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Samples

Letter for requesting information

Personal Statement/Essay

Winning Personal Statement

July 11, 1997

Gannett Corporation
1234 Poppy Way
New York, New York 10011

Dear Program Director:

I am presently a high school student and will graduate in June 1998. I have applied to San Diego Community College.

I would like to receive information on your scholarships for students planning to study Education. Please include your scholarship application forms.

Thank you in advance for this information.

Sincerely,

OR

I am presently attending Cuyamaca College will graduate in June 1998. I plan to transfer to San Diego State University.

I would like to receive information on your scholarships for students planning to enter the field of Education. Please include your scholarship application forms and any other information you feel would be helpful.

Thank you in advance for this information.

Sincerely,

John W. Success
12234 Harper
San Diego, CA 92010
(619) 334-5567

(The computerized scholarship bank generates a letter for you. You can log on from any computer with internet access using the http://www.finaid.org).

A personal statement is a WRITTEN INTERVIEW. It is also your first and maybe last opportunity to make a "good first impression". So organize your thoughts before your start to write. Address the questions "WHO ARE YOU, WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO SCHOOL, WHAT ARE YOUR EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES (MAJOR), WHAT HAVE YOU DONE (experience), WHY & HOW WILL YOU USE THE MONEY, AND WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO AFTER YOU GRADUATE." Pretty easy....

• Look over the scholarship requirements so you can address them
• Look over your work history, volunteer and paid
• Look over your personal traits
• Consider training, schooling, community activities

Now you are ready to start. Jot down on a piece of paper the things that apply to the scholarship and then make an outline so you don't forget to include them in your paper. This is just a SUGGESTION of what to include in your paper.

Example: Business Scholarship

Need 2.0 GPA, must be planning to go into accounting, must enroll in accredited college, must show financial need, tell what your plans are

Outline:

I. First Paragraph: You and your goals

1. Name
2. Where you go to school and if full-time or part-time
3. Your major
4. Why you chose this major/why you like this kind of work
5. Your grade point average
6. If attending a community college, where do you intend to transfer
7. Why you would like to be considered for this scholarship: your financial need

II. Second paragraph: Your experience/work history

1. What jobs have you held in this field
2. What experience or exposure have you have in this field

III. Third paragraph: personality traits

1. Community activities you've been involved in
2. Clubs or organizations you belong to
3. Personal traits: dedicated, self-starter, motivated, helpful, serious about your education, etc.
4. Status: single parent/first year college student/re-entry student/solely responsible for educational costs/etc.

IV. Fourth paragraph: Closing/Summary

1. "With the cost of books, supplies and fees I would really appreciate your scholarship...."
2. "I would really appreciate any financial assistance from your organization because..."
3. "If I receive a scholarship from your organization it would really help me because....", etc.

Finally:

"Thank you for considering my application for the ____________ Scholarship."

"ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?"

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I am bored, I build suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won their weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not gone to college.

(Yes, he did get a scholarship award.)

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