Nominees for International Scholarships Get Personal in Their Essays

University Park, Pa.—In the highly competitive realm of the top international scholarships for graduate studies, a spirited essay can help a would-be finalist stand out in the crowd of applicants by highlighting personality and personal beliefs in addition to academic accomplishments.

But as Penn State seniors honed their packages of materials for consideration by the powers-that-be at the Fulbright, Gates Cambridge, Marshall, Mitchell and Rhodes scholarship centers, the question of how much personality is too much was not neglected. In light of modern “political correctness” trends, and uncertainties about how different selection committees might view anything from casual mentions of family life to explicit statements of faith, students who might otherwise have avoided getting personal got some advice on how to do it safely.

The advice came as part of a series of sessions coordinated each year by Vivienne Wildes, director of Penn State’s Undergraduate Fellowships Office, in which nominees are prepped for interviews with the scholarship boards, taught meditation and relaxation techniques, challenged to discuss weighty issues with guest speakers and given pointers on how to frame the wording of their applications. As part of the latter process, Joe Schall, a University writing tutor, recently told nominees that there’s a fine line between overloading on personal information versus research information.

“When you mention them, you should put your most significant out-of-class experiences into a context of why you sought them out and how they have influenced your academic interests,” Schall noted. “If there’s some unique hobby or a problem from your childhood, or some physical challenge that’s germane to your pursuits, by all means mention it. Take the risk of being yourself. Selection committees can be delighted by quirky or unexpected revelations, but can also be terribly clinical. So bite back on your cockiness, keep your confidence.”

To see how well received Schall’s advice was, consider these excerpts from essays by current Penn State undergraduate nominees for renowned scholarships that would, if won, send them overseas and greatly shape the course of their future research and careers:

·      I believe new ideas are evanescent--they must be captured right away or they fade like dreams… I am 95 percent vegetarian… I live loudly, encouraging others to think about their own actions… I love doing random things that are not life threatening, such as climbing into a clothes dryer, and dressing up as a Bacon Double Denkenberger… I thrive on the variety in my religion, Unitarian Universalism, which is devoted to learning from all the world’s religions and philosophies. – David Denkenberger (Engineering Science)

·      As an undergraduate student, I make it my goal to live as “Chautauquan” a life as possible. My typical day of classes may begin with meta-interpretation of Chaucer’s “To Rosemunde,” proceed to a debate on the merits of assigned seating in the classroom, and end with an expressionistic analysis of Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces… My weekends are spent learning to swing dance or taking in a foreign film; a quiet evening in my dorm, cross-stitching while I enjoy an episode of ER; a visit home, making vegetable soup with my mother. – Diane Persin (Secondary Education)

**gwc**

Contact: Gary W. Cramer, Penn State Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or gwc104@psu.edu