Scholarship Thank You Letters
Make Them Glad They Did
You've searched long and hard to find the sources of your scholarship(s), you've received the awards and now it's time to sit down and pen some intelligible thank you letters.
You need to know the nitty-gritty of who, what, where, when, and how, right?
First, do NOT overlook this very important component of the scholarship process.
Without generous donors - schools, alumnae, corporations, professionals, philanthropists - you might not be able to afford to attend the killer law school you are enrolled in.
Tips for Thank You Letters
Your scholarship thank you letters should be hard-copy, business letters on professional letter or resume paper stock. Do not use email to make your thank you. Email is convenient for informal correspondence, but in some cases, such as this it is inappropriate; too easy, commonplace and insignificant to prove important.
Use a high-quality word processing program that allows you to use spelling and grammar correction tools. You should print your letters using a high-resolution printer - something you would use to print a resume.
Do not make your letter mechanical sounding. Even though it is a "formal" letter, do not be hesitant to give it your own unique personality. You should comment on the impact their generosity has had on your future and even a few short sentences about what you expect to accomplish thanks in part to their gift. Offer brief information on your educational and geographic background up to this point and make sure to explicitly name the scholarship. In many cases a donor may have given to a variety of scholarships or sponsor a variety. While this might seem like a lot of information to cover, you should focus on keeping it brief and focused, no longer than a couple of paragraphs.
If you need some ideas and an acceptable format, check out our scholarship thank you letter samples.
Who, What, Where and When
Who do you send your scholarship thank you letter(s) to? It depends from whom and where you received your scholarship. For example, if you received the award through your college or university, chances are either a department advisor or financial aid advisor will have the information relative to your thank you letters. In fact, most schools have a protocol in place to make sure students complete this aspect of the process and give credit and thanks where due. This ensures that generous alumnae and donors are acknowledged for all they do to promote their alma mater's future.
If you received the scholarship from a private or charitable organization, you will want to make sure you ask for all the names of individuals/donors associated with the award so you can thank each accordingly.
And, yes, if there are more than one named, it is proper to send a thank you letter to each. Also make sure you have double-checked names and addresses, as well.
