Scholarship Application Essay Help Required

Tigersilly

TigerAngel11 wrote: »

There's a world of difference between giving tips/advice and telling someone what to write. It's a shame that so many people are so unsupportive and b****y, especially to those of us who are simply trying to reassure someone. We can't all have your unshakeable confidence.

Thank you for your support.

Oldernotwiser

TigerAngel11 wrote: »

There's a world of difference between giving tips/advice and telling someone what to write. It's a shame that so many people are so unsupportive and b****y, especially to those of us who are simply trying to reassure someone. We can't all have your unshakeable confidence.

I probably shouldn't have been sarky about the help you offered as it was obviously well meant. However, I really feel that your advice (which was excellent, by the way) could have been used as a template for this application and went well beyond giving tips.

The thing that annoyed many people was that the idea of this application was for the student to be proving that she was, in some way, exceptional and needing to ask for help in showing this struck me, and others, as somewhat ironic. It seemed to me that a truly exceptional student wouldn't need to ask for help and certainly not from strangers whose skills in this area are unproven. By asking for help, if you like, she had proved herself not to be exceptional.

As far as offering help with finding employment goes; I've spent many years working in adult guidance and this question never reached agreement within the team. What do you do, for example, if you have to help a person who's barely literate write a CV? Anything that's going to help them get a job is not going to be their own work and can cause false expectations when they're successful in getting the job. It's an issue with many grey areas, even amongst professionals in the field.

aurora_borealis_2

bestpud wrote: »

I find this odd given you offered to help people with their dissertations a while ago? Including reading over their drafts as I recall?

Personally, I am confused by the responses on here, and more so because they are from people I rarely disagree with! I really cannot see the 'problem' and it is definitely not cheating imo.

I haven't read through old posts though. Is there 'history'? :think:

Hmm, I'm confused! Granted, it doesn't take much...

What older said.

There's a world of difference between helping someone with an essay draft compared to applying for a position or competing for a scholarship.

Key word - competing.

bestpud

aurora_borealis wrote: »

What older said.

There's a world of difference between helping someone with an essay draft compared to applying for a position or competing for a scholarship.

Key word - competing.

Yes, I could see where you are all coming from when I read ONWs post. And when I think of it as a competition...

I have to be honest though and say I still don't see the harm in asking for opinions - certainly not for personal statements per se, anyway.

And, I fail to see how it is ok to help someone get a better degree and yet bulk at helping with a personal statement. Surely a better degree is putting someone slightly forward in an later race for jobs or funding?

I'm not being awkward - I really cannot get my head around this! I do not know of anyone who has not talked over their personal statement with others.

Maybe I'm being dim!

waggys

I do not consider that asking for some advice as to what you should include should be classed as cheating - I think you are using your initative.

I would be tempted to include details that set you apart from other candidates - what makes you so different from the other applicants? Think of it as effectively a cv that an employer has to sift through (with possibly many suitably qualified applicants). You need to make your application/personal statement stand out from the rest.

Tigersilly

An update on the situation: I have just found out that I have been awarded a full tuition fee scholarship and needless to say, I am overjoyed :j ! I thank those of you who had kind words for me (and for those of you who seemed to think I was cheating - I wrote my supporting statement all on my own.) and I wish everyone all the best with their studies this new academic year.

P.S. Just a nudge for anyone who wishes to volunteer this year:

http://www.do-it.org/doit/help

This site is really handy for finding local schemes in need of volunteers.

bestpud

Congratulations! :T That must be a relief!

Thanks for the update!