Blog

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

There are scholarship opportunities out there for every talent, interest or skill.  Through this week's Scholarship of the Week, the Calm-A-Sutra of Tea Scholarship Competition, you can win a $15,000 college scholarship just for demonstrating your knowledge of tea and your ability to drink it creatively.  Students are asked to create a 1 to 2 minute video of themselves drinking black, green, white or oolong tea while describing the health benefits of tea and to upload the video to YouTube.  Entries are judged on their health-related messges, creativity, individuality and popularity.  No scholarship essays require

Prize:$15,000

Eligibility:

College and high school students age 16 and older who are legal residents of the United States and Puerto Rico. 

by Agnes Jasinski

As unemployment rates remain high and budgets stay tight, more people are looking to wait out the struggling economy by going back to college. Competition then has become more fierce not only on the admissions level, but for funding to pay for those educations. While many schools are doing whatever they can to continue offering scholarships and grants, the economy has affected some schools' available funding. Good news is, scholarships do exist, and there are things you can do to have a better chance of landing one.

• Apply early, and apply often. Scholarships wait for no one, and a later deadline doesn't mean you should wait until the very last moment to apply. Generous scholarships like the Coca-Cola Scholars Program have deadlines in October, for example. It's not a bad move to look ahead and start applying for awards beyond this year, either, to get an idea of funding you'll need in the future. To see scholarships that have deadlines this fall, conduct a a free scholarship search and see the dozens you could be eligible for.
• Don't rule out local scholarships. While funding packages from your intended college are often more generous than outside awards, it won't hurt to supplement any funding you're awarded or have a backup plan in case what your school offers covers less of your fees than you thought. Local scholarships from your dad's employer or your local bowling league are also less competitive than college-based awards or the more well-known contests, and often look at things beyond your GPA and test scores to factor in things like community service, your experience with that organization and financial need. New scholarships are being created all the time, so check on your search throughout the school year for the most up-to-date results.
• Stand out on the application. It's not too late to make up for that less-than-stellar grade in your high school Algebra class, especially if you're looking ahead to scholarship opportunities beyond your freshman year in college. GPAs matter from your entire high school career, so don't slack off when the senioritis hits. Don't be afraid of AP classes unless it's a subject you know you'd get a low grade in, and get involved in your school and your community as it's also not always about academics. Work on that resume by applying for internships that fit your intended major, and put in more hours of practice if you're going for a sports or music scholarship. It's never too late to make yourself a more desirable scholarship candidate.
• Appeal your award. If you've done everything you can - filled out your FAFSA early, put together impressive scholarship applications - and you feel the financial aid you've been offered from your school is unfair or if your circumstances have changed dramatically since applying for government aid, you still have options. Schools are more likely to reconsider packages in the current climate, and you could be eligible for more grant and scholarship funding, the best kind that you don't need to pay back.

For more information on upcoming scholarships and other helpful financial aid tips, visit our College Resources. Tomorrow, we'll explore your options on keeping college costs low and looking at a school's program versus its reputation.

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

Your part-time job can earn you more than a paycheck.  Students who are currently employed by KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, A&W, Long John Silver's, or other Yum! restaurant brands, or who are dependents of Yum! employees can earn a scholarship award of up to $2,500 through this week's Scholarship of the Week.

The Yum! Andy Pearson Scholarship, named in honor of the company's founding chairman, is a scholarship designed to assist Yum! employees or their family members who are seeking a college education.  Current high school, college, or graduate students with strong academic records, leadership experience, community involvement, work experience, or financial need may qualify for this scholarship.

Prize:

• $2,500 to undergraduate students at four-year colleges or universities, as well as graduate students
• $1,000 to students attending community colleges or vocational or technical schools
• $1,500 bonus award to up to 10 students pursuing a degree in food service or hospitality
• $2,500 to 40 Yum! Scholars of Excellence, past recipients who have maintained at least a 3.5 GPA

Eligibility:

• All active U.S.-based associates with a minimum of 6 months of continuous employment with Yum! or its subsidiaries and an average of at least 15 hours worked per week over this 6 month period.
• High school seniors, HS graduates, students who have earned their GED or students currently enrolled in full-time study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university, vocational-technical school or graduate school who have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
 
• Legal dependents of eligible Yum! associates, including spouses and unmarried children under the age of 19 (or under the age of 25 if the child is a full-time student).
• Associates must remain employed by Yum! as of the date that the scholarship is paid.

Deadline: May 15, 2009

Required Material: Completed online application, including statement of educational goals and objectives, a summary of the applicant's work experience, current academic transcripts, the eligible Yum! associate's employment information, and the applicant's family's most recent tax information.

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.

by Emily

This week's Scholarship of the Week is the Akash Kuruvilla Memorial Scholarship, an award created to keep alive Akash Kuruvilla's legacy of leadership, diversity, integrity and academia by rewarding students who share these same values.  One male and one female undergraduate student will receive a $1,000 scholarship award based on academics, extracurriculars, work and volunteer experience, financial need and a response to the question, "What does the phrase 'the American dream' mean to you, and how do you embody the American dream?"

Prize:

$1,000

Eligibility:

High school seniors and current undergraduate students who will be enrolled full-time in an accredited degree program in fall 2009.  Applicants must have a GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale if high school seniors, or 3.0 on a 4.0 scale if current undergraduates. 

by Emily

The current state of the economy has made it increasingly difficult for students with poor or average credit to borrow money for college.  With many student loan companies announcing plans to cease or greatly scale back lending, and other companies drastically increasing credit requirements, student borrowers may feel like they have nowhere to turn.  College scholarships, such as this week's Scholarship of the Week, can help bridge this gap, however.  The SpendonLife Credit Challenged Scholarship offers awards of up to $5,000 to students struggling to pay for school after being denied student loans based on credit.

Prize: Up to 10 scholarship awards in amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000

Eligibility: High school students and college students ages 17-25 who will be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree program in the 2009-2010 academic year or who are currently enrolled in college.  Applicants must be legal residents of the U.S. and must have been rejected for a private student loan based on credit.

Deadline: June 15, 2009

Required Material: A completed scholarship application and an essay of 500 words or less answering the question, "How has the slowed economy personally affected you, either financially or emotionally?"

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

This week's Scholarship of the Week is an essay scholarship that should appeal to fans of political science and U.S. history, though it's open to students of every major.  The Lincoln Forum's Platt Family Scholarship Prize Essay Contest offers a top prize of $1,000 for student essays on one of America's most influential presidents.

The 2008 elections brought a renewed interest in Abraham Lincoln, with frequent comparisons made between him and President Obama.  Building on this theme, The Lincoln Forum is inviting current undergraduate students to submit essays on the topic, "Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln: Getting Right with Lincoln." The scholarship essay contest asks students to discuss which other presidents, in addition to Obama, have been inspired by Lincoln, and to also explore what lessons can be learned from Lincoln's presidency by the Obama administration.

Prize: 

 
• First prize: $1,000
 
• Second prize: $500
 
• Third prize: $250
 

Undergraduate students who were enrolled full-time in the spring semester of 2009 at an American college or university.  U.S. citizenship is not required. 

by Emily

As we mentioned yesterday, the 2008-2009 school year is winding down, and people are preparing to flip over to a new academic calendar and a new college application cycle.  However, that doesn't mean that students still seeking admission or financial aid for 2009-2010 are completely out of luck.  There are still colleges and scholarships accepting applications right now.  In fact, there are some substantial scholarship awards that you can still win this summer, and to prove it, we're listing a few of them below.  To learn more about these awards and others with upcoming deadlines, you can do a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com.

HANDS Essay Contest

Hands Along the Nile is accepting applications until July 4 for its $5,000 scholarship essay contest. To apply, students are asked to compose an essay of no more than 2,500 words in response to the question, "How is community development in the Middle East important to the U.S.? Why is it particularly crucial to focus on Egypt?" This scholarship is open to high school seniors and full-time undergraduate and graduate students at colleges in the United States.

Blade Your Ride Scholarship Program

Through June 30, current undergraduate and graduate students who are passionate about the environment are invited to create a video webcast for a chance to win up to $9,000 towards their college education.  Videos should focus on the global climate crisis and creativity is encouraged.  Applicants must maintain a 3.0 GPA and must be attending college in the United States, but citizenship is not required.

SPENDonLIFE Credit Challenged Scholarship

High school and college students who have been declined for student loans due to the credit crunch have until June 15 to apply for a scholarship of up to $5,000 to help cover their college costs.  To apply, students are asked to write a 500-word essay describing the impact of the economic downturn on their lives. This contest is open to U.S. residents between the ages of 17 and 25.

The Calm-a-Sutra of Tea $15,000 Scholarship Competition

The Tea Council of the USA is looking for videos about the health benefits of tea, and you have until August 2 to create one.  Applicants ages 16 and older who are legal residents of the United States or Puerto Rico are invited to upload a video about tea to YouTube, then share the link with the Tea Council.  One winner will receive a $15,000 college scholarship.

Scholarships.com College Scholarships

Scholarships.com is also accepting applications for three of our scholarship awards.  For a chance to win $1,000, you can apply for the Resolve to Evolve Essay contest, the College Culinary Arts Scholarship, or the College Design Scholarship.  Other Scholarships.com college scholarships are available throughout the year, as well.