Why are essay scholarships good ? How could something that inspires dread in most students be considered valuable—perhaps even preferable—when compared to other types of scholarships?

Essay scholarships are the most common type of scholarship competition. Although the idea of a “No Essay Scholarship” is appealing to most scholarship seekers, they tend to be more like drawings, in which winners are chosen at random, determined by pure luck.

Essay scholarships are good because they level the playing field by providing applicants an opportunity to show the selection committee who they are and what they care about, to give a voice to their application.

A brand new scholarship called the “Learn. Inspire. Change. 2013 What’s Essential™ Essay Scholarship” is a great example. While Nordic Naturals, Inc.®, the scholarship sponsor, is also taking academic merit and community service into account, the $5,000 scholarship winner will be the person who best expresses themselves in an essay.

The prompt? “What are the essential components of the education that your generation needs to make a positive impact on the world?”

Why are essay scholarships good specfically? In the Nordic Naturals “What’s Essential Essay Scholarship,” the winner will not inevitably be the student with the highest GPA or the most community service. Those credentials will be taken into account, but everyone truly has an equal chance. The winner will be the person who meets all of the basic requirements AND captivates the judges’ imagination with their unique ideas and thoughts on the essential components of an education that shapes students for positive world impact.

Interesting life experiences, the things you have become passionate about, distinctive aspects of your heritage or history, your unique perspective all answer the question about why essay scholarships are good because they provide the forum to share all of those things. In fact, those are the very things that will make your essay compelling and increase your chances of winning

Essay scholarships do demand clear thinking and Nordic Naturals, the leading manufacturer of omega-3 fish oil supplements, can actually help with that! In my book “Amazing Grades! 101 Best Ways to Improve Your Grades Faster,” contributing author Dr. Keri Marshall, Chief Medical Officer for Nordic Naturals, tells about the brain-enhancing power of omega-3s.

why are essay scholarships good

She writes, “…there is good evidence linking consumption of omega-3 fatty acids to improved attention, learning, memory, behavior and higher test scores.”

According to Dr. Marshall, omega-3s are essential fats required for optimal health. They cannot be produced by the body, so must be consumed through diet or supplementation. Fish oil is the best source of omega-3s, and optimizes the health of every tissue, organ, and system in the body. For students in particular, adequate consumption of omega-3s has been shown to support learning and memory. Omega-3s also support and protect the brain, eyes, and nervous and immune systems.

Nordic Naturals offers an exceptional variety of omega-3 products that are known for proven purity, exceptional freshness, great taste, and efficacy.

If this information is new and interesting to you, you have discovered another answer to the question, “Why are essay scholarships good?” They introduce you to an array of commendable businesses and organizations that truly care about students and want to contribute to their success.

Nordic Naturals, for example, was inspired to begin a scholarship program based on their vision to see that future generations are healthier and happier. Founder and CEO Joar Opheim explained, “What’s essential to us, as a company, is our commitment to delivering the world’s safest, most effective omega oils so that each generation can live healthier, happier, and pass it on. This $5,000 essay scholarship is one more way for us to achieve that goal.”

Why are essay scholarships good? Like all scholarships, someone wins. Because essay scholarships level the playing field and give you a chance to tell your unique story, the winner really could be you!

The essay and accompanying application materials for the “Learn. Inspire. Change. 2013 What’s Essential™ Essay Scholarship” will be accepted on Nordic Naturals Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nordicnaturals through March 31.

Related articles: Nordic Naturals ; Best Scholarship Essay Writing Tips

Pat WymanPat Wyman is a college professor, best selling author of Amazing Grades and Spelling Made Easy: Learn Your Words in Half the Time, and the founder of HowToLearn.com. Wyman is a pioneer in researching the relationship between nutrition, learning and the brain. Her first book, written in 1997, is called What’s Food Got To Do With It? 101 Natural Remedies for Learning Disabilities where she outlines foods and supplements such as omega-3’s which are known to reduce inflammation and help improve learning and memory. Wyman believes that the naswer