgeable about the course offerings in your major and the opportunities for professional development at your current university that this award will help facilitate.
Well…if nothing else…this scholarship helped you attend this college, right…and gave you financial,support to work towards your goals.
Seriously…this group is going to want to hear how they helped you. Otherwise…why bother giving you the money again?
I mean, the courses I need to pursue for my career choice aren’t at my school. I’m only doing gen ed classes then transferring to a uni w better course offerings.
I realize it seems weird, but I honestly just don’t know what to do.
Well…didn’t this scholarship THIS YEAR help you pay for the gen ed courses…which are a move in the direction you need to move on to your eventual major?
Come on…surely you’ve grown in the last year somehow.
Look, they helped me pay for classes and my stuff but I’m still doing gen ed courses now and will be next semester. I guess it’s a move to my eventual major but I haven’t grown much nor have my career goals evolved, I still have a bit until I move on to directly pursuing my major hence why it’s so difficult to answer this prompt once again.
If you submit the exact same application, you will be sending the message that you did not mature or learn anything meaningful about yourself during your first year of college, which can easily be interpreted as their investment in you via the scholarship was not very successful. The result of this message might be that the only way you win this scholarship again is if you are the only applicant this year.
If you don’t want to send this discouraging message, then you will find a way to update your essay to reflect your college experience so far. Frankly, a student who isn’t able/willing to do this might not be worthy of a second year of scholarship investment. (I write this as someone who judges applications for internal college scholarships.)
Gen Ed courses are part of your degree, at least in most majors.
The scholarship has enabled you to progress towards your degree, has allowed you to attend college full-time
If you want this grant then you need to convince the panel that you’ve benefited from their award. If you can’t trouble yourself to come up with something new then maybe another student deserves it more. You don’t seem very excited about your school, but the grant is doing more than giving you the opportunity to go there. It’s helping you get the education you need so you can get additional education and move on to the career you want.
If you want a chance to have the grant renewed, you can’t use your previous essays. What’s your major and career goal? I’d start there. Do you read about topics of interest in your industry? You don’t have to be taking classes in your major to learn about current trends and issues. Do some reading and see if that prompts any new ideas.
Go back and find the letter telling you that you got the scholarship. See if there is anything indicating if there is a different process to renew it after the first year. If not, but there is contact information for whoever administers the scholarship, and contact that person. Thank them for the initial scholarship, and ask if they intend for you to fill out the same application, or if there is a separate one for renewal - do they want you to answer the same essay prompt, or is there a different one you can submit. Do they even intend for students to apply for more than one year?
If you haven’t already sent a thank you note for the initial scholarship, get one that! Many students (and their parents) forget to do so
I would change it somewhat to say that you are progressing thanks to them.
On the other hand, my DD’17 is at community college and applies for the Foundation scholarships every semester. The second semester she rewrote her essay and didn’t get one. So she went back to the original winning essay (I assume she changed it a bit) and has gotten one every time.