For applicants
How to Apply & Write Your Essay
The application includes your details, one personal essay, and enrollment verification. The essay is the part that matters most, so most of this page is about that. Applications have been open since November 1, 2026. Apply by January 29, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
The essay prompt
What is the most difficult challenge you have overcome, and how do you think it has shaped who you are today?
Write 600–700 words — about two typed pages.
Writing it
The prompt has two halves, and the second half is the one we read most closely. Plenty of people can describe a hard thing that happened to them. What we’re looking for is what it did to you — how it changed the way you think, what you decided to do differently, who you became on the other side of it.
A few things that help:
Be specific. One real moment, told honestly, lands harder than a summary of a difficult year. The day, the room, the thing someone said — that’s what makes a reader believe you.
Spend more words on the change than on the hardship. The challenge is the setup. How you grew is the story.
Write in your own voice. We’re not grading polish. We’d rather read something that sounds like you than something that sounds like it was written to win.
There’s no right kind of challenge. Adversity comes in a lot of forms — health, family, money, something personal you’ve never put into words before. We’re not comparing whose was hardest. We’re reading for honesty, reflection, and the kind of resilience that shows up as quietly getting back up.
Before you submit
Reread the prompt and make sure you answered both halves. Check the length. Proofread once for spelling and grammar — not because we’re strict about it, but because a clean essay lets your story come through. Upload your essay as a PDF and your enrollment verification as a PDF, JPEG, or PNG. Each file must be no larger than 5 MiB. Submit by January 29, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Late applications cannot be considered, so give yourself a little room.
After a successful submission, an on-screen confirmation displays your reference number. Save that number for your records. If no confirmation appears, contact us for help.
The $1,500 award is paid directly to the recipient’s school financial aid office, not to the student, for tuition, fees, or other verified educational expenses.
I know putting a hard chapter of your life onto a page isn’t easy. Do it anyway. Whatever happens with the award, the act of writing your story down clearly is worth something on its own.
— The Paul Tarell Family Scholarship