As you probably know by now, over the course of my college career, I won over 30 scholarships totaling over $200K. And in order to win the number of scholarships that I did, I had to write dozens of scholarship essays, participate in more scholarship interviews than I can count, and really sharpened my scholarship skills.

But even now there is always one scholarship question that I still dread answering. That question is “What will you contribute back to our community if you were to win our scholarship?

I also understand that this question is totally valid because it’s not all about me and why I’m awesome and deserving of all the money that you can give me. I get that I’m also an “investment” for the scholarship organization and that they want to create as much of a win-win situation for both of us as possible.

But it is just so hard to put together a decent answer to this question while remaining authentic and realistic. I mean if I were to talk about a big contribution that I hope to make for the scholarship community then I risk saying something that just isn’t realistic.

At the end of the day, I’m a college student and while I would love to contribute as much as I can to the scholarship committee, I’m also juggling my classes and trying to figure out my future career so I have limited time and energy I can put in really making a meaningful impact to the scholarship organization.

Similarly, if I share a contribution that’s too small or generic, I just don’t stand out. I either appear bland, boring, or I just didn’t care enough about the scholarship to put in some effort in the scholarship application and/or interview(s).

To circumvent this dreaded question, I eventually came up with a 3-tier solution. To give you a better idea of how this formula works in practice, I’ll give you examples of some of the answers I’ve given during an interview for a scholarship to study abroad in China.

So what will you contribute back to our community if you were to win our scholarship?

Unless you’re applying for a super prestigious scholarship like the Rhodes Scholars or Fulbright Scholarships that already has a huge amount of hype and is extremely well-known, you can always consider offering to help spread awareness of the scholarship.

Yes, I know this sounds a bit generic and is probably a “contribution” that many of your peers are also citing when they apply to a scholarship. But what can help set you apart is the specific and concrete ways you intend to do so.

And don’t underestimate how valuable this may be for the scholarship organization. Just because they have the funds to give out a scholarship doesn’t mean they have the marketing funds to promote the scholarship. This, in turn, can mean that they aren’t able to reach the specific kinds of students the scholarship is actually meant to support.

So as a student who understands how other students tick, who probably knows a fair number of other students, and is likely to be more adept at using social media than the scholarship organization, you can probably become a really valuable resource to the scholarship organization.

Example of An Answer I Gave In The Past:

I would contribute back to this community by helping to further the scholarship’s mission – to encourage and support more American students to study abroad in China.

I think one of the main reasons why there appears to be so little interest among university students to study abroad in China is because they don’t think that this is an opportunity that is available to them.

China is either a country that is too far removed from their everyday lives or they have a perception that it’ll be too expensive for them to ever visit. Which, thanks to your scholarship just isn’t true.

So if I were to win this scholarship, I would focus the rest of my college career on helping to promote study abroad in China to my fellow peers.

Not only will I become an ambassador for this scholarship, but I’ll also help connect them to other educational opportunities in China that are available to them such as Harvard’s IMUSE program, Stanford’s’ FACES, and Peking University’s Doing Business in China.

Just because we are not an Ivy League institute doesn’t mean that our students aren’t deserving of world-class opportunities to study in China. The main problem holding us back is the lack of access and information.

Tier 2 requires a lot more effort, but you can always offer to start up a new student organization/club at your own university. This can be beneficial for you and the scholarship committee in a few ways.

First of all, creating a student club (if it doesn’t already exist) is a good way to engage students in a way to further the mission of the scholarship.

For example, if the scholarship was established to support underprivileged students to pursue an international career, your student club can bring in regular guest speakers to connect students to mentors who have successful international careers.

Secondly, creating a student organization can bring together a group of like-minded students that the scholarship committee can directly promote their scholarship to. You would have essentially created a brand new marketing channel for the scholarship organization.

Obviously, there is no obligation for you to actually create a student organization if you do win the scholarship – unless it is a scholarship that specifically requires that.

But if you carefully think through how a hypothetical student organization will look like and function, it will help you hone in on the concrete ways that you can actually contribute back to the scholarship organization.

Example of An Answer I Gave In The Past:

If I were to win this scholarship, I would create a student organization/club on campus that helps foster discussions around topics around US-China Relations.

The club will bring together students that are majoring in Chinese Studies, Asian Studies, International Affairs, International Business as well as students that are interested in China but are not actually pursuing a career related to China.

This way we can connect like-minded individuals while encouraging more students to explore topics related to US-China affairs.

In club meetings, we can also introduce the students to China-related resources like your scholarship as well as other study abroad, volunteer, or internship opportunities related to China.

Now tier 3 is the most ambitious of all. Figure out what the scholarship’s ultimate vision is and see if you can find a way to incorporate it into your future career. Then demonstrate how you can contribute to this mission immediately.

Unless you’re a fairly entrepreneurial individual and have a pretty good idea of how your future career is aligned with the scholarship, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend you use Tier 3.

Tier 3 is so ambitious that unless you were really serious about it, the scholarship committee may view it as you exaggerating what you’re willing to contribute. But if this dreaded question comes up in an interview setting, you can also bring it up as an “idea that you currently have but is still work in progress.”

Example of An Answer I Gave In The Past:

I find the mission of your scholarship to be very aligned with my own professional goals. I agree with you that there is a lack of mutual understanding between China and the United States and that there is an education deficit between the two countries.

While China sends hundreds of thousands of students to study in the US every year, the United States in comparison has a tiny number of students that are interested and will opt to study abroad in China. This disadvantages us in fostering greater mutual understanding on both sides.

So the way that I would like to contribute back to this scholarship is to create my own non-profit organization that offers innovative programs that specifically bring Chinese and American students together and help them break down cultural barriers and teach them how to communicate and work with each other effectively.

To test out this idea to see if it is financially viable, I’ll start by creating a student organization on campus and work on building partnerships with other universities and student organizations in China.

If you dread these “contribution” questions as much as I do, I hope this blog can help make this process less painful for you. And feel free to refer to my examples if they can help you boost your chances of winning scholarships.

And as a bonus, did I also convince you to consider studying abroad in China or just to study abroad in general? If so, make sure you shoot me a message, I can share more resources with you that can make your study abroad journey more enjoyable and financially viable! Haha.

Hope this was useful to you! Catch you next time!