* University Post-Acceptance Question: In keeping with the spirit of this scholarship, please describe your professional and academic goals. Describe your long term goals such as the degree you are pursuing, the career you hope to attain or the field which you hope to pursue. You should also speak to your short-term goals such as the courses you hope to take this coming semester, projects you may be working on and any community efforts you are engaged in.

* University Post-Acceptance Question: How will being a recipient of this scholarship affect you? Consider both how this scholarship will impact your financial obligations and how it will enable you to achieve the goals you've described above.

* University Post-Acceptance Question: Please upload a signed, proof-read "Thank You" letter addressed to the scholarship donor. Your letter should detail how receiving this scholarship will affect you and your academic and career goals. Please provide details about your academic and professional development experience and goals. If you require assistance in writing your thank you letter, a handy guide is included. Hover over the question icon to view the help guide that details expectations, do's and don't for the letter. Thank you letters should be uploaded in pdf or .doc format.

Add a New File. Must be: .pdf, .docx, .doc, .txt, .rtf

THANK YOU LETTER HELP GUIDE FOR SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS Scholarship recipients are expected to write a letter of thanks to the donors, acknowledging their award, and providing information to our generous donors. These guidelines are designed to help you. Signed, proof-read letters should be uploaded to Academic Works as soon as possible. HERE IS WHAT TO DO: • Write your letter on the computer. Proofread the letter and make any corrections that need to be made. • Be sure to include a line explicitly thanking the donor by saying something like “Thank you for supporting students at SF State" or "Thank you for supporting students like me." Even though the entire letter is a way of expressing gratitude, it is always meaningful to have these sorts of direct statements as well. • Take care in writing the letter. Remember that these donors are deeply involved alumni and friends of SF State. They have high expectations (as they should!) of their scholarship recipients, so write with the same attention to detail that you would with a job application. • Write a full page with as much information as you feel comfortable sharing, not just a short paragraph. Donors enjoy learning about you, your family, your work, your academic and career goals, relevant volunteer activities, professional & academic association memberships etc. Be sure to sign your name above your printed name, to make it more personal, before uploading your letter. • Talk about why you chose your field of study at SF State, what you like about the department you're studying in or the major you’re pursuing and your course-work, and your plans after graduation. Be sure to consider any information you have about the spirit of your specific scholarship. • Run spell-check, and be especially careful that you have spelled the donor’s name correctly. Run a grammar check if your computer has that feature. • Be sure to save the letter somewhere you can easily access it. If you made an error, then you can make corrections without re-doing the whole thing. Also, saving the letter will help you in future years (see the following). • Remember that if you have the same donor as last year, you need to revise and update your letter. Give them updates on what has changed, on your academic and professional progress. • Please date your letter the semester you will be receiving the award, such as “Fall 2018” or “Spring 2019” instead of the actual date. We mail your letters out to donors on a rolling basis, and it is helpful not to have a specific date or month. DO NOT: • Do not say “Thanks for choosing me for this scholarship” since often the donor is not part of the scholarship committee which chooses the specific student for a specific scholarship. • Do not use abbreviations that the donor won’t understand or that are unfamiliar—spell out words. WATCH OUT FOR: • Word “traps” such as using the word “freshmen” when you mean “freshman” (singular), e.g., you might have a “freshman seminar” but be one of the freshmen enrolled in an upper level class. This word is often misused. Confused? Substitute the word “sophomore” and see if it needs an “s” to be correct. Other word “traps” include “affect” / “effect” or “accepted” / “excepted.” THANK YOU! Your time, care and consideration in applying for this scholarship and drafting this thank you letter are very much appreciated—as is the donor’s gift that supports your Scholarship. This letter helps sustain the relationship with donors, who in turn sustain their scholarship support.