EXCITING NEWS! The 2026 versions of the How to Win College Scholarships ebooks are now available!
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Create Powerful Scholarship Essays
Scholarship essays that are fun to read capture the attention of the judges, so don’t write a boring essay!
Let’s talk about scholarship essays today. I wrote How To Write an Amazing Scholarship Essay and still stick by my belief that the first few lines of an essay are KEY to drawing in the reader (judge!).
If you haven’t read it, go read it now and then come right back here.
Ok, got it? Wonderful!
Now let’s compare opening scholarship essay sentences.
Essay 1 I am the second child of a family with five children.
Essay 2 After 22 hours of labor and more pain than I can even begin to imagine, I wonder if my mother had any idea how my birth order would shape the person I have now become?
#1 Boring
#2 Compelling!
Where is the writer going with this opening statement?
The reader WANTS to know, instead of just doing their job and plodding through the essay!
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Get the picture?
Reading successful essays is a wonderful way for students to understand the difference between a mundane essay and a captivating one. Just like I share in this post, sharing true personal details is a great way to pique the interest of the reader.
Now get out there and write those amazing scholarship essays!!!
How to write a powerful college scholarship essay Share on X
Monica Matthews is the author of How to Win College Scholarships. She helped her own son win over $100,000 in college scholarships and now shares her expertise with other parents and their students. She truly has “been there, done that” in regard to helping parents and students navigate the scholarship process.
Her method of helping students in finding college scholarships, writing unique and compelling scholarship essays, creating amazing scholarship application packets, and more have taught desperate parents to help their own students win thousands of scholarship dollars. She teaches them how to apply S.M.A.R.T. with outstanding results.
Monica’s scholarship tips have been featured on many prominent websites, and she has been dubbed the “Go-To” expert on college scholarships.
