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by Agnes Jasinski

Still finding yourself with a lot of time on your hands this winter break? This week's Scholarship of the Week could help you with that. The Morality of Profit Project through the SEVEN Fund asks applicants to write an essay of up to 3,000 words on the morality of profit, and whether the pursuit of profit is moral in the current global economic crisis.

The SEVEN Fund, or the Social Equity Venture Fund, is an independent nonprofit organization that provides monetary, organizational and intellectual support for the study of enterprise-based solutions to poverty. The essay scholarship aims to get more young people thinking about profit motives, as the debate is currently fairly polarized. If you have opinions on the topic and enjoy writing a good essay, this could be the perfect contest to get your creative juices flowing. The organization is also all about diversity, so those from diverse cultural, religious, philosophical, and academic traditions are especially welcome to participate.

Prize: SEVEN will award top honors to three essays, with a grand prize of $20,000, a second prize of $10,000, and a third prize of $5,000. The best pieces will be collected into a manuscript, which is intended for publication, and the program will culminate with an international conference in 2010.

Eligibility: Everyone is welcome to apply, no matter your field, discipline, or profession. The competition is also a global one, so both U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens are welcome to participate.

Deadline: February 28, 2010

Required Material: The essay must be submitted electronically in a Microsoft Word or PDF format only, using the submission form on the organization's website. Every essay must, in addition to the actual essay, include a 100 word abstract at the beginning of the document. Along with the submission, applicants are asked to include the following information in the submission form, as well as on the first page of your submitted essay: full name and mailing address, a contact telephone number, your email, and a brief paragraph biography. All information requested, including contact information, abstract, and the essay should be included in a single document.

by Emily

This week's Scholarship of the Week is a scholarship essay contest sponsored by the National World War II Museum.  High school students are invited to write an essay of 1,000 words or less related to the theme of a special exhibit at the National WWII Museum this spring.  The exhibit focuses on the stories of seven Americans of varied backgrounds who fought for equality, freedom, and justice before, during, and after World War II.  Following this theme, students are asked to address the theme "'E Pluribus Unum': How Then/How Now?" in their essays, describing ways diversity can strengthen American society.  Responses should be rooted in World War II history, but should also address more current issues and events.

Prize: 

 
• $1000 first prize
 
• $750 second prize
 
• $500 third prize
 

by Lisa Lowdermilk

Have you ever started an essay or research project and found you absolutely hate the topic you chose? I know I have so that’s why when I started college, I vowed I would choose personally relevant topics whenever possible to make my college assignments more enjoyable.

In my logic and rhetoric class, for example, I had to choose an issue I could argue about from multiple perspectives. Because I'm a passionate video gamer, I ended up choosing to debate the pros and cons of gameplay. We've all heard about the effects of gameplay on violent behavior, weight gain and myriad other social problems; while it's true some of these concerns aren't entirely unwarranted, I wanted to show how the media and other sources play a large role in exaggerating the negative effects.

My point here is that because I am passionate about video games, I can argue much more persuasively than I would if I was writing about a topic which I have no interest in. While my topic may not be meaningful to everyone in my class, I am confident my classmates will at least appreciate the combination of factual information and personal insight I bring to the table on the subject. After all, a persuasive essay isn’t really a persuasive essay if the author doesn’t believe his or her own words.

Of course, choosing a topic you like isn't always possible – if you hate learning about history in general, odds are you won't find many topics to your liking – so in these situations, just be thankful you don't have to marry the topic you settle for. You're sure to find plenty of topics personally relevant to you later on in your college career.

Lisa Lowdermilk is a soon-to-be published author, an avid video gamer and an artist. Her first novel is a murder mystery for young adults set in the future. She enjoys watching thrillers, trying different restaurants and attempting to breakdance. Lisa completed her Associate of Arts degree entirely online and is now majoring in professional writing at the University of Colorado Denver.

While white lab coats and futuristic gadgets dominate the public perception of scientists, as a current or future science major you can expect to play a different, but still essential, role in society once you complete your college education.  Scientists are forever surveying the land, sea and sky to help us understand and make the best of the resources that surround us. To encourage further research and development, Scholarships.com has created a college scholarship especially for current and future students of a wide variety of scientific disciplines. If you’re the science type, take advantage of this scholarship opportunity.

Students who apply for the Scholarships.com College Science Scholarship, this week's Scholarship of the Week, will have the chance to earn $1,000 for college. Best of all, the scholarship application process couldn’t be easier. Just respond to the following question in a 250 to 350 word essay (entries that fall outside of this word range will be disqualified): "What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in science?"

Prize: $1000

Eligibility: U.S. citizen Registered Scholarships.com user. Creating an account is simple and free of charge.  After you have created an account, conduct a free scholarship search to view and apply for this award. Undergraduate student currently enrolled or a high school senior who plans to enroll in a college or university in the coming academic year Applicant must have indicated an interest in one of the following majors:

• Aerospace Technologies
• Agriculture/Agribusiness
• Animal Husbandry
• Animal Science/Dairy
• Anthropology
• Applied Science
• Astronomy
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Communication Sciences
• Crystallography
• Earth Sciences
• Ecology
• Enology
• Estuarine Science
• Entomology
• Environmental Engineering
• Environmental Health
• Environmental Science
• Environmental Studies
• Family & Consumer Sciences
• Fishery Science/Management
• Food Science/ Food Industry
• Forensics(Medical)
• Forestry/Natural Resources
• Genealogy
• Genetics
• Geological Sciences
• Geophysics
• Horticulture/Floriculture
• Library Sciences
• Marine Science
• Medical Lab Technician
• Medical Technologist
• Metallurgy
• Meteorological Science
• Microbiology
• Mineralogy
• Molecular Genetics
• Natural Resources Technologies
• Natural Sciences
• Neural & Behavioral Science
• Neurosciences
• Nuclear Sciences
• Nutrition Studies
• Oceanography
• Oncology
• Ornithology
• Pharmacology
• Physics
• Physiology
• Plastics
• Polymer Technology
• Pulp & Paper Science
• Radiology
• Science (General)
• Science (Health)
• Science (Social)
• Sociology
• Veterinary
• Water & Soil Conservation
• Zoology

Deadline: February 28, 2009

Required Material: A 250-350 word response to the following question: “What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in science?”

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

by Emily

Students who are committed to serving and improving their communities have a chance to win up to $6,000 in scholarship money over the course of four years with this week's Scholarship of the Week.  The A. Patrick Charnon Scholarship was established in memory of Pat Charnon, who was known for the generous help and support he provided to young people in Beloit, Wisconsin and the sense of community he fostered.  Recipients of the Charnon Scholarship should show a similar dedication to building communities, as well as a committment to values of tolerance, compassion, and respect for all people in their communities.  This community service scholarship is open to undergraduate students.

Prize:

$1,500 per year for up to 4 years

Eligibility: 

by Emily

Aspiring chefs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other locations across the country recently received the chance to compete for a wide range of culinary arts scholarships through the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), a non-profit organization that helps underserved students prepare for careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry.  The annual C-CAP scholarship contest awards scholarships of up to the full amount of tuition at leading culinary schools to students who have participated in their programs.

A story in The Los Angeles Times followed students through the final round of the C-CAP competition, as well as the scholarship awards banquet, where nearly $590,000 was awarded, including several scholarships over $50,000.  To be accepted into the C-CAP scholarship competition, students must be 21 or younger and enrolled in a culinary arts course at a C-CAP school, and must have completed at least one culinary arts course.  Students complete a scholarship application that includes an essay component and two letters of recommendation.  They then compete in a preliminary cooking competition. Winners advance to the finals, which include another cooking contest and a scholarship interview.

Culinary arts can lead to a fulfilling career, but programs can be expensive and it can be difficult to find enough financial aid.  This and other culinary arts scholarships can help students follow their passion and enter careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry with minimal debt.  To find out about the C-CAP scholarship, you can visit their website, and to find other culinary arts scholarships, you can do a free college scholarship search at Scholarships.com.

by Agnes Jasinski

With most fall semesters just beginning or yet to begin, now may be the perfect time to spend some time applying for scholarships that may require a bit more effort on your part. If you’re a stellar writer, spending some of your extra time on an essay scholarship may lead to a decent prize to help cover some of those college costs. This week’s Scholarship of the Week asks applicants to reflect on topics based on the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged. If you’ve already read the book, the Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest may be a no-brainer for you. If you haven’t read it yet but have impressive speed-reading skills, you may still have enough time to submit an essay before the deadline.

This isn’t an award you can just recycle a previous essay for, unless you have the good luck of having studied the novel in your high school literature class. There are essay and writing scholarships out there though that have more general topics for you to reflect and compose narratives on. Make sure to keep copies of every essay you write, whether it’s for a scholarship or college application. Those personal statements and reflective essays may come in handy when you’re applying for internships, grants, fellowships, or future scholarships.

Prize:

• 1 First Prize of $10,000
• 2 Second Prizes of $2,000
• 5 Third Prizes of $1,000
• 20 Finalist Prizes of $100
• 20 Semifinalist Prizes of $50

Eligibility:

Applicants must be high school seniors, college undergraduates, or graduate students.

Deadline:

September 17, 2010

Required Material:

Applicants are asked to write an essay of no fewer than 800 and no more than 1,600 words on one of three topics provided on the Ayn Rand Institute’s website. Essays will be judged on both style and content, including a writer’s grasp of the novel Atlas Shrugged, and may be mailed in or submitted online. Mailed essays should include a stapled cover sheet. The winning essay will be posted online, so applicants must be comfortable having their names posted on the Ayn Rand Institute’s site.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

Pursuing a career in education shows a commitment to increasing knowledge and improving the lives of others. However, in order to become an educator, you need a college education, and the prospect of a teacher's salary can make many students reluctant to borrow heavily to achieve this goal. Thankfully, there are a number of education scholarships that offer future teachers an alternative to student loans. One of them is this week's Scholarship of the Week, the Scholarships.com College Education Scholarship. High school seniors and current undergraduate students are invited to write a scholarship essay explaining what influenced them to pursue a career in education for a chance to win a $1,000 college scholarship.

Prize: $1,000

Eligibility: Applicant must be a U.S. citizen, a registered user of Scholarships.com, and an undergraduate student or a high school senior who plans to enroll in a college or university in the coming fall. Applicant must have indicated an interest in Child Care/Education, Education, Health Education, Music Education or Special Education.

Deadline: August 31, 2009

Required Material: Completed online scholarship application, including essay of 250-350 words answering the question, "What has influenced you to pursue a career in education?"

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

Many scholarship essay contests have broad and open-ended questions, designed to allow applicants a great deal of leeway in crafting their responses and allowing their writing to shine. But sometimes it's nice to have more structure to a writing scholarship, too, especially if you're skilled at literary analysis and argumentative writing. Luckily for the English and composition nerds out there, there are scholarship providers who are happy to oblige with contests asking applicants to read a novel and write an essay response. One of these is this week's Scholarship of the Week, the Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest, sponsored by the Ayn Rand Institute. Interested students just need to read the novel "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand and write an essay response to one of three prompts for a chance at up to $10,000 in scholarship money. There's one catch: The novel is nearly 1200 pages long, so you'd better really like reading.

Prize

• 1 first prize: $10,000
• 3 second prizes: $2,000
• 5 third prizes: $1,000
• 20 finalists: $100
• 20 semifinalists: $50

Eligibility: High school seniors and current college students worldwide are eligible to apply. Applicants must be enrolled in high school or college at the time their applications are submitted.

Deadline: September 17, 2009

Required Material: Completed essay of 800 to 1,600 words written in response to one of the three prompts provided on the contest website. Essays will be judged on both style and content, with a particular emphasis on understanding of the philosophic themes of the novel. Essays may be submitted online or through the mail.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

by Emily

Ever look around and think that there are just too many people?  NPG, a national organization devoted to population issues, is encouraging students to explore issues of population growth through their annual scholarship essay contest, which is this week's Scholarship of the Week.  High school seniors and current undergraduate students are asked to submit essays of 500-750 words addressing the issue of population growth within the United States.  Students are asked to format their entries as letters to their hometown Congressional Representative calling for the creation of a U.S. Commission on Population Growth.

Prize: First prize: $2,000 Second prize: $1,000 Third prize: $500

Eligibility: Applicants must be current high school seniors or undergraduate students who will be enrolled in college next year.  Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents attending a school within the United States.

Deadline: April 24, 2009

Required Material: Two copies of an original letter written in response to the essay prompt. The letter should be between 500 and 750 words, written in English, word-processed or typed double-spaced, and submitted through the mail. E-mailed or faxed essays will not be accepted. Essays must be received by NPG by April 24.

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.