Applying for College Scholarships With a Resume

Some scholarship applications are requesting a resume. What's the best way to format it? Are there specific templates I should follow, or is it better to customize it based on the scholarship requirements? Thanks in advance!

Creating a scholarship resume is both a great opportunity to showcase all of your achievements and a useful tool for scholarship committees to understand your qualifications. The format largely depends on the individual requirements of the scholarship applications, but there are a few general recommendations for crafting an effective resume:

1. Clear and Simple Design: Your resume should be quick to read and simple to understand. Use bullet points, headings, and subheadings for organization. Keep the layout clean with plenty of white space around each section.

2. Relevant Information: Include your name, contact information, education, skills, experiences, and awards. List your high school, along with your GPA and expected graduation date. If you have college-level education (like dual enrollment credits), also include that.

3. Tailored Content: Customize your resume for each application rather than using a single generic resume. Emphasize the skills, experiences, and awards most relevant to the scholarship you're applying for. If the scholarship is community service-oriented, make sure to highlight your volunteering experience. If it's for students interested in STEM, emphasize your relevant coursework and science fair accolades.

4. Start with the Most Important Information: Put the most relevant and impressive achievements at the top of each section. This prioritization is excellent because most people read from top to bottom, and you want to grab the reader's attention from the outset.

5. Brief Descriptions: Don’t just list your experiences and achievements; explain what you did and the impact it had. Did you lead a club that ended up winning a statewide competition? Did you consistently make honor roll? Including a short description can show the scale of your accomplishments.

6. Be Consistent: Use a consistent format throughout your resume. All headings should be the same size and font, all bullet points should be the same style. Also, maintain consistent tense, typically past tense.

There are different templates available online that you can use as a starting point, including free resources on Appily. However, keep in mind that the best resumes are often customized based on the individual and the scholarship, so don't hesitate to modify templates to suit your needs. And finally, always proofread your resume for errors before submitting it. Good luck!