Free Cover Letter Generator
for Scholarships
Generate a professional, scholarship-winning cover letter in minutes. AI-powered, unique every time, downloadable as PDF & Word.
- Delete anything that did not come from you, however well it reads.
- Check every figure, name, date and title against your own records.
- Rewrite a good share of it in your own words — committees screen for AI text.
- Confirm the word limit on the official portal before you paste it in.
When a Scholarship Actually Wants a Cover Letter
A cover letter introduces your application and points the reader toward everything else in the file. It runs one page, it addresses a named committee, and it answers a single question: why this application deserves the next twenty minutes of the reader's time.
Not every scholarship asks for one. Chevening wants four essays and no cover letter. Erasmus Mundus consortia usually want a motivation letter instead. University portals, research programmes, departmental funding and most direct applications to a faculty do want one, and several government schemes expect a covering letter on top of the SOP.
Read the checklist on the official portal before you write. Sending a cover letter where the committee asked for a motivation letter signals that you skimmed the instructions, and committees read that as a preview of how you would handle a funded place.
Cover Letter, SOP or Motivation Letter?
The three overlap enough to confuse almost everyone, and applicants regularly submit the wrong document. This is how they differ in practice.
| Cover Letter | Statement of Purpose | Motivation Letter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Introduces the application | Sets out the academic plan | Explains why you want this |
| Length | 350–500 words, one page | 800–1,200 words | 400–700 words |
| Format | Business letter with addresses and a subject line | Essay, no letter formatting | Letter or essay, varies |
| Focus | Fit, and what the reader finds in the file | Research direction and method | Motivation and values |
| Asked for by | Universities, research groups, departmental funding | US graduate schools, CSC, MEXT | Erasmus, European and Asian schemes |
When an application asks for two of them, they must differ. A committee that reads the same three paragraphs twice marks you down for it. Build the long document first with our SOP generator, then write the cover letter as the short introduction to it.
The Structure That Works
A scholarship cover letter follows business-letter conventions, and the body runs five paragraphs. Word counts assume a 450-word letter.
- Header and subject lineYour name, address, email and phone. Then the date, then the recipient's block. A subject line naming the scholarship, the programme and any reference number helps an officer sorting hundreds of files. Above the salutation
- OpeningName the scholarship and the programme in the first sentence, then give the single strongest reason you fit. Never open with "I am writing to apply for" and nothing else — that sentence carries no information. 60–80 words
- Academic and professional evidenceYour degree, your standing, and the two or three results that prove your direction. Numbers do the work here. 90–110 words
- Why this scholarship and this programmeConnect the funder's own stated purpose to your plan, and name the lab, module or supervisor that makes this institution the right one. Generic praise wastes the paragraph. 90–110 words
- Goals and contributionWhat you do after graduation, stated concretely, and what you bring to the cohort while you are there. 80–100 words
- CloseOne short paragraph. Say you would welcome the chance to discuss the application, and sign off. Confidence rather than thanks. 30–40 words
Six Mistakes That Cost Applications
1. "To Whom It May Concern"
It reads as a letter sent to everyone. Most portals name the office or the committee, and a programme page usually names a coordinator.
Fix: "Dear Selection Committee" at minimum; a name when you have one.2. Repeating the CV in sentences
The reader already holds your CV. A letter that lists the same entries in prose adds nothing and burns the one page you have.
Fix: pick the two results that matter here, and explain what they mean.3. Praising the institution
"Your world-renowned university" tells a committee what they already know, in words they read four hundred times a cycle.
Fix: name one lab, module or professor and connect it to your work.4. Running past one page
A two-page cover letter signals that you cannot prioritise. Committees stop at the fold.
Fix: 350 to 500 words, five paragraphs, one page.5. Leading with need instead of fit
Financial need belongs in the financial section of the application, not in the opening paragraph of a letter that argues merit.
Fix: lead with what you bring. Mention need only where the form asks.6. Sending one letter to eight scholarships
Reviewers spot a recycled letter immediately, especially when the wrong funder's name survives a find-and-replace.
Fix: rewrite paragraphs 3 and 4 for every application, and proofread the names.Weak Versus Strong — the Same Applicant
Both openings below describe an identical background. Only the specificity changes.
Formatting and Sending
Committees read cover letters as formal correspondence, so the presentation carries weight.
| Element | Standard |
|---|---|
| Length | One page. 350–500 words in the body. |
| Font | Times New Roman, Garamond, Calibri or Arial, 11–12 pt |
| Spacing | Single, with a blank line between paragraphs. No indents. |
| Margins | 2.5 cm on all sides |
| File | PDF unless the portal demands .docx |
| File name | Surname_Firstname_CoverLetter_ScholarshipName.pdf |
| Sign-off | "Yours sincerely" with a named recipient, "Yours faithfully" without |
| Signature | A scanned signature above your typed name where you print and scan |
| Email body | Three or four lines pointing to the attachments, never the whole letter pasted in |
Cover Letter Questions Students Ask Us
How long should a scholarship cover letter be?
One page, 350 to 500 words in the body. Longer letters lose the reader, and committees treat length as a proxy for judgement.
What if I do not know the recipient's name?
Check the programme page and the portal first — a coordinator is usually named. Failing that, "Dear Selection Committee" works. Avoid "To Whom It May Concern".
Do I need a cover letter if I already wrote an SOP?
Only when the application asks for both. Where it does, keep them different: the letter introduces and points, the SOP explains the academic plan in full.
Should I mention financial need?
Only where the application asks. A cover letter argues merit and fit; need belongs in the financial section, and leading with it weakens the case.
Can I email the letter in the message body?
Attach it as a PDF and write three or four lines in the email pointing to the attachments. A pasted letter loses its formatting in half the mail clients that receive it.
How do I address a gap in my studies?
One sentence, factual, then move on. What you did during the gap matters more than the gap itself.
Will a committee detect AI writing?
They screen for it, which is why you edit. Replace the general lines with your own numbers, places and names, and rewrite a substantial share in your own words.
Is this generator free?
Yes, like every tool on ScholarWing. No account, no card.
Letter done? Finish the file.
A complete application usually needs an SOP, a CV and references too.
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