I want to apply for some scholarships and keep hearing about having a good resume. What should I include on a resume for college scholarships? Are there specific sections or formats I should follow to make it impressive?
When creating a resume specifically for college scholarships, you want to focus on showcasing your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, leadership roles, and any relevant work experience. It's vital to make your resume as comprehensive, yet concise, as possible.
1. Contact Information: Start your resume with your full name, email address, and phone number.
2. Objective: This optional succinct statement can briefly illustrate your academic and career ambitions. While it isn't crucial for the resume, it can set a positive tone for your profile.
3. Education: Include your high school name and location, graduation date or anticipated graduation date, GPA (if strong), class rank (if strong), and any academic honors or awards.
4. Test Scores: List standardized test scores like the SAT, ACT, AP, or any other relevant tests. However, only include if they are strong and the scholarship considers them.
5. Extracurricular Activities: Share details of your involvement in clubs, sports, organizations or community service, being sure to highlight any leadership roles held. Remember, colleges appreciate depth over breadth for extracurricular involvement.
6. Work Experience and Internships: If you've held a part-time job, summer job, or completed an internship, detail this experience too. You can also include relevant duties or skills you learned during the job.
7. Skills: This section can list technical skills (like proficiency with certain software or programming languages) or soft skills (like leadership, teamwork, or communication abilities).
8. Honors and Awards: Recognize any distinctions you've earned, whether academic, athletic, artistic, or in other realms. Remember to describe what the award was for if the name doesn't make it clear.
9. Volunteer Work: Describe any community service you've done, including the name of the organization, the dates of your service, and a brief description of your role or duties.
10. References: Having a section for references is optional. If you do choose to include references, make sure you have asked for their permission in advance.
Regarding the format, ensure it is clean, easy to read, and well-structured with proper headings for each section. Limit it to one page if possible. Always proofread your resume for spelling and grammar errors. Good luck with your scholarship applications!
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