5 People Who Can Proofread Your Scholarship Essays
With school, extracurriculars, your part-time job and sports, it’s tempting to wait until the last minute and submit your scholarship applications. But before you do, ask for feedback, because everyone needs a second set of eyes on their essays!
The sooner you complete your essays, the faster you can get them into the hands of someone with the capability to double-check grammatical and spelling errors and offer suggestions. Here are some of the best people to help you when it comes to editing your scholarship essays.
1. Teacher
Chances are, you know at least one teacher pretty well. Whether you excel in their class isn't the only determining factor, because you need a teacher who knows you well and can give you honest, helpful feedback. Think back to homework assignments you've completed or papers you've written over the last year. Have any come back with great insight from a certain teacher?
2. Guidance Counselor
Guidance counselors are there for a reason - to guide you! Counselors know a lot about college and scholarship applications and they're the perfect people to ask for help with your essay. After editing, your counselor may be able to point out some other scholarships you haven't heard about yet.
3. Mentor
You may not realize it, but you do have a mentor out there who’s waiting to help. This person may be your coach, neighbor, tutor, religious leader or another adult you look up to in your community. Whoever this person is, they’ll be pleased that you’ve come to them for help with your scholarship application. They know your strengths and can offer tips on how to personalize your essay so it stands out against the competition and really reflects your personality.
4. Manager
Many students work part-time jobs and that's a great way for them to develop a sense of responsibility and a great work ethic. If you work after school or on the weekends and have a good relationship with your manager or supervisor, ask them to give your scholarship essay a look. Plenty of managers love the chance to help their employees grow and develop new skills, and if your essay addresses your work ethic, a manager is the perfect person to read it!
5. Parents
Tread carefully here; parents are great when it comes to proofreading or helping you brainstorm topics for your essay, but don't let anyone rewrite your essay so it no longer sounds like your voice. Scholarship judges can tell if an essay hasn't been written by the applicant! You'll most likely be disqualified if the judges think someone else wrote your essay, so accept suggestions for improvement, but don't let anyone revise your essay for you.
