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Scholarship Resume: Template, Examples and How to List

A resume for a scholarship is a document focusing on your education and academic achievements. It includes your career objective and presents your skills and professional experience (if you have any). As selection committees review lots of scholarship applications, yours have to stand out from the crowd.

Maciej Duszyński, CPRW
Career Expert
Scholarship Resume: Template, Examples and How to List

.3% of students in the US get enough scholarships to cover the full cost of college education.

No.

The dot at the beginning of the first sentence is not a mistake.

Wanna join the club?

Start with making a scholarship resume that no one dares to ignore.

This guide will show you:

  • Scholarship resume examples that get funds.
  • How to ace your scholarship resume objective.
  • How to write a scholarship resume to make your application stand out.
  • Expert hints and scholarship resume samples.

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Looking for a different resume? Check out the following guides: 

What is a Scholarship Resume?

A college scholarship resume is a document stating your interests and goals while highlighting relevant education, projects, work experiences, academic achievements, awards , honors, and skills. It should be tailored to fit the targeted scholarship.

Scholarship Resume—Example

John Crawford
Cognitive Scientist

Phone: +1-123-456-7890
Email: john.crawford@gmail.com
Address: 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Academic affiliation: UCLA
Date of Birth: 3 Jan 1994

Objective

Fresh graduate with a BA in Cognitive Science from UCLA (GPA 3.95). Awarded Dean’s List three times. Member of UCLA Golden Key and Phi Theta Kappa. Seeks funds to pursue a Master’s Degree in Linguistics at UCLA. Plans to conduct cross-disciplinary research on language as a cognition tool, as well as the role of natural language acquisition patterns in the development of AI.

Education

2017
UCLA
Bachelor of Science, Cognitive Science
GPA 3.95
Thesis title: Scientific Hypotheses as the Most Accurate Forms of Precognition

Favorite areas of study:

  • Anthropology
  • Linguistics
  • Statistics
  • Communication

Extracurricular activities: Freelance contributor to 5 independent online music magazines.

2014
Myers Park High, Charlotte, NC
High School Diploma
GPA 3.95
Combined SAT score: 1550 (Math: 750, Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 800)

Activities: Member, Athletics team Grade 9-12

Leadership

  • Managing Editor at MindBuzz—an online magazine covering research and development in the field of cognitive sciences.
  • Co-organizer and moderator—science-fiction student discussion club.
  • Team Leader—English Club Grade 9–12.

Awards and Honors

  • 2017 Dean’s List
  • 2016 Dean’s List
  • 2015 Dean’s List

Societies

  • UCLA Golden Key—Member
  • Phi Theta Kappa—Member

Work Experience

June 2015–September 2015
FYI.com
Website Intern

  • Supported the optimization and revamping of online content across the site.
  • Cooperated with SEO teams to identify relevant keywords and article restructuring.
  • Conducted A/B testing: formulated hypotheses, set up tests, and analyzed results.

Skills

  • Written and oral communication
  • Problem-solving
  • Organization
  • Collaboration
  • JavaScript
  • SQL
  • HTML5

Languages

  • French (Bilingual)
  • Spanish (Advanced)
  • German (Conversational)

1. Choose the Best Scholarship Resume Format

First things first.

Writing a scholarship resume is relatively easy. It boils down to listing your academic and personal achievements on a resume.

At the same time—

It’s something more than a random list of good memories.

The scholarship resume template in the example above follows this order:

  • Contact information
  • Resume objective/career goal
  • Education/academic experience
  • Leadership
  • Awards and honors
  • Societies
  • Work/internship experience
  • Skills on a resume
  • Languages

Depending on your experience, you may consider adding other resume sections, such as:

Regardless of what scholarship resume template you choose, these tips will help you format it just right:

  • Pick the right resume format: the reverse-chronological resume draws attention to your latest achievements. This applies to all sections of your scholarship resume.
  • Use simple resume fonts. Aim for the range between 10–14pt. Write simple headings. Embrace white space to avoid clutter.
  • Keep it short and sweet. Your scholarship application consists of numerous documents. So, think of your resume as a concise summary. Ideally, fit it on a single page.
  • Put a scholarship resume objective at the top.
  • Make separate sections for awards and honors, leadership positions, membership in associations, work experience, skills, and languages.

Expert Hint: To make sure the formatting of your scholarship resume stays intact, save your resume as a PDF file.

2. Start with a Scholarship Resume Objective That Turns Heads

Your scholarship resume objective

Must be succinct.

This surefire formula will help you put your best foot forward right away:

1. Introduce yourself.

2. Present your academic background.

3. Mention your honors, awards, and societies.

4. Say what kind of funding you’re after.

5. Explain what research you’d like to conduct.

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

Scholarship Resume—Objective

Good example
Fresh graduate (1) with a BA in Cognitive Science from UCLA (GPA 3.95). (2) Awarded Dean’s List three times. Member of UCLA Golden Key and Phi Theta Kappa. (3) Seeks funds to pursue a Master’s Degree in Linguistics at UCLA. (4) Plans to conduct cross-disciplinary research on language as a cognition tool, as well as the role of natural language acquisition patterns in the development of AI. (5)
Bad example
UCLA graduate with a BA in cognitive science. Wishes to pursue academic interests in linguistics. Looks for funding to obtain a Master’s Degree in Linguistics.

The good example makes it clear that you’re a serious candidate with a strong academic background, impressive educational achievements, and a clear vision of your future.

This kind of introduction on a scholarship resume will make the committee members think of you in terms of an investment.

The other candidate may have a lot to offer as well. Who knows?

The thing is, their scholarship resume objective doesn’t sound very convincing in comparison to the good example.

And remember—

They will always compare you to the other candidates.

Expert Hint: Write your scholarship resume objective at the very end. The idea is to summarize your entire resume. But how to summarize something that hasn't yet been created in the first place?

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now.

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Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You’re the perfect candidate, and we’ll prove it. Use our resume builder now.

3. Write the Perfect Academic Experience Section on Your Scholarship Resume

You’re looking for funds that will let you continue your education.

This is great.

But—

You’re up against hundreds of other applicants, all of whom are equally dedicated to their academic pursuits.

So, the academic experience section on your scholarship resume must deliver.

Sample Scholarship Resume—Education Section

2017
UCLA
Bachelor of Science, Cognitive Science
GPA 3.95
Thesis title: Scientific Hypotheses as the Most Accurate Forms of Precognition

Favorite areas of study:

  • Anthropology
  • Linguistics
  • Statistics
  • Communication

Extracurricular activities: Freelance contributor to 5 independent online music magazines.

Scholarship Resume Samples—High School

2014
Myers Park High, Charlotte, NC
High School Diploma
GPA 3.95
Combined SAT score: 1550 (Math: 750, Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 800)

Activities: Member, Athletics team Grade 9-12

Let’s break this down.

This is what to put in your scholarship resume education section:

1. Graduation date or expected graduation date

2. School name

3. GPA score

4. Thesis title

5. Favorite areas of study

6. Extracurricular activities

Including points 1 through 3 is a must. Without such basic information, you could just as well skip writing your scholarship resume entirely.

On the other hand, points 4 and 5 add an extra dimension to your academic interests, and make you come across as a well-rounded scholarship candidate.

Plus—

This is something you might not be able to provide elsewhere in your application documents, or at least not in such a prominent way.

How far back should your scholarship resume education section go?

  • If you’re applying for a freshman scholarship—put your high school education.
  • If you’re a college student preparing a scholarship application—add high school education if you graduated in the past five years.
  • When looking for a Ph.D. or postgraduate scholarship, include both your BA and MA education. Skip high school entirely.

One more thing.

Your scholarship resume should give prominence to your leadership experience. This is something that all scholarship committee members value.

So—

Don’t mix the leadership positions you held into your extracurricular activities. Instead, make a separate leadership section on your scholarship resume.

Scholarship Resume Sample—Leadership

  • Managing Editor at MindBuzz—an online magazine covering research and development in the field of cognitive sciences.
  • Co-organizer and moderator—science-fiction student discussion club.
  • Team Leader—English Club Grade 9-12.

4. Turn Your Work Experience and Skills Into Assets

Yes, your work experience does matter.

It’s obvious you’re not going to show bags of professional experience on your scholarship resume, but it’s not the point.

The point is to show the scholarship committee members—

You’ve got grit.

Well, it’s not easy to combine professional and academic work.

Plus, if you’ve developed transferable skills that come in handy in academic contexts, your value as a scholarship candidate will skyrocket.

Resume for College Scholarship—Example

June 2015–September 2015
FYI.com
Website Intern

  • Supported the optimization and revamping of online content across the site.
  • Cooperated with SEO teams to identify relevant keywords and article restructuring.
  • Conducted A/B testing: formulated hypotheses, set up tests, and analyzed results.

Make sure your professional experience resume section doesn’t go unnoticed.

Use strong resume verbs to clearly communicate your accomplishments and skills.

Go for such words as supported, cooperated, conducted, formulated, or analyzed. Don’t use the cliched responsible for formula as it doesn’t communicate much.

No work experience?

Fret not.

It’s a scholarship resume. Work experience isn’t obligatory.

But—

To up your chances, consider adding sections on:

  • Volunteering
  • Part-time gigs
  • Side jobs
  • Community service

Resist the temptation of making a laundry list of all your responsibilities, though.

Fish out the things that are relevant to your academic success, and put them on your scholarship resume.

The same applies to your key skills.

Pick out the skills relevant to your academic success, and show them off in a separate section.

Skills to Put on a Scholarship Resume

  • Written and oral communication
  • Problem-solving
  • Organization
  • Collaboration
  • JavaScript
  • SQL
  • HTML5

The list should include both soft and hard (technical) skills.

Expert Hint: Put up to 10 strong skills on your resume. Choose only the ones you have a good grasp of, don’t mention the skills you don’t feel very confident about. This way you’ll avoid the so-called presenter’s paradox.

5. List Your Awards, Honors, Leadership Experience, and Others

The strength of your scholarship resume depends on your academic and personal achievements.

Don’t fail to mention any.

Add resume sections listing your awards and honors, membership in student societies, and knowledge of foreign languages.

Awards and Honors

  • 2017 Dean’s List
  • 2016 Dean’s List
  • 2015 Dean’s List

Societies

  • UCLA Golden Key—Member
  • Phi Theta Kappa—Member

Languages

  • French (Bilingual)
  • Spanish (Advanced)
  • German (Conversational)

Expert Hint: Double the impact of your scholarship resume with a cover letter for scholarship. A well-written cover letter can tell a story that neither your scholarship application nor resume can. And we have just the article to teach you how to write a good cover letter.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOWcreate your cover letter now

Want to try a different look? There’s 18 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

This is how to write a scholarship resume:

  • Select the best scholarship resume template. Choose the template that best serves your purpose, and has all the sections you’d like to include in your scholarship resume.
  • Give it a great look. It’s not just about what you show, but how you show it. So, keep your scholarship resume short. With the right resume template, you may be able to fit everything on a single page. Beware of cramming in too much information, and make good use of white space.
  • Pay particular attention to the education section. Read this section back and forth. Make sure you’ve included every detail that makes you stand out.
  • Add the professional experience section to your scholarship resume. This is where your work and internship experience should go. No professional experience? Focus on your volunteering work, part-time gigs, side jobs, or community service.
  • Boost your scholarship resume with your extra strengths. Your skills, leadership positions, awards, languages, and membership in student societies and associations do make a difference. Don’t fail to show them off.
  • Write a cover letter for a scholarship that will make you stand out from the crowd. 

Questions on how to write the best scholarship resume? Want to share advice on how to write a resume for a scholarship? We’d love to hear from you. Leave your comment below.

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.

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Maciej Duszyński, CPRW
Experienced in the education management industry, Maciej shares his knowledge for every step of your job hunt, from landing an internship to moving to an executive position. Maciej has helped job candidates at all stages of their career paths, from interns to directors to C-suite members, to thrive in their job. His mission is to help you find the right opportunity and create a job application that gets you the career you deserve. Maciej holds a Master’s degree in English with a specialization in communication and education management.

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