Scholarships are a great way to help you pay for college. Unfortunately, most scholarships have competition and there is no guarantee you will win. One way to make sure you stand out from the crowd is to submit a great essay. Guest blogger Mary Walton gives us eight tools and resources to write great scholarship essays.

Guest Post by Mary Walton

The financial burdens of a great education can be overwhelming for many students, and may be a big deterrent in even pursuing higher learning altogether. There are scholarships available to support all types of students with different abilities and strengths, as well as different needs. The most difficult part is figuring out how to apply for these scholarships, and how to put together the best scholarship essays to increase your chances of being awarded the money you need to get through your schooling with less of a financial burden on your shoulders. Here are some great tools and resources to get you well on your way.

1. How to Write a Scholarship Essay That Makes You Stand Out
IGrad has put together a checklist of the most important, and sometimes overlooked, things to remember when you’re writing a scholarship essay. It’s easy to get caught up in the process and forget the basics – like making sure you’ve read the requirements of the scholarship and have included everything they’ve asked for in your submission.

“The best piece of advice I can offer to anyone writing a scholarship essay is to find your voice and let it be heard. Don’t try to fit yourself into a box of what you think the scholarship committee will want to hear. Let them know who you are and why you truly deserve this award,” says Gloria Kopp, writing expert from Studydemic.

2. The Intelligent Plagiarism Detector
Being accused of plagiarism will almost certainly kill any chances you’ve got of getting that scholarship. Run your text through this plagiarism detector to rule out any chances that you’ve mistakenly plagiarized someone else’s words.

3. Essay Structure
Putting together a well-structured essay can sometimes be a struggle, especially when there’s a scholarship on the line. Harvard College’s Writing Center has made available this resource to help you map out and structure your essay, and learn strategies for writing a great scholarship essay.

“It’s not always about the experience level or exact qualifications a student may or may not have. A well written scholarship essay demonstrates to me why that person has the most potential and would be the best choice to be given that scholarship. Just because someone has not yet had an opportunity to prove themselves, should not be a hindrance to any future opportunity – they’ve just got to show that the passion is there. And, with the help of writing tools, you can help communicate your hunger to learn and pursue your dreams,” suggests Antonio White, FinAid Advisor at UK admission service.

4. Story2
Tapping into your storytelling voice can help you turn your powerful story into an authentic scholarship essay, and Story2 is just the tool to help you get that done. Their proven writing method has helped over 30,000 students let their voices be heard, with over 83% of those students receiving merit based scholarships in the process.

5. How to Write a College Essay
MIT Admissions offers up this condensed resource outlining the basics for great essay writing. They narrow it down to the rules you should follow, no matter what type of essay you’re putting together, and simplifies things by highlighting clarity and brevity as the keys to essay writing success.

6. Essay Map
Mapping out your essay can give you a visual idea of how you’ll be structuring it and how it all flows. It gives you an overall picture of how your essay will look, and if there is a better way that it can be structured.

“Because I have to read through an enormous number of scholarship essays each year, I’m looking for something that stands out and speaks to me; Something that lets me see the real person behind the essay. With the help of these online resources, I’m certain you will be able to create an engaging essay that connects on a personal level with the person reading it,” says Mary Walton from SimpleGrad.

Mary Walton is an academic tutor currently living in Santa Monica, she studied in Australia and taught English in Cambodia. She edits content at Essay Help and UK admission service educational websites. Also, Mary helps with content management at Essay Writer tutoring service.