Letter of Recommendation for a Scholarship (Template + Example)
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A scholarship committee usually reads dozens of strong applications for a handful of awards, and almost all of those students have good grades. What separates the winner is rarely another GPA point; it is a recommender who can show, with a real story, the character and potential behind the transcript. Your letter is where the student stops being a number and becomes a person the committee wants to invest in.
Below is a scholarship letter of recommendation template written by a teacher about a graduating student, a breakdown of what each part does, a short guide on what to include and avoid, and a do-and-do-not list so your endorsement genuinely improves the student chances of being selected.
Scholarship Recommendation Letter template
Written by a teacher about a student applying for a scholarship. Replace the names, school, scholarship, dates, and the example with your own real ones.
Dear Members of the Scholarship Committee,
It is my privilege to recommend Maya Okafor for the Greenfield Future Leaders Scholarship. I have taught Maya in AP Biology and advised her as faculty sponsor of our science club at Lincoln High School over the past two years, so I have seen her work closely both inside and outside the classroom. In nearly fifteen years of teaching, she is among the few students I would describe without hesitation as both gifted and genuinely driven.
What sets Maya apart is what she does when no one assigns it. Last fall she noticed that incoming freshmen who struggled in science had no real support, so she built a peer tutoring program from scratch, recruited and trained nine student volunteers, and ran weekly sessions before school. By spring, the freshmen she tutored had raised their average science grade by a full letter, and the program is now a permanent fixture our department has adopted. She did this on top of a demanding course load and a part-time job, and she never once mentioned the award she might earn for it.
That initiative is not a one-time story; it is who she is. Maya asks better questions than most college students I have met, owns her mistakes openly, and lifts the people around her rather than competing with them. She has navigated real financial and family responsibilities throughout high school and has met every one of them while staying at the top of her class, which tells me exactly how she will use an opportunity like this one.
Maya has my highest and most enthusiastic recommendation. A scholarship is an investment, and I can think of few students more certain to repay it through what she will go on to build. Please feel free to contact me if I can provide any further information.
Sincerely,
Dr. Helen Reyes
What each part is doing
- The relationship and award: An opening that names the student, the specific scholarship, and exactly how, in what capacity, and how long you have known them. This is what gives your endorsement credibility with the committee.
- The specific example: A real, concrete story of something the student did, ideally one that shows initiative, character, or impact. This is the heart of the letter and the part the committee remembers.
- Character and broader strengths: A paragraph generalizing from the example to the qualities the student consistently shows, and, for need-based awards, how they have handled real obstacles with maturity.
- The clear endorsement: A direct closing line giving them your strongest recommendation, tied to why they deserve the award, plus an offer to be contacted. No hedging.
What to include in a scholarship recommendation letter
Open by stating who you are, the student name, the exact scholarship they are applying for, and how you know them, the subject you teach, the years, and the capacity in which you have worked together. Committees weigh a letter by how well the recommender actually knew the student, so make that obvious in the first sentence, and name the specific award so the letter does not read as a recycled generic reference.
Then give one genuine, specific example that shows the qualities the award is meant to reward: initiative, leadership, resilience, intellectual curiosity, or service. Pick a single moment or project and tell it with enough concrete detail, including a number where you honestly can, that it could only be this student. For need-based scholarships, you can speak to how they have met real challenges without disclosing private financial details. Close with an unambiguous statement that they have your highest recommendation and an offer to answer questions.
What to avoid
Avoid a wall of generic praise. Bright, hardworking, and well-rounded mean nothing without a story behind them, and a letter that is all adjectives and no evidence reads as a favor rather than a judgment, which is exactly what a committee discounts. Do not simply restate the transcript or resume either; the committee already has those, and your job is to add what they cannot see. And never exaggerate or invent achievements, a letter that overclaims falls apart the moment a detail does not add up.
Do not write a recommendation you cannot give wholeheartedly. If you cannot speak to a student with real enthusiasm, it is kinder to decline than to send a tepid letter that quietly signals doubt against far stronger competition. Avoid sharing private details, a family illness, a financial hardship, an immigration status, unless the student has explicitly asked you to and it directly supports the case. Keep it to one page; a focused letter with one strong example beats two pages of filler.
Scholarship Recommendation Letter do's and don'ts
Do
- Name the specific scholarship and how long you have known the student.
- Anchor the letter in one concrete, true example of initiative or character.
- Match the strengths you highlight to what the award rewards.
- Add an honest number when you can, to make the impact land.
- Close with your highest recommendation and a way to be reached.
Don't
- Do not rely on generic adjectives with no story behind them.
- Do not just restate the transcript or resume the committee already has.
- Do not exaggerate, inflate, or invent achievements.
- Do not disclose private financial or family details without the student permission.
- Do not write one you cannot give with genuine enthusiasm.
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Frequently asked questions
How long should a scholarship recommendation letter be?
One page is the standard, and that is plenty. A focused letter that names the award, states your relationship, tells one strong example, and closes with a clear recommendation carries far more weight than a longer one. Committees read many letters, so the specific story should be easy to find and quick to read.
How do I write a recommendation for a need-based scholarship?
Speak to the qualities the award is meant to reward and to how the student has handled real responsibilities and obstacles with maturity, without disclosing private financial details unless the student has asked you to. The strongest framing is potential and resilience: show that this student has done a great deal with limited resources, which is exactly the case for investing in them.
What should I do if a student asks me and I do not know them well enough?
It is better to decline politely than to write a thin letter that hurts the student against strong competition. A committee notices when a recommender clearly does not know the applicant well. You can say you do not feel you are the best person to speak to their candidacy and suggest a teacher or mentor who knows their work more closely.
Should I mention the student grades or test scores?
You can reference them briefly to establish credibility, but do not let the letter become a recap of the transcript, the committee already has it. Your value is the part numbers cannot show: character, initiative, how they treat others, and what they do when nothing is assigned. Spend most of the letter there.
Who should I address a scholarship recommendation letter to?
If the application names a contact, address them directly. If not, Dear Members of the Scholarship Committee is the standard and safe choice. Avoid To Whom It May Concern for a scholarship; addressing the committee reads as more considered and is what most awards expect.
