Scholarship Thank You Letter Information

Congratulations! You’ve received a scholarship from the College of Agricultural Sciences. It is always a pleasure to reward and recognize our students and we are pleased to that you are a scholarship recipient. Indeed, the College is fortunate to have many philanthropic donors who contribute generously to scholarships and fellowships for our outstanding students. The competition for these scholarships is fierce, and if you’ve received a scholarship, you should feel proud that you were selected.

Your next step is to provide information that will allow the College to inform our donors of their recipients. To do this, you will attend a campus photo session for a professional head-shot and complete a short survey with information we’ll compile and proudly send to your scholarship donor. You will receive the survey link and photo session information when you’re notified of receiving a scholarship. If you cannot find the survey link, call (970) 491-0909 or e-mail for assistance.

The Importance of Thanking Your Donor

Scholarships are funded by real people and organizations, often in memory or in honor of a loved one or favorite professor, or may honor an organization or long-time and/or passionate CSU family. Therefore, it is very important to thank those that make your scholarship possible. Not only is it a simple courtesy and important expression of appreciation, but often thank you letters can result in increased scholarship funds from donors and increased donor engagement – which further benefits students.

Things to consider when completing the scholarship survey:

Personal background and why you’re at CSU
Educational Information (year in school, major, etc.)
Accomplishments/Achievements (possibly including motivations and/or obstacles you have overcome to attend college)
Extracurricular Activities and/or Interests (stories about a relevant extracurricular activity or community service project that impacted your life)
Goals and Aspirations (your future plans‐both immediate and long-term; include career you wish to pursue)
Mention your appreciation for the scholarship that you received, and your plans for utilizing the funds. (“Thank you for making this scholarship possible” or “Your scholarship makes it possible for me to concentrate more fully on my courses.”)
Remember that the donor did not select you as the recipient, but provided the funds for the scholarship, i.e. “Thank you for making the XYZ Scholarship possible……”

Tips on writing your survey responses:

Be clear and concise in your letter, but sincere and enthusiastic
State what the thank you is for by using the full and correct scholarship name provided to you
Check all spelling and grammar after you have completed your survey as the literacy demonstrated in your letter is a reflection on all of us

You were awarded a scholarship because of the personal qualities and/or academic abilities you exhibit. The quality of your survey responses confirms that this scholarship was important enough to you to take the time to present yourself in a professional manner. Thank you for your time and attention to this task. For questions, contact cas_scholarship@mail.colostate.edu.