How Middle School Students Can Build a Strong Scholarship Portfolio

A portfolio is a documentation of a student’s academic journey, often encompassing experiences, accolades, and skills. Portfolios are used primarily in applying for scholarships, so it is important to showcase the holisticness of the student experience. There is not one singular way to create a portfolio, as the emphasis is on creating one rather than having a “perfect” portfolio.  

Here are a few tips to help your student start their portfolio today:

1. Craft a cover letter:

A cover letter is a snapshot of a student’s experience and passions. Your student should think about their cover letter like they would the opening paragraph of a persuasive essay: you need a strong hook, a cohesive theme to keep the audience engaged, and somewhat of a cliffhanger to make the audience keep reading. In the same way, your student’s cover letter should state their most impactful involvement while leading the reviewer to their resume. 

2. Build your resume:

Whether your student is updating a resume or starting one today, it is important to recognize that a resume is the easiest way to keep track of your student’s involvement and accomplishments. The farther they go through school, the easier it is to forget activities they have been involved in during their earlier years. Document everything!

3. Consider creating a LinkedIn Profile:

In recent years, LinkedIn has been on the rise and is considered a necessity at networking events. It gives your student the ability to easily update activities in an accessible and visually appealing format. LinkedIn teaches students how to professionally brag on themselves, which can be useful later on when completing scholarship applications. 

People have been crafting scholarship portfolios for years, so there are many examples to look at when deciding what direction makes the most sense for your student. Rome was not built in a day, and neither is a scholarship portfolio! The earlier you start building a foundation, the more successful it will become.