It seems that most scholarships opportunities require students to write an essay. For some that’s an easy way to express themselves. For others, pulling the words out of their minds and typing them out on the screen is like pulling the teeth out of their heads. Not so easy. Not very fun. Not so conducive to creativity.

So, here are some scholarships that require imagination, and, don’t kid yourself, some hard work But there is no essay required. Of course, as with every scholarship, there are rules to follow, and follow exactly, or you will be disqualified.

The Citizens for Global Solutions has a multimedia contest going on right now. The top prize is $2,000 for the “Best of Show.”  You have a choice of entering either a digital video, (which you would submit to their YouTube channel), Flash animation piece, or spoken word. If you use any music, it must either be your own compositions, or you need to have the permission from the copyright holder. The maximum length of any of the entries is 2 minutes. There are quite a few details to follow, so read the site carefully.

The theme of this year’s contest is Dufur. It’s a serious topic, which should set the tone you take on your presentation. They offer possible solutions for the situation in Durfur, and leave it to the student to chose which one of three they think will work. Laying out the top three solition they believe will work is a bit limiting to the student, but it’s their contest after all, and they set the rules. The deadline is October 1st, 2008.

Have you ever gone into a greeting card shop and not been able to find exactly what you were looking for? Well, help is on the way with the “Create a Greeting Card ” contest offered by The Gallery Collection. The top award is $10,000 and the deadline is January 15th. Only one entry per person is allowed. They are looking for the front of the greeting card only. It can be a photo, artwork or computer graphics, and must be appropriate for business and consumer use. In other words, nothing tacky. The contest is open to students starting at age 14 (which is fairly unusual,) high school, college or university students enrolled at any time during 2008. Also, you must be a U.S. citizen.

DoSomeThing.org is an aptly named website. This is not really a scholarship per se, but it could put you on the right path to some great opportunities and do something toward helping others in the bargain. This organization gives out $500 each week. Yes, that is correct. Each week. But the cash is not supposed to go into your pocket. It’s to fund a program of your own design, that’s for the betterment of …. Fill in the blank. They let you chose your cause: Animal Welfare, Disaster Response and Relief, Discrimination, Education, the Environment, even Health and Fitness. You post your project idea and if it is chosen, you are granted the money.

One of the best things about this site is, of course, some people have put a lot of effort, time and money forward and are serious about motivating young people to get out there and volunteer. The other part of it is that if you have a project that is chosen for funding, and then go out and do a great job with it, it looks great on your resume and your scholarship applications. And who knows, the project you come up with could be sustainable and go on helping people far into the future.

But wait, there’s more. There is an annual award show put on by the same folks at DoSomething.org, called the Br!ck Awards . Last year the program was sponsored by Pepsi, Saturn and JP-Morgan Chase. The grand prizewinner was Chad Bullock, age 19, who won $100,000. Charity Navigator gives the organization a 4-star rating. The applications for next year’s Do Something Award will be available in October, so mark your calendar.

FastWeb and Dell computers have teamed up to present the “Why I Deserve a Scholarship” contest. Students must register and submit a video showing why they deserve the $2,500 prize. The second prize is $1.500. The unique thing about this scholarship contest is that it’s decided by votes. You can corral all your friends and family together and get them to vote for your video. And, each vote for you video puts you in a random drawing for $1,000. To be eligible for this contest you must be at least 15 and graduating high school in Spring 2009, or currently enrolled in an accredited college or university. The deadline is September 8th.

The Speak New Words Video Contest is looking for a music video. If you have a flair for writing and performing this could be the scholarship for you. There are two categories; Category One is for students age 13 to 20, and Category two is for people 21 and over. You must be a U.S. citizen for either category. Your music video must be at least one minute long and not longer than four minutes. The words must be completely original. You don’t have to have music with your words, but if you do they must be royalty free, in the public domain, or originally created by you. The theme of this year’s contest is, “Inspire the rising generation to greatness.”

This is fairly early in the school year, and as time passes, more opportunities will come up. In the meantime, the best thing to do is to apply to every scholarship opportunity you find. Even the small scholarship will add up.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed