Writing an Effective
Scholarship/Academic
Resume
Center High School, Senior Seminar
Katrina Ruggles
Why Should It Be Good?
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Your goal is to be noticed!
A resume is a window into
your life.
A resume is a reflection of
who you are.
You must be able to pass
the 8 second test.
Brevity & Readability
BASIC LAYOUT
Heading
References
Interests & Activities
Related Skills
& Talents
Work Experience
Volunteer Experience
Note:
Career Plans
Education
Awards &
Honors
Activities:
school, community,
enrichment
These are the section titles of the resume.
All items under headings need to be bulleted.
Heading
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Name
Address
Phone Number
Email Address
JANE DOE
55 NOWHERE ROAD
NOWHERE, CO 55555
(555) 555-5555
jdoe@gmail.com
Accessible after graduation
Top center or right
NOT: Slacker_35@scbglobal.com
NOT: needs_da_muney@zetzero.com
NOT: pimpking@hotmail.com
Career Plans
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Career Goals
Concise—couple of sentences
Demonstrate you have some
type of plan.
NOT: IDK
NOT: Go to school, get a
job & make lots of money
CAREER PLANS:
I plan to attend a 4 year college to
study psychology and sociology so
that I can go on to get a masters in
psychotherapy. I would like to be a
therapist who works with youth and
their families.
Education
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Present level of education,
including name of school
GPA & Class Rank
NOT: GPA of 1.5
NOT: Class rank of 23 out
of 24
EDUCATION:
I am currently a senior at Nowhere
High School with a cumulative
grade point average of 3.62 and a
class rank of 59 out of 440. I will
graduate on May 27, 2010.
Awards & Honors
AWARDS AND HONORS:
•Math Student of the Year: 9
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List awards & honors, in or
out of school
Indicate grade level
If you have many, can break
down into Academic Award
and other types of awards
•Citizenship Award: 9
• Awarded for helping in a
crisis situation when a
younger student was hurt
after getting hit by a car in the
school parking lot
•Perfect Attendance Award: 9, 10
•Girls’ State Delegate: 11
• Awarded for positive civic
leadership on the student
council
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NOT: I am a loser and have
no awards
NOT: Won hottest chick on
www.hotornot.com
•National Honor Society: 11, 12
• Nominated and selected by
teachers to this group for
academics (maintaining
above a 3.5 GPA), positive
character, and leadership.
Activities
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List all activities you have
participated in since 9th grade
Indicate grade level
Include leadership roles, positions,
and/or contributions
Community Activities include youth
group, church activities, scouting,
club sports
Enrichment Activities include summer
enrichment, travel, or hobbies that
have extended beyond school
NOT: Latin Kings, 9, 10, 11, 12
NOT: Collecting friends on
Facebook
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES:
•Staff Writer for School Newspaper:
9, 10, 11
•Girls’ Tennis: 9, 10, 11, 12 (Captain,
12)
•Student Council Representative: 11,
12
•Spanish Club: 11, 12 (Secretary, 12)
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:
•Church Youth Group: 9, 10, 11, 12
•Girl Scouts: 10, 11, 12
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES:
•N. U. Summer Science Camp: 10
•Church Mission Trip: 11
Volunteer Experience
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List all volunteer activities you
have participated in since 9th
grade
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Indicate grade level
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Indicate the number of hours
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Include leadership roles and
types of service you provided
Can be in and out of school
activities
NOT: Court-Mandated
Community Service: 9, 10, 11
NOT: Spirit Da Trash Clean
Up: 8
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE:
• Volunteer at Nowhere Medical
Center as a candystriper: 10, 11,
12 (200 total hours)
• Volunteer for Nowhere
Elementary School Tutoring
Program as a tutor: 12 (40 total
hours)
• Volunteer at Nowhere Rescue
Mission to clean the animals and
building: 12 (65 total hours)
• Volunteer for Center School
Recycling Program: 11, 12 (24
hours)
Work Experience
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Comes later in the resume for
academic/scholarship resume
Will be after objective for an
employment resume
Optional if you have not
participated in paid employment
Indicate grade level; begin with
most current
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Include your position
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NOT: I was fired for stealing.
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NOT: Roge weeds, 9
WORK EXPERIENCE:
• Dinosaur Den Day Care:
Playground Helper, 10
• Dairy Queen: Counter Helper, 10,
11
• Hy-Vee Grocery: Checker, 12
Relevant Skills &
Talents/Interests &
Activities
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List skills & talents related to the
scholarship and academic program
to which you are applying
Make sure to include if you are
bilingual, and in what languages
Can be broken down into
categories like computer skills,
languages spoken
Interests & Activities can include
items not included in Skills &
Talents
NOT: Reached 100% completion
on Grand Theft Auto
NOT: Ask my girlfriend.
SPECIAL SKILLS AND TALENTS:
•I am fluent in both English and
Spanish.
•I am proficient at Microsoft Office
and various other computer
programs.
•I play the saxophone.
INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES:
I like to play sports, especially tennis.
I am also an avid reader. I especially
enjoy reading historical novels. I like
animals. I am also interested in the
environment and learning how to live
more “green.”
References
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Names, addresses, telephone, and
email (if available) of 2-4 people
Include a range of people:
teachers, coaches, counselors,
community person
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Identify how you know the person
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Ask the reference first
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Include people that will say nice
things
NOT: Your mom (or any relative),
girlfriend, or good friend your age
NOT: A boss that fired you, or a
teacher that gave you a bad grade
because your work was always
late or of poor quality
REFERENCES:
Katrina Ruggles
High School Counselor
719-580-9199
kruggles@center.k12.co.us
John Doser
High School Tennis Coach
719-859-1234
jdoser@center.k12.co.us
Kathleen Myer
High School Language Arts Teacher
719-967-5432
Academic/Scholarship Resume
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Free of Grammatical, Spelling & Formatting Errors
Easy to read font 12 or 14 pt.
Categorize information
Read down
Maintain consistent writing style
Format should be pleasing to the eye
One to two pages: 20 second rule (See slide 15)
Be ready to back up anything on the resume
IMPORTANT: Scholarship resumes should describe you in a
more straight forwards way than the personal statement. Keep
to a list format as much as possible in order to make the
resume more readable.
Academic/Scholarship Resume
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Use Action Words in Your Descriptions
The 20-second Test
Try having someone perform the 20-second test on
your resume. Simply time your reader for twenty
seconds as he or she reads your resume.
What all did he/she learn about you?
If your reader noticed within 20 seconds what you
want the committee to learn about you, then most
likely you have created an effective resume.
If not, revise your resume by try bolding or moving
important information.
All of the
instructions
are on
Moodle,
including a
sample
resume.