Hey! Is your niece, mentee, student or friend seeking for your help in writing a recommendation letter for student scholarship but don't know how to start? Worry not. Here we present to you a thorough guide on how to construct a mind - boggling recommendation letter for scholarship award. It may sound herculean but with the appropriate guidance, writing a reference letter for scholarship will be a walk in the park. So these are the following pressing issues to understand pertaining to recommendation letter for scholar:

 

1. What is a Scholarship Recommendation letter?
2. Parts of Recommendation letter
3. What you should NOT include in a recommendation letter
4. Letter formatting for a recommendation letter
5. Examples of recommendation letter for scholarship

• Recommendation letter from mentor
• Recommendation letter from teacher
• Recommendation letter for Masters Scholarship
• Recommendation letter from friend
• Recommendation letter for college scholarship
• Recommendation letter from church / pastor

6. Conclusion

If you are a student and you haven't gotten a scholarship yet, checkout our list of ongoing scholarships you can apply for.

 

What is a Scholarship Recommendation Letter?

Simply put, a recommendation letter for scholarship or otherwise called an endorsement letter for scholarship, is a formal statement that provides information as regards the qualifications, experiences, skills and achievements of a scholarship candidate. It could be a recommendation letter for phd scholarship. The letter is written by someone of greater authority. It could be the candidate's teacher, lawyer, mentor, pastor or parent.

 

The purpose of such a letter is more than a recommendation for scholarship. It is to convince the University board that the candidate is eligible to win the award. It is expected that the author of the recommendation letter is well acquainted with the selection criteria of the University. Specifically, he /she has to ensure that the requirements and the expected qualifications of the university match the werewithals of the student. The letter should sound purposeful and aim at persuading the committee that the student is the awarder they have been looking for.

 

Parts of a Scholarship Recommendation Letter

So for the recommendation letter to hit success, one has to read the application standards over and over again. This will help in obstructing any form of deviation or unnecessary information.

Specifically, there are five (5) parts of a scholarship recommendation letter.

1. Letterhead
2. Introduction
3. Restatement of Scholarship Application Criteria
4. Supportive Examples
5. Conclusion

 

1. Letterhead

Just like every other ordinary letter, there must be a head section that depicts the date, full name, title (if any), University name, street address, city state and zip code.

 

2. Introduction

This is the paragraph where you introduce the student and the scholarship he / she is applying for. Here you are asked to describe the relationship you have with the candidate and the length at which you know the student's competency. The introduction doesn't have to be long. Two or three sentences would suffice.

 

3. Restatement of Scholarship Application Criteria

As the title implies, you are to briefly restate the requirements of the committee and match them with the strengths and capabilities of the student. This is where you convince the board that the candidate's application is worth considering. You can back up your claim with grades or general academic performance. Four to five sentences would be enough to make up this part.

 

4. Supportive Examples

Based on the third section of the recommendation letter, you are expected to produce examples that confirm the competences and qualifications of the student earlier mentioned. For example if the second paragraph mentions that he/she wishes to study Human resource management, you can present the various recruitment  projects that the candidate has undertaken and taken and awards that were received. Since financial needs are the major reason why students apply for scholarship, this is the part where you buttress the candidate's financial concerns.

 

5. Conclusion

Here, you are expected to leave a profound impression that would demonstrate your confidence on the eligibility of the candidate. You are expected to state your endorsement and invite the committee to contact either by email or telephone.

 

What you should NOT include in a Scholarship Recommendation Letter

Now the sections earlier described are quite legible. But there are some errors one may commit that would not appeal to the taste of the committee. If neglected, they can pose a great threat to the short listing of the candidate in question. Here are five (5) things that you should not do when writing a recommendation letter.

 

1. Don't repeat your resume

You are not supposed to reemphasize the resume of the candidate. Especially after completing a scholarship essay and attaching a CV at an earlier stage. A recommendation letter should simply describe the character, values, motivation and future goals of the student.

 

2. Dont' generalise the content

A generalized recommendation letter leaves much to be desired. You may be tempted to describe the person with vague adjectives such as tenacious, hardworking and optimistic. But these adjectives would fall on deaf ears if there are not supported by examples.

 

3. Don't construct a short letter

A short recommendation letter might leave a bad impression for the committee. It would only show that the efforts of the author weren't much or worse still, that the author doesn't heartily endorse the candidate. Your letter should have the length that shows how knowledgeable you are of the candidate you support.

 

4. Don't exaggerate

When someone lies in a resume or a letter, a professional reader can detect it. While it feels good to blow your trumpet, focus on human values such as honesty, kindness or hard work. It would make a greater impact on the person you are presenting.

 

5. Don't send the letter without proofreading

Proofreading is as important as composing a letter. So don't neglect it. Minor errors can tarnish the impression that the letter is supposed to give. Keep in mind that formatting and avoidance of grammatical blunders are also included.

                                                    

Recommendation Letter Format for Scholarship

Just like every formal letter, writing a scholarship recommendation letter means that it has to be in a professional format. This format will go a long way in turning your letter into a magnificent, readable piece of art.

Here is what you should do:

 

A scholarship recommendation letter should:

• Fill an entire page
• Contain 300 - 500 words
• Entail a letterhead, an introduction, two paragraphs and conclusion
• Adopt a font size of 12 - 14
• Employ Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri fonts
• Have Sender's address and dates to the right hand
• Have Receiver's address to the left side
• Begin with a courteous greeting such as Sir/ Madam
• Use "To Whom it may Concern "

 

Sample Recommendation Letter For Scholarship Application

Here is a scholarship recommendation letter template from Scholarshiptab with the above footprint. Below is a sample endorsement letter for scholarship application:

 

Mabel Rodrigs,

29, Frontstreet Avenue,

Ottawa, Canada,

Lecturer,

P.O. 68292

30 - August - 2020

 

Admission Board of Toronto Business School,

University of Toronto,

Toronto, Canada,

P.O 7291

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

I write in full support of Emmanuel  Patrick' s application of scholarship of  Masters in International Industrial Relations. I lectured him in Human Resource Management in his second year of undergraduate studies. My experience with this individual has been joyous. It has propelled me to endorse him as an eligible candidate of the scholarship. I am highly convinced that Emmanuel Patrick would never let you down.

 

The more I perused the scholarship criteria, the more certain I was that Emmanuel is the student you have been seeking. Emmanuel has been a top student in all his courses - including the one I taught. He displayed team building skills, tenacity, a great sense of critical thinking and hard work. His behavior has unveiled that his deepest values are respect, diligence and self discipline. Emmanuel 's academic performance has always been outstanding.

 

Once, I gave my students a project assignment to execute in different groups. Emmanuel's group performance on "The Relevance of Industrial Relations in the 21st century" was magnificent. Patrick helped his teammates in making thorough research and backing up the claims with quantitative and qualitative examples.

Another facet of Emmanuel that fascinates me is his passion for whatever is right. I once made an erroneous statement in class. During the break, Emmanuel respectfully sought for my attention to express why he felt I was wrong in class. It turned out that I had made a mistake. I corrected my argument the next day in class and publicly applauded for paying such a detailed attention. His financial status currently affects his ability to pay tuition fees. Nevertheless, this scholarship is the opportunity that meets preparation.

 

With no regrets, I endorse and recommend Emmanuel Patrick to win the scholarship award. His academic performance will leave you mesmerized. And his fervor for diligence confirms his trustworthiness and accountability. For further information, kindly contact me at [email protected]

 

Sincerely,

Mabel Rodrigs.

 

It might interest you to know that the above spectacular sample recommendation letter for scholarship is downloadable. Click on scholarship recommendation letter for pdf to download the sample recommendation letter for student scholarship.

 

Sample Reference letters for scholarship Application

As earlier mentioned, a recommendation letter for bursary can be written by anyone of authority and character. However, you may be confused as to how to tailor the content of the letter with the relationship you hold with the candidate. If that's the case, don't worry! Here are some sample request for letter of recommendation for scholarship depending on your role in the person's life.

 

Scholarship Recommendation Letter from Employer

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter from employer (pdf) 

 

Scholarship Recommendation Letter from Professor

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter from professor (pdf)

 

Scholarship Recommendation Letter from a mentor

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter from a mentor (pdf)

 

Scholarship Recommendation Letter from a Teacher 

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter from a teacher (pdf)

 

Scholarship Recommendation Letter for student masters scholarship

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter for masters (pdf)

Checkout list of ongoing masters scholarships you can apply for

 

Scholarship Recommendation Letter from a friend

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter from a friend (pdf)

 

Church Recommendation Letter for scholarship

Download sample scholarship recommendation letter from church (pdf)

 

Conclusion

If you are the person who is asked to endorse a student, you are in good hands. The above scholarship reference letter examples are an excellent guide to navigate the way you compose your letter. If you are a student in search of who to endorse you or a reference for scholarship, this article will help you to determine who is competent enough to write your personal letter of recommendation for scholarship. For more scholarship tips and updates, visit our blog page.

 

If you are a student and you haven't gotten a scholarship yet, checkout our list of ongoing scholarships you can apply for.