Scholarship panels may require letters of recommendation to be signed and sealed.
College scholarships can be competitive, with hundreds or thousands of students vying for the same award. Applications help scholarship panels screen potential recipients to identify strong candidates. A letter of recommendation can be a powerful tool in affecting scholarship award choice. If you're a student, learn what is needed in a scholarship letter of recommended to avoid having the letter rejected. Teachers or community leaders should also understand what's needed to avoid the same possibility.
Author
A major component of the scholarship letter of recommendation involves the author choice. Students may not write their own letter of recommendation; they should also avoid asking family members or friends to write the letter of recommendation. Teachers, community leaders, employers or volunteer coordinators make effective scholarship letter writers.
Identification
Scholarship panelists reading a scholarship letter will want clear identification of the person writing the scholarship letter. If you're writing the letter, identify yourself by name, title, organization and relationship with the scholarship applicant. Included in this identification should be relationship length. For example, "As Catherine's high school counselor, I've known this straight-A student for three years."
Knowledge
Students who don't know their chosen recommender very well can submit a sample letter of recommendation, resume or personal essay about their background and accomplishments to provide enough information for the scholarship letter. Letter writers might rely on student grades, projects, interactions with teachers or other students, and personal perceptions about a student's aptitude for college or chosen career to compose the letter. Under no circumstances should scholarship letters of recommendation include false or misrepresented information; this can result in scholarship funds being withdrawn.
Recommendation
A crucial statement needed in the recommendation letter is the recommendation itself. You may allude to your overall recommendation throughout the letter, but there should be a sentence that clearly states your support of the student in his application for the scholarship. Without a wholehearted endorsement, your letter may come across as tepid or ineffective. Because teachers may feel obligated to write letters for students, scholarship panelists might be on the lookout for clues that the letter's author is unenthusiastic about the applicant's accomplishments or abilities.
Contact Information
A scholarship letter of recommendation must have contact information. As with any business letter, include your contact information in case the scholarship committee has further questions regarding the student applicant. This includes a mailing address, email address and telephone number.
Letterhead
Some scholarship applications require that letters be printed on school or business letterhead to help establish authenticity. If you're a student, read scholarship instructions carefully and let your recommender know to print the document on letterhead.
Release
Some scholarship committees require a release form signed by the student stating that she will not have access to or read the scholarship letter. This can increase confidentiality. This form must be signed and included in the application if required.
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