How to Write a Strong Scholarship CV
Committees spend a minute or two on a CV before reading anything else. Its job is not to tell your whole story — it is to make your best evidence impossible to miss.
Structure for a reviewer
- Education: institutions, degrees, expected dates, relevant scores
- Honours & grants: keep this section high — it is directly relevant
- Research & projects: purpose, role, outcome in two lines each
- Experience: student leadership, internships, teaching, volunteering
- Skills & languages: technical, research and language levels
Write results, not duties
For each entry state what you produced or changed. “Co-authored a paper accepted at an international conference” beats “helped with research”.
Keep it to the right length
One page for bachelor’s and most master’s awards; two pages is acceptable for a research CV with publications.
Format for scanning
Reverse-chronological, consistent dates, one strong font, no graphics and a clean PDF. This is the most conventional document you will ever write — conventional is ideal.
Conclusion
A scholarship CV is disciplined, results-led and scannable. It is the handshake before the essay.
