Most of the scholarships available at San Diego State University (SDSU) are made possible by contributions from generous donors who want to invest in the future while demonstrating their belief in the importance of a college education.

The thank you letter is an opportunity for you to show your donor you are the kind of student they can be proud to support.

Hearing from scholarship recipients is very meaningful to donors or their living relatives. It gives them an opportunity to obtain a glimpse of how the gift has made a difference in the life of a student. Your words encourage the donor to continue supporting other students like you.

Thank You Letter Requirements

To receive your scholarship, you must write a thank you letter.

Your thank you letter must be prepared according to the following guidelines or it will not be accepted.

• The letter must be typed.
• The letter must be signed with your original handwritten signature.
• The letter must be addressed to the appropriate person or committee as indicated in your award letter.
• If you receive multiple scholarships, you must write individual thank you letters to each donor.
• Facsimile and electronic mail submissions will not be accepted.

Delivering or Mailing Your Thank You Letter

Deadline:
Your thank you letter must be delivered by the deadline given in your award letter or the scholarship award may be rescinded. Log on to your AidLink account for the award letter and deadline.

Where to deliver or mail:
Mail or deliver the original copy of the thank you letter to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Thank You Letter Tips

Pay careful attention to the grammar, spelling, and organization of your letter.

Good grammar provides clarity. Correct spelling communicates your intelligence and attention to detail.

Use the spell checking function in your word processing software. You may spell the wrong word correctly, and your software will not your recognize your error. Use a good grammar and style reference to eliminate any problems you may have with sentence and paragraph structure.

Set your work aside for awhile, then read the letter again, aloud this time. And finally have someone else proofread it.

Content Tips

Consider including some of the following topics in your letter as you thank the donor for the scholarship.

Tell about yourself:

• Your hometown
• Family background
• High school and other experiences that led to your choice of study at SDSU

Tell about your present situation:

• Describe how the scholarship will help you meet your educational goals
• Share things you enjoy about college
• List organizations in which you participate
• Internships in which you participate or plan to participate
• Extracurricular activities on campus and/or within your community

Tell about your future plans

• What you look forward to at SDSU and after you graduate
• What you hope to accomplish while at SDSU
• Your career plans
  

See sample Thank You Letters.