College Funding Accelerator
Welcome to Module 1!
Click here to watch your training video.
If you have read the title of this module, I am sure you are thinking that I couldn’t possibly be talking about scholarship essays. But, that is directly connected to your ability to write strong scholarship essays.
Perhaps, you feel like hundreds of thousands of students who get anxiety from the word “essay”. Let’s redefine the scholarship essay as your story. A story about what? Some aspect of your personal and (future) professional brand.
Your personal and (future) professional brand is the key to writing winning scholarship essays without feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
Why?
Successful brands like Target and Apple are successful because their customers know, like, and trust them. Just like Target and Apple customers, you want the scholarship judges to know, like, and trust you.
So, what is your brand story? It’s a combination of your motivations, passions, hobbies, talents, achievements, skills, experiences, and volunteer experiences.
So, what exactly are scholarship judges looking for in your scholarship essays? Scholarship judges are looking for you to tell an aspect of your brand story that connects with the purpose of the scholarship organization.
Module 1 Tasks
- In your journal, laptop, or phone, provide a 3-5 sentence summary of your personal and (future) professional brand.
Coming Up Next
In the next module, we are going to focus on using your College Funding Accelerator questionnaire to define your brand story in preparation for writing your scholarship essays.