How to Write a Recommendation Letter for a Scholarship

Writing a compelling recommendation letter is key to helping a student win a scholarship. As an influencer in a student’s life, your letter can provide crucial information to showcase their strengths. This guide will outline the basics for how to make a recommendation letter for a scholarship that stands out.

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The Role of a Recommendation Letter

A recommendation letter plays an integral role in a student’s scholarship application. It provides a personalized account of their talents, accomplishments, and potential—detailing their unique attributes that make them deserving of a scholarship. Your letter validates and brings to life the student’s credentials, serving as an influential endorsements of their merit. As the recommendation letter has significant influence, it is essential you understand how to make a recommendation letter for a scholarship that effectively showcases the applicant.

Determine Eligibility to Write the Letter

Before learning how to write a recommendation letter for a scholarship, first decide if you are suited to recommend the student. Typically, teachers, counselors, coaches, employers, mentors, religious leaders or Community leaders write these letters. Ensure you know the applicant well enough to speak to their strengths, abilities and qualifications. If you lack sufficient knowledge of their attributes, advise the student to request a letter from someone else.

Once you determine eligibility, verify any additional requirements from the scholarship provider. Many have preferences regarding who should write the letter, the nature of your relationship dynamic, and length requirements. Ensuring your letter meets all outlined criteria will give it the best chance to aid the applicant. Having clear guidelines will also inform how to make a recommendation letter tailored for that particular scholarship.

Reflect on Their Credentials and Accomplishments

Prior to writing the letter, thoroughly reflect on the applicant’s credentials, character, and accomplishments. Review their academic transcripts, resume, scholarship essays, and any projects or Examples of their work. This will jog your memory regarding their achievements, values, life challenges they’ve overcome, and any anecdotal moments that reveal their character. Take detailed notes on meaningful examples that illustrate their strengths which apply to the scholarship criteria. These specifics will substantiate your assertions regarding their worthiness for the financial award.

Crafting the Recommendation Letter

Once you gather sufficient background information about the applicant, follow these best practices on how to make a recommendation letter shine:

Structure

Date Include the date at the top indicating when the letter was written.
Address Begin the letter by formally addressing the review committee, mentioning the specific scholarship by name. Tailor this greeting based on available information.
Opening paragraph Start with an enthusiastic opening statement establishing your highly favorable opinion of the student and highlighting the length and nature of your relationship. Include any distinctive and admirable qualities that stands out to you.
Body Use two or three paragraphs to elaborate on 3-4 of the applicant’s strongest attributes, accomplishments achievements, or life experiences in rich detail. Weave in short anecdotes to provide evidence and illustrate each quality or achievement. Demonstrate how they’ve applied any key strengths or skills. Explain why that makes them uniquely qualified for the scholarship.
Conclusion Close by reiterating your wholehearted recommendation of the applicant to be selected as a recipient of the scholarship. State your confidence that they will represent the values of the scholarship program and use the funding responsibly to achieve education goals. Include your contact information and offer to provide any additional information.

Content While constructing each section, focus on developing coherent and persuasive content showcasing their merit in an authentic voice:

Opening Hook Compose an opening hook sentence that grabs attention, highlighting their most impressive or extraordinary achievement.
Descriptors Include vivid descriptors and action words conveying their talents, leadership, persistence, integrity, service, initiative, curiosity or other traits that align with scholarship criteria.
Show, Don’t Just Tell Back assertions with 1-2 specific examples demonstrating outcomes, awards, stating quantified results, challenges overcome. Compare them favorably against peers to add context.
Accomplishments Choose academic, extracurricular, athletic or work accomplishments matching scholarship values like community service, publications, presentations, projects, leadership roles or creative endeavors. Focus on outcomes.
Future Goals Note any career aspirations or educational goals the scholarship may help advance. Tie this to their preparatory actions already taken indicative of drive.
Standout Qualities Highlight admirable characteristics about their personality, ethical behavior, people skills, emotional intelligence, or resilience in the face of hardship. Share a personal story if appropriate.

Style Employ these writing strategies to make a polished, professional letter:

Readability Break content into digestible sections with headers. Use varied sentence structure and lengths.
Tone
Convey deep respect for the applicant and enthusiasm for their future success.
Precision Ensure accurate facts, numbers and specifics to be credible. Quantify when possible.
Economy Edit out unneeded adjectives, adverbs, intensifiers that dilute or exaggerate.
Objectivity
Remain impartial and don’t exaggerate their abilities, quoting exaggerated praise from others.

Securing Sensitive Information

You may need to provide private information about the applicant such as grades, test scores, class rank or financial hardship. Always gain their consent prior to sharing sensitive personal details.

Joining Additional Evidence

Ideally your letter should supplement other facts the student provides, not serve as the sole proof of their merit. Encourage them to submit material supporting claims in your letter rather than solely taking your word for it. Suggest they include academic transcripts, test scores, resumes, research papers, articles published or other samples of work showcasing their abilities.

Requesting Scholarship Materials

To help inform your letter, ask the applicant to provide relevant information on their credentials, accomplishments and plans that may suit the scholarship criteria. Specifically request:

Their completed scholarship application
Full details on the scholarship and its core values
Their current resume and transcripts
Relevant written projects, test scores or work samples
Short and long term education plans
Activities, leadership roles, honors and awards
Community service projects and internships

Drafting the Letter

When ready to start drafting your letter, use these guidelines:

Format

Font choice Use traditional fonts like Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman in size 10-12 pt.
Margins
Use 1” margins on all sides.
Line Spacing Use single or 1.15 line spacing for easy readability
Length
Check if the scholarship has length requirements, ideally 1-2 pages.
Contact Info Include your name, title, school/organization, phone and email information.
Signature Sign the letter if submitting a paper copy. For electronic copy, simply type your full name at the close.
File Type Save your letter as a PDF file type to preserve formatting.

Header Details The letter header should include:

Date
Write out the entire date (Month Day, Year)
Address Scholarship Committee
If the exact committee or person is unspecified, address generically to the review committee, scholarship foundation or selection committee.
Applicant Name
Write their first and last name correctly, avoiding nicknames. Note if they typically go by a variation.
Scholarship Name Include the precise, full name of the scholarship if available.

Salutation The opening salutation should be formal and tailored based on available details.

Dear [Title and Name]

I am [Your Title and Name]…

Dear Scholarship Selection Committee,

I am [Your Title and Name]…

If name and title details are confirmed, use:

Dear Ms. Clara Smith, Chairwoman, Smith Scholarship Foundation,

I am John Grant, Andrew Peter’s High School Teacher…

Proofreading

Carefully proofread the letter before sending, checking for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, facts, names, titles and other details. Read letter out loud to catch awkward phrasing. Ensure it meets any outlined requirements.

Requesting Feedback

Ask a teacher or trusted colleague in academia to review and provide feedback on your letter to improve it prior to submission. They may catch subtle issues you overlooked or have ideas to make it more convincing.

Allow several days to obtain the applicant’s permission before submitting confidential information on their behalf. Verify the scholarship deadline, leaving ample time for postal service delays if not submitting electronically. Send the letter along with e-confirmation or registered postal verification allowing you to track its arrival. Doing so prevents any risk the letter gets lost, deeming the student ineligible over lack of supporting materials. Follow protocols if forms need signatures and seals for verification. Always call to confirm the committee received the letter to prevent such technicalities barring applicant consideration.

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Following Up

Should the student receive the scholarship, follow up with a call or note conveying congratulations on their achievement. Reiterate your ongoing support of their academic journey. If they are declined, contact offering consoling words encouraging them to persevere in pursuing alternate education funding. In either case, reinforce your confidence in their potential for future success.