Scholarship EssayWrite About Research Interests Even if You Have None
Ready? This is where the popularity contest begins. They told you high school was a popularity contest, but you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Art students, Biology students, IT students -- regardless of your chosen degree program, you're still entering a world of business. Trying for this scholarship, you're ready to attend to the business of a popularity contest.
Selling Out = Allowing Yourself to Be Used as a Pawn in Their Popularity Contest
And you are not even a competitor in the popularity contest! Did you think you were a competitor? No, you're not competing in this contest. The scholarship/sponsorship is being used by some organization -- public and private organizations, universities, labor unions, school districts -- as a way to get ahead in...
The Popularity Contest of Public Relations
The person reading your essay will favor you if you have potential to be a success story that results from their decision to award you the scholarship. The givers of the scholarship will want the public to know they are making a difference. If you have a plan for meaningful graduate level research and also a concept for them to associate with you, you still might not get the scholarship but you'll have an advantage.
Selling Out = Writing About Research Interests Even if You Have None
You probably won't get the scholarship, anyway. College students are idealistic and naive, so maybe you think you can get this scholarship just by being yourself, and without "selling out." If you do, it will only be by coincidence. Others will sell out and do it well, and they can win this popularity contest because they see it for what it is. They are not self-righteous and stubborn, like you.
Besides, you should have research interests or you don't belong in school, anyway. Maybe you do have research interests, so you can represent yourself accurately by writing about them. If you want to try it, here is what to do:
Do Not Write About Yourself
No one cares. Write about a concept and a plan for graduate level research. People love stories, and they love to feel inspired. They'll love you, too, if you can represent, for them, the idea of taking empowerment from this scholarship and working hard to contribute to your chosen field. Quickly tell them the story of how an interest that developed by reading recent books and articles. Then, describe what you hope to accomplish in the next few years as a smart scholar, motivated and humble enough to conduct research. Of course this is "about yourself" in the sense that you are a character in the story, but the main idea of the story is the development of an aspiration/interest.
You Need to Have a Theme / Concept / Word
Give the reader one word or phrase to associate with you, or you'll be instantly forgotten. Make a list of words that go with your theme. You don't need to use a "Mind Map" or any other trick to explore yourself. You already know yourself and what you want to do. List the words that are most important to you in this meaningful research you plan to do.
The person reading your scholarship essay is a human, just like you. She has probably written a scholarship essay in the past. Like you, the reader is trying to "be somebody" and at least in some vague, momentary way her encounter with your essay is going to be a part of that.
Write about a plan for research work.
The reader can use the fact that you have a plan to justify empowering you with this scholarship (and letting some other student be denied and disappointed). If you want the scholarship, Google around a bit right now to learn about the dissertation process you'll undergo if you continue on to get your doctoral degree. Institutions awarding scholarships prefer to be able to say their generosity propelled a student on through graduate school; you know they act on self-interest, right?
Why Should You Describe a Plan for Research Work?
It's because research is a realistic goal, and if you accomplish excellence with your thesis paper, dissertation, research articles, etc., it'll be clear, publishable proof that the scholarship money was put to good use. There's no need to tell some fantastic tale about how you'll cure cancer, open medical clinics in Africa, and eradicate hunger. The reader doesn't need to be told fairy tales. Maybe you'll do great things, but until you do they're fairy tales. No matter what kind of scholarship you're competing for, your plan should probably be about academic research.
Get Ahead With Your Story About a Research Interest, and You'll Win the Game
Learn about the research that is being done by graduate students and respected authorities in the field you choose, and catch up with what is happening. Scholarship candidates don't usually know what is going on in this field they are trying to enter. You are going to have to learn about the most recent advancements and research efforts in this field (because otherwise, why bother going to school for it?), so you might as well do it now.
If you have a plan for doing some impressive research in the next few years, you'll be more impressive than the other applicants. Maybe you don't intend to do any graduate level research until a few years from now, or maybe you've never thought about it at all, but you can sell out now and say it's what you plan to do.
Why Try for a Scholarship, Though?
Why not aim higher and seek corporate sponsorship for a prime-time television show? You are selling out already, allowing yourself to be used as a pawn in their popularity contest, so you might as well take it to an extreme. Make a viral YouTube video and become an instant mini-celebrity. Start doing business, and you get to actually participate in a popularity contest instead of just being used in one. After a few years of success, maybe you'll offer a yearly scholarship and judging other people's scholarship essays instead of writing one! For now, go ahead and win this scholarship as an exercise in disillusionment.