Let’s have a look at some of the few scholarship essay examples that worked.

These students benefited hugely and earned thousands in financial aid, and I’m sharing these sample scholarship essays so you can learn from what they did well.

Want to save a lot of time during the process?

Important Note: Write a great college essay and re-use it when writing scholarship essays for similar prompts.

Why? Combining essay prompts will not only save you time, but it’ll also result in a better essay.

Even it’s a scholarship essay about yourself, a creative writing scholarship, or an essay about why you deserve the scholarship, the sample scholarship essays below can help you completely understand what can happen from following a scholarship essay format or applying tips for how to write a scholarship essay.

We would like to thank write paper for me for providing us with one of the sample essays.

Example 1 Scholarship Essay

Kang Foundation Scholarship ($1000), Dreamer Scholarship Fund Scholarship through Sarang Church ($2000), and the national contest from the Luthor legal team ($1000) by Chris Kang.

Prompt: Open topic.

Walking thirty-five minutes each evening to the cafe and back to work a six-hour shift was tiring, but my family’s support and gratitude for the extra income were deserving.

A few years back, my family of seven had been ousted from the home we had been living in for the past fifteen years. With no place to go, we moved into our church’s backroom for five months, where I cruelly tried to hide our toothbrushes and extra shoes from other church members. Right then, I made a promise to my family to contribute financially in whatever way I could. My sacrifice transmuted to a closer bond with my and parents and siblings, which helped me understand the true meaning of a united family and the vital part I play in that.

With the financial stability that my jobs provided, my mother could be at home to raise four children, my learning-disabled older sister could go to college, my younger sister could go on a forest trip to Amazons, and my sibling could compete in national gaming competitions. I now understand that even as a high school student, I have so much potential to impact my family and how one small act can go a long way.

Through the successes of my hard work, I also understood that poverty was just a societal condition. I was low-income, not poor. I was still thriving in school and taking an active role in community service. Realizing my low-income status was not a barrier but a pure motivation to my success.

To earn more money as a young teen, I started flipping bicycles for profit on craigslist. Minor repairs in the brake and gears, and a wash, could be the difference between a $40 piece of trash and a $300 steal. Observing how a single inch could change the lining of gears taught me the importance of detail and sparked my attraction to fixing things.

When I was fifteen, I moved on to a larger project: my clunker of a car. I had bought my 2002 Elantra with my own money, but it was way too old. With some instruction from a friend who is a mechanic, I began to understand the components of an engine motor and the engineering behind it. I repaired my brake light, replaced engine oil, worked on the battery, and made adjustments to the power steering hose. Engineering was no longer just pursuing AI and ML kids; it was a medium to a solution. It could be a path to a career, doing the things I always love. I was inspired to learn more.

To explore my interest in engineering, I interned at Boeing. Although I spent long hours examining and working in the lab for the inertial navigation of submarines, I acquired most from the small things.

I learned that engineering is the devotion to extended hours. From the respect, kindness, and understanding integrated within our team, I learned the value of unity at the workplace. Like my own family at home, our unity and commitment to working led to outstanding results for everyone and a deeper understanding within the group.

What most fascinates me about engineering is not just the math or the technology but the practical application. It is through engineering that I can fix up my car... and facilitate submarine navigation. Engineering is a lifestyle --  instead of lingering over hardships, I work to solve them and learn from them. 

Success is triumphing over difficulties-- directing yourself over anything and everything to achieve the best for yourself and your family. With this scholarship, I will continue focusing on my studies in math and engineering instead of worrying about making money and sending more back home. It will be an investment into myself for my family.

Example 2   Scholarship Essay

Prompt: “The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.” - Wilma Mankiller. Tell us when you failed at something. What were the conditions? How did you respond to your failure? What teachings did you get? * (No more than 400 words)

I’ve danced ballet since I was nine years old. But, even after almost ten years, I could still hardly extend my legs as high as my rivals, nor could I do as many pirouettes as them. My elasticity was astonishingly subpar, and I quickly wore out my Pointe shoes, making them unwearable after sometime couple of months. Where the average lifespans of my peers’ pointe shoes extended into months, mine could barely last ten classes. I was the pushover of my class at Ballet Stars, and I was too consumed in my insecurities to do anything to better myself to become the dancer I always wanted to be.

After a disgracing recital, wherein my pointe shoe untied in the middle of our group performance, I ultimately gave up on dance. I was in the middle of doing a Changement de Pieds (Change of feet jumping step) when I looked down in horror to see my ribbons untied as I forgot to tape them with clear tape as I usually did before my performances. Looking to my right, I noticed that my ballet teacher backstage had also taken note and rushed me to get off the stage, her hands desperately waving me. After reprimanding me for not having correctly tied my laces, I was not permitted to finish my part. Later, I could hardly get back on stage that evening for our final performance as I didn’t want to fail myself and my team again. But, because of my move to Port Saint Lucie in the summer, I rekindled my emotion for ballet and pointe at Florida Dance Company. Florida Dance Company was my hope, a place where I could restart my adventures in dance and renew the joy I once felt in my art. It was an incredible feeling regaining my confidence in my abilities due to the further help that I received from my dance teacher, Ms.Sophia.

Presently, I always remind myself to be the best that I can be and to confidently use my dance role models, like Misty Copeland, as motivation to be a better dancer. From this experience, I learned that to overcome personal failures, and I needed to move forward and think positively because change doesn’t happen when you sit still.

Example 3 Scholarship Essay

Prompt: “Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” - Cesar Chavez. What does it mean to you to be part of a minority society? What difficulties has it brought, and how have you defeated them? What are the benefits? * (No more than 400 words)

Being part of a minority is very conflicting for me as I feel both approved as a part of a Haitian minority community and disconnected from my non-immigrant companions. Originating from a background of poverty in Haiti, I knew that, even in my childhood, I had to be an extraordinary student to succeed. This work ethic--found in my Haitian community--has been very profitable in my life as we all came here to pave ourselves a better future. As my mom handled two jobs, did college, and was briefly homeless just to secure my life for a better future, I feel exhilarated to be part of such a tireless community. And, it is because of this substantial value for work, fundamental to my community’s core values, that I am now the salutatorian of a class of 679 students.

As I was so young when I entered the US, I didn’t know how American society operated, especially elementary school. I was just an immigrant in a class of forty, hardly spoke English, and had no friends because of these conditions. Every day my first few years, I felt a physical divide between my companions and myself. I never felt a sense of belonging, despite all my efforts. Already a double minority as a woman and a Black person, I tried to abandon my language and culture to approve American language and values to better fit in the crowd. However, by doing this, I nearly entirely lost my cultural identity as both a Haitian and an immigrant and my language.

It was in the halls of my first high school, International Charter High School, that I understood the immensity of what I had lost. Where my peers held their cultural identities and language, I had almost lost mine. It was there, and I learned to embrace a part of me that was essentially buried inside, as I was inspired to be more open: speaking Creole with my Haitian math teacher and peers. As a senior, I now volunteer weekly, helping Haitian ESOL students with their homework. I am both a teacher and a student in that excellent but straightforward classroom as I help them with their homework, and, in return, they help me perfect my use of Creole. They are my everyday reminder of what unites us as Haitians—our ability to triumph in the face of adversity.

Example 4 Scholarship Essay

Prompt: “It is imperative to know who you are. To make decisions. To show who you are.” – Malala Yousafzai. Tell us three things that are important to you. How did you arrive at this list? Will these things be important to you in ten years? Why? * (No more than 400 words)

The three essential things to me are my family, being prosperous, and leaving a legacy. Because of my past, I keep these three basic things as the focus of my mind every day to help myself be better.

Above all, my family is the most valuable thing in my life. The meaning of family may differ for everyone, but for me, my family is everything. I almost died in the Haitian earthquake, as Jacmel was one of the worst affected areas, had it not been for my father and mother. Later, if it were not for my uncle, my mom would not have been able to enter America on her own and give a great life to me. Without my family, I wouldn’t stand where I am right now. I am always indebted to their sacrifices, and I am so thankful that I have their eternal love and support.

Success is also very essential to me. I hope to achieve many things in my life, but most importantly, I would like to make my family proud of all the sacrifices they made for me. Successhas is having a career that I enjoy and allows me to help my family members financially. I hope to no longer experience hardships such as homelessness, poverty, and economic pressures, as I had in my young life.

Finally, however, I would like to become admired and remembered by people who aren’t my family members and friends. I do not wish to be praised, but I want to be more than a nobody in this big, vast worlIfhas I can inspire the change that I want to make, and I can leave a mark that continues to inspire and shape the landscape that follows me. After coming to the epiphany that if I died today, nothing would change except for the lives of those very close to me, I find myself reluctant to be just another Jane Doe. I want to leave a part of myself behind, whether it is a building or a popular hashtag, meaningful and permanent once I die.

Example 5 Scholarship Essay

Millennium Gates Last Dollar Scholarship and $3,500 in Outside Scholarship Essay Examples by Famyrah Lafortune 

Prompt: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela. Describe a change you would like to make in the world. Tell us about how you would plan to make that change and what obstacles you might encounter along the way. *(No more than 400 words)

Nothing is more meaningful to me than ceasing racial inequality and discrimination in America. I do not want my younger siblings to face the bias Black people remain to meet in our present society. After winning our fight for freedom and prompting the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, why do Black teens face higher poverty rates than Whites and are still four times more likely to be imprisoned? “That was long ago. You need to get over it,” my White companions say when relating to racial inequalities. But, why then, in 7th grade, after winning  Academy’s Spelling Bee competition, did my fellow White classmate state with a heavy dose of surprise, “You know…when I first saw you, I didn’t think you were going to be smart?”

I hope to commit to ending racial discrimination by utilizing our present interconnectivity and managing a social media campaign titled #It’sNotOver. #It’sNotOver intends to oppose the popular misconception that because racial inequality was legally outlawed, de facto racial inequality does not continue in our society. Our modern presidential election may have brought life to a ‘Divided America,’ but it also showed how powerful and influential social media is. By increasing awareness of racial inequalities everywhere, I might inspire a new wave of change in our country like Successthe present Time’s Up movement. Moreover, suppose I can obtain the influence of celebrities in my #It’sNotOver campaign, like that of Time’s Up. In that case, I might similarly capture the attention of millions of people and inspire action against this issue across the globe.

I understand that social media can do so much in discussing these issues, as not everyone can afford the luxury of having internet access. Yet, I hope that my drive can encourage all those who do have access to take it upon themselves to be the change by being motivated by the fact that we are globally united in this issue. Although I expect negativity and criticism from people who either do not believe that this issue exists or do not believe in our cause, I am willing to encounter it if it means our society as a whole irrevocably can grow to accept each other’s differences.