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Every January, we all make resolutions for the year ahead – resolutions that are, unfortunately, usually forgotten by February. Want to make a vow you’ll actually keep and earn money for college at the same time this year? Then enter our newest Short & Tweet Scholarship!

What’s on your educational to-do list in 2013? Whether it’s getting into your dream school, decoding the FAFSA or simply setting two alarms so you don’t miss your morning classes, we want to know! Follow us on Twitter and mention us (@Scholarshipscom) in a tweet detailing your school-related resolution and how you plan to keep it. Here’s how to enter:

Step 1: Follow @Scholarshipscom on Twitter.

Step 2: Mention us (@Scholarshipscom) in a tweet answering the question “What’s your school-related resolution for 2013 *AND* how will you stick to it?” Once you do this, you are entered to win a $1,000 scholarship or one of two Kindles.

Step 3: You may enter as many times as you want from December 26th through January 31st but please limit your tweets to three per day. Each tweet will be a stand-alone entry and tweets that are submitted by non-followers, exceed 140 characters, do not include @Scholarshipscom, do not answer the entire question or are submitted after the January 31st deadline will not be considered. From there, the Scholarships.com Team will determine which comments are most deserving of the awards.

• Starts: December 26th
• Ends: January 31st
• Number Available: 3
• Amount: $1,000 for one first-place winner; one Kindle each for second- and third-place winners

by Suada Kolovic

The Girls Impact the World Film Festival, presented by the Harvard College Social Innovation Collaborative (SIC) and Connecther, is a film festival and scholarship program in which high school and undergraduate college students submit 3-5 minute short films that focus on a variety of global women's issues, including maternal health, microfinance initiatives, child-marriage, sex-trafficking, poverty alleviation, etc.

Winners will receive a monetary prize, film distribution channels via SIC, Connecther and Creative Visions networks, as well as an internship opportunity at Creative Visions in Los Angeles. An official screening and red carpet will take place at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA on February 23. The film festival has marketing partners in college campuses across the nation.

For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

College board members have released a statement – “It’s not me, it’s you.” Okay, those might not have been their exact words but that was the overall message: According to a survey on higher education, most board members believe that higher education costs too much...but a majority also say their own institutions’ prices aren’t the problem. Society responded with a cynical, “Riiiiiiiight.”

A report on the recent “College Prices, Costs, and Outcomes: Who’s Minding the Gap Between Higher Education and the Public?” survey revealed a whopping 55 percent of respondents said higher education in general is too expensive relative to its value but 62 percent said that their institution costs weren’t the problem and were, in fact, appropriate. Susan Whealler Johnston, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Association of Governing Boards, said the survey is important because it provides insight into how board members perceive public concerns about higher education and how they then act in the boardroom. "What we have noticed is there's a major gap between the two,” said Johnston. The survey drew 2,539 responses from among the nearly 14,000 board members from the public and private colleges invited to participate in the survey about perceptions of college prices, costs and outcomes, with a response rate of 18.3 percent.

For more on this survey, click here...then tell us what you think!

by Suada Kolovic

Have a great idea? Then MIT’s THINK Scholars Program might be the scholarship for you! The program helps high school students turn ideas into reality. THINK project proposals are science and engineering ideas that span many fields from green technologies and practical devices to software applications. Almost anything is fair game. As long as it can be completed in one semester with a $2,000 budget. The program is run by undergraduate students at MIT and sponsored by technology companies and educational organizations.

All high school students are eligible to participate. For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

For some students, opting for what one might consider a safe major like business or accounting just doesn’t have the allure as something as unique as puppetry, packaging (which boasts a 90-percent job placement rate, by the way) or tweeting. No need to adjust your screen folks, you read that right: Newberry College now offers both a major and minor in social media. Social media gurus rejoice!

Designed by Tania Sosiak, an associate professor of graphic design and social media at Newberry, the program blends existing classes from other disciplines such as graphic design, communications, business administration, psychology and statistics. Newberry President Dr. Maurice Scherrens said in a statement that they decided to start the new program due to a “long-term demand for college graduates in a rapidly expanding field.” Through these courses, students will explore the techniques of social media in addition to the development and direction of social media as a creative industry. Students will work to develop marketing and branding strategies for projects including corporate, non-profit, entertainment, sports, news and politics. Not everyone is a fan, though: Skeptics like Amora McDaniel at the Upstart Business Journal wrote, “This could be just another ploy to entice students to enroll in your schools without giving back anything of substance in return for their tuition money.”

What side of the fence are you on? Do you think that offering a social media major is progressive or do you think that schools are catering to students’ wants verses needs?

by Suada Kolovic

With the economy in what seems like an endless slump, many have come to question the validity of a college education in disciplines that don’t guarantee definite career paths for students once they’ve graduated. Majors on the chopping block include those in the humanities and social sciences and universities across the country aren’t turning a deaf ear to the issue: Officials in Florida are considering reducing tuition in order to steer students towards majors that are in demand in the job market.

Governor Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers are urging Florida’s 12 state universities to nudge students toward job-friendly degrees and suggesting that universities freeze tuition rates for three years for majors in “strategic areas.” In theory, an undergraduate student would pay less for a degree in engineering or biotechnology – whose classes are among the most expensive – than for a degree in history or psychology. Financing from the state would be expected to make up for the tuition gap. Now while the initiative is popular among state officials, liberal arts devotees at the University of Florida have organized a protest petition which has gained signatures from across the state. They argue that the move would inevitably reduce the number of students who take humanities classes, further diminishing financing for those departments.

What do you think of Florida’s attempt to encourage students into certain majors with financial initiatives? Do you think steering students into fields that they have little interest or aptitude in just to save money could lead to discontent in their futures? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

by Suada Kolovic

As a Scholarships.com member, you have free access to a customized scholarship search, detailed financial aid information, an organized college search, standardized test study guides and much more. Like what you see? Spread the word about Scholarships.com to your friends through our “Tell A Friend” Scholarship and you'll have a chance to win money for college - $1,000 for you and $500 for one of your buddies.

To enter, simply copy your personalized TAF referral link and blog it, tweet it, email it, IM it or Facebook it. For every one of your friends who creates a profile on our site by clicking your link, you will be entered to win a $1,000 award; there’s no limit as to how many people you can send your link to and if you win, one of your friends who created a Scholarships.com profile using your link will be chosen at random to win $500.

For more information, visit our Tell a Friend Scholarship page and for additional scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Suada Kolovic

Greek parties (and parties in general) have become synonymous with the presence of tasty treats, a few festive streamers, bonding, booze and ponchos. Wait, something about that last detail doesn’t seem right...too bad members of the Chi Omega sorority didn’t get the message: A Penn State sorority is facing an investigation after an offensive photo from a racially-themed costume party surfaced on Facebook.

The Mexican-themed party photo – which included girls wearing sombreros, ponchos and fake mustaches and holding signs that said “Will mow lawn for weed + beer” and “I don’t cut grass, I smoke it” – was posted on Facebook, where the girls’ identities were discovered once they were tagged by other partygoers. The incident has led the Penn State Penhellenic Council to investigate the Nu Gamma Chapter of Chi Omega, according to The Daily Collegian. Jessica Ricardi, the sorority’s president, has issued an apology in the school’s newspaper, which in part read: “Our chapter of Chi Omega sincerely apologizes for portraying inappropriate and untrue stereotypes. The picture in question does not support any of Chi Omega’s values or reflect what the organization aspires to be.”

How do you think Penn State should handle the situation? Let us know the comments section.

by Suada Kolovic

After more than 110 years of tuition-free education, Cooper Union will no longer grant each admitted student a full-tuition scholarship. The response? Eleven students have barricaded themselves inside the college for the past 24 hours to protest the school’s decision.

According to the New York blog Gothamist, 11 Cooper Union students and one student journalist from The New School have barricaded themselves inside Cooper Union’s Foundation Building. They unfurled a red banner from the eighth floor which read “Free Education To All” and released a list of demands that included the resignation of Cooper Union president Jamshed Bharucha, a public affirmation of “the college’s commitment to free education” and more transparency for the Board of Trustees. The school released a statement that while a decision has yet to be made on whether or not they would charge tuition, it was being considered in light of a waning endowment and rising costs. We should note that no matter what the trustees vote, all current students are grandfathered in so they won’t be retroactively charged tuition or be asked to pay for the rest of their time at Cooper.

Since 1902, each of Cooper Union’s 1,000 undergraduates have received a full scholarship, valued at approximately $150,000 as of 2012. As a result, it is one of the most selective colleges in the United States, with an acceptance rate generally below 10 percent, with both the art and architecture school’s acceptance rates often below 5 percent. What do you think of the efforts made by these 11 students? Do you agree with their sit-in form of protest?

by Alexis Mattera

In this digital age, it’s not uncommon to receive emails, texts or Facebook wall posts in celebration of birthdays, holidays and other important life events. Sure, virtual contact can be easier but if you yearn for the days of handwritten correspondence (and are searching for money for college), our latest Scholarship of the Week is for you!

The Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card $10,000 Scholarship Contest asks applicants to design the front of a greeting card (holiday, birthday, thank you, get well soon, congratulations, etc.) consisting of original photographs, artwork and/or computer graphics. The student with the winning design will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship and his or her design will be made into a greeting card to be sold on The Gallery Collection website.

This scholarship is open to all high school, undergraduate and graduate students. To download the entry form and to read the official rules, please visit The Gallery Collection’s website and to review additional scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!