Essay Scholarships Contests

Consider Professional Organizations as Scholarship Resources

As tuition rises, it's more crucial than ever to discover new and innovative ways of finding scholarship money—and one opportunity you might not think of is via professional associations in your field of interest. These associations are a great way to network with professionals, and they're also wonderful places to find scholarships. Being a member also allows you to find job listings and read up on current events and issues within your career field. (Not to mention it's a great résumé builder.) If you join as a high school or undergrad student, you will most likely enjoy reduced membership dues as well.

[Read about 4 overlooked ways to pay for college.]

Here are a few of the many scholarships sponsored by professional organizations:

High School Essay Contest through the Society of Professional Journalists: If you have a passion for writing, then you'll definitely want to check out this scholarship contest. Each year the Society of Professional Journalists posts a question to be answered in 300 to 500 words, such as: "Why is free expression through independent media important?" This contest is open to students enrolled in grades 9-12 in public, private, and home schools. The first-place scholarship winner will be awarded $1,000, second place gets $500, and the third-place winner receives $300.

The American School Health Association Scholarship : Are you a junior, senior or graduate student enrolled full or part time at an institution of higher education? Are you also pursuing a degree in school health education, school nursing, pediatric or adolescent medicine, or dentistry? Then you could win one of this association's three annual $500 scholarships.

The IEEE Power and Energy Society Scholarship Plus Initiative : If you're a full-time undergraduate studying electrical or power engineering—and you have a 3.0 or higher GPA at an ABET-accredited 4-year university—check out the IEEE Power and Energy Society program. This scholarship awards $2,000 to the winner, with the possibility of an extra $5,000 if the student maintains his or her eligible status for two more years. The organization also helps the scholarship recipient find internships to help further his or her career goals. Applications will be accepted starting in spring 2012.

The Future Educators Association Scholarship : This association awards more than 30 scholarships per year to high school seniors and college undergrads intending to major in education. You must be a member of the Future Educators Association (FEA), but the annual membership fee is just $8 and will give you access to scholarships, leadership development activities, and an opportunity to participate in the FEA international conference (which features competitions and further scholarship opportunities). The applications will be available in 2012.

College Scholarships for Essay Writing Contests: National Essay ...

Participating in scholarship contests gives high school students practical experience filling out forms, working with deadlines, and completing writing assignments. High School essay contests are available annually from several foundations and organizations. Homeschoolers are generally welcome to participate in essay contests and win scholarships for college.

Since there are so many national essay contests for high school students, consider the idea of creating a calendar or notebook for keeping track of the deadlines and entry forms. It's wise to fill out forms online when possible and print a copy for tracking purposes. Quite often, a scholarship contest will announce a theme, then accept entries between certain dates. Mailing or submitting the essay during these dates is important. Essay contests for high school students have strict rules that must be adhered to, in order to win. Aside from writing a winning essay, all of the application requirements must be met in order to be awarded a college scholarship for essay writing.

Homeschoolers who enjoy teaching situations that occur in real life tend to favor college scholarships for essay writing contests. Ready-made writing assignments with real-world results are the learning experiences that can shape a child's future. Winning college scholarships by participating in essay contests can give a teens ownership of their future and a sense of responsibility for the outcome of their education.

Local chambers of commerce often offer annual scholarship contests, as do nonprofit foundations. The VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars, has a patriotic themed essay contest for students in middle school and above. Contact your community college for resources for finding essay contests. Internet directories list scholarship opportunities for high school writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students who know which college they'd like to attend or which field of study they'd like to specialize in can look toward professional organizations or university scholarship foundations for their essay contests.

As students enter and win, or place highly in essay writing contests, be sure to document and include the information on their college applications, high school transcripts and even resume.

Participation in writing contests allows students to practice meeting deadlines and requires personal organization to keep track of rules, applications, fees and other requirements. Finding and following the rules of various essay writing contests is a practical way to enhance a high school writing curriculum with skills that will serve students in their adult life.

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