How Much Time Does it Take to Apply for a Scholarship? 

 Posted on November 22,2024 in Uncategorized

Very few college students make it through their studies without applying for at least one scholarship. If you are applying for more than one scholarship – or renewing your application for the same scholarship every year – you may find yourself writing several scholarship essays a semester. 

While getting money to help pay for school is a major leg-up, writing the scholarship essays can be really tough. Many students find themselves panicking the day before the application deadline, surprised by how long it takes to write a great scholarship essay. 

If you are hoping to help fund your education using scholarships, it helps to plan ahead. Research OVC Scholarships, find the submission deadlines right away, keep track of all of these things in a spreadsheet, and don’t wait until the last minute to write the essays. Here are a few tips to make the scholarship essay writing process move a little faster. 

How Long is the Average Scholarship Essay? 

While every scholarship is unique, students will find that the majority of the scholarships offered by the OVC Scholarship Network require essays of 500 words in length. This is about one page of typing. While this may not seem like a tremendous amount of effort, crafting a well-written essay in such a small space can actually prove quite challenging. 

To understand about how long it will take you to write a scholarship essay, you will need to know a few things: 

• What is the essay’s prompt? 

• How long is the essay? 

• How fast can you usually type? 

• How frequently do you make major structural, spelling, or grammatical errors that need to be fixed? 

• When is the essay’s deadline? 

Using the answers to these questions to guide you, use the essay’s deadline to work backwards and figure out how many days you need to write a great essay according to your personal abilities and limitations. 

How Can I Write a Great Scholarship Essay in 10 Easy Steps? 

Like most creative writing projects, the most time-consuming part of a scholarship essay should actually be the time you spend thinking about the question and planning out the essay. If you simply start typing out an answer, you may find yourself in one of two very common situations: 

• Sitting in front of your computer, unsure of what you want to say next

• Filling up an entire page without actually answering the prompt or saying anything meaningful

The smartest way to quickly write a great essay is to spend most of your time planning the essay and much less time actually writing it. We recommend taking the following approach: 

1. Make sure you are actually eligible for the scholarship. Is your GPA high enough? Are you in the demographic the scholarship is intended to serve? There is nothing more frustrating than spending time applying for a scholarship only to find out you have been rejected on a technicality. 

2. Read the prompt carefully. Then read it again. Spend some time carefully thinking about your answer before you ever put your pen to paper or fingers on a keyboard. 

3. Begin writing the essay by clearly answering the prompt. For example, if the essay prompt is "How do you plan to end the cycle of adversity you have experienced and create a better future for yourself?" answer that question in one or two sentences. Keep that answer at the top of the page to guide you throughout your essay. 

4. Structure the rest of the essay, paragraph by paragraph, without writing it out in full detail. Perhaps in the first paragraph, you plan to share a defining moment in your childhood. In the next paragraph, you share how this moment impacted you. In the next paragraph, you share your plan for creating a better future for yourself. In the last paragraph, you explain how the scholarship will help you do that. 

5. Once you have your entire essay planned out, then begin writing the essay sentence-by-sentence. 

6. Step away from your computer for a day or two. Come back after you have had some time to forget about the essay and can approach it with fresh eyes. 

7. Rewrite anything that doesn’t make sense or that you feel doesn’t accurately capture what you are trying to say. 

8. Edit your essay carefully, using tools like Grammarly or Hemingway to check for spelling and grammar errors. 

9. Ask someone else to review the essay for you. 

10. Submit the essay! 

Should I Get Professional Help Writing Scholarship Essays? 

Some people swear by having a professional writing coach check their scholarship essays. Some people even pay writing coaches to write their essays for them. 

While you may want to have someone work with you to fine-tune your writing skills, having someone else write your scholarship essays is never a good idea. Everyone has a unique voice, and a scholarship essay that sounds too perfect or mechanical may be off-putting to scholarship essay judges. With careful planning, you can figure out what you want to say and how to say it – and do a great job – on your own.

Contact the OVC Scholarship Network Team to Find Out What Opportunities We Have for You

At OVC Scholarship Network, we understand how important it is to graduate college with as little financial burden as possible. Our scholarship donors are excited to read your application. Find out more about the scholarships that may be available to you by calling OVC Scholarship Network at 630-517-2702. You never have to pay to learn about or apply for scholarships with us. Contact our team today.