6 Essay Contests for High School Students to Earn Money for College Scholarships

Who doesn't need money for college, right? Well, write!

Essay contests often get a bad rap - and sometimes, it's deserved. Many contests are more like the lottery, and don't really reward great writing.

Certainly, you should read and choose carefully among the various essay contest "scholarship" contests. (I suggest skipping any that charge a fee to enter.) On a positive note, your odds of winning an essay contest are almost certainly better than winning the lottery.

Below, six essay contests (with cash prizes and scholarship $$) geared for high school/college-bound students. Sharpen your pencils (or stick some fresh batteries in your keyboard) and start writing!

1. Do something! -- not all writing-based, but there is writing involved. I like Do Something! because it encourages taking action to improve life around you...you pick the area of life/society you want to work to improve. Deadlines vary.
2. Read any good Ayn Rand books lately? If objectivism is your bag, this is your site. You'll have to register to get info about contests and deadlines. Primarily for college students.
3. The Williams-Mystic Essay Contest in Honor of Joseph Conrad accepts fiction or non-fiction entries about the ocean or any major body of water. $400 prize. Deadline in October.
4. What's your Superpower? Find it and get your entry in before the end of March. Open to writers ages 13 and up! $250 prizes.
5. Engineers are kind of like superheroes... this contest from Engineer Girl has a February deadline.
6. The John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage essay contest for high school students (grades 9-12) selects a winner from every state. Deadline January 4, 2017.

Want more? Scholarship Mentor has a long, long list of other writing contests to sort through.

Write Smart to Write Your Best College Essay

Scholarship mentor has a helpful checklist - do yourself a favor and read it:
http://scholarshipmentor.com/top-5-items-list-your-scholarship-essay

Here's my favorite tip from the Ayn Rand essay contest site: read the winning entries from previous contests! It's like a study guide. Take advantage of it.

And the most basic advice you need to get started: BIC. (Butt in chair.) You can't get it done until you begin.

Good luck and have fun writing! 

Will I Ever Have to Write an Essay in the Real World? Hello, College Scholarships!

I've argued that the ability to write essays is actually useful in real life. (More so than calculus, even.) Whether you agree or not is no matter - if you're a college-bound student, you need to write essays. Lots of them!

Here are two essay contests with deadlines fast-approaching. Have fun.

Write a Letter to the Number 5       $1500 scholarship opportunity

https://www.unigo.com/scholarships/our-scholarships/fifth-month-scholarship
Entries due 5/31/16

Do-over Scholarship      $1500 scholarship opportunity

https://www.unigo.com/scholarships/our-scholarships/do-over-scholarship
Entries due 6/30/16

Essays in the Real (Corporate) World

I've always enjoyed writing essays, but I only enjoy reading good ones.

Lesson to writers: if your essays aren't good, they won't enchant readers. Of course, many writers (and students) don't enjoy, nor do they have found memories of, writing essays. As a story on NPR noted years ago:

Comedians call them monologues. Editorialists call them columns. And college applicants call them something we can't repeat.

So what do you call them?

Do you enjoy writing them?

And does the essay have any place in today's business world?

To that last question, I answer yes. The essay, in a modified form, is found in corporate newsletters, position papers, and in training materials.

Do Essays Belong in Business? 

Corporate America likes to rename (or more accurately I should say, "rebrand") things all the time.

But it's often a thin disguise. What is the CEO's message to employees or the Director's letter to the Board if it's not an essay? It's not really a report - rather, it's a personal spin on and an introduction to an annual report or shareholders' statement.

What's an essay good for? 

The classic essay is a tool designed to make you (the writer) think and when you put your thoughts (and your words) in good order, it will make your reader think, too. When you do a really good job, the reader is likely to decide he agrees with you.

So what? When you find someone who can write a really persuasive essay, you've just found someone who can write a great sales proposal.

Also, the skills required to write a good essay also come in handy when drafting a new company policy, or rewriting the employee handbook.

Go ahead, bash the liberal arts education all you want. When it's time to communicate with your employees, constituents, prospects, or shareholders, look to the person who will admit "yeah, I like writing essays."

~Diane Stresing

6 Essay Contests for High School Students

As I remember it, the rub with essay contests for high school students was that first, there are a lot of crappy ones so the good ones are hard to find, and second, it takes a lot of time and discipline to write a solid, thoughtful essay for those worth entering. Here are five I think are worth the time. Good luck, all! 

1. SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists) is accepting entries into its essay contest for high school students until February 16, 2016. The topic, Why is it important that we have news media that are independent of the government?' is both timely and near and dear to my heart. Write on, young citizens.

2. With a hefty $2,000 prize at stake, the Ayn Rand Anthem Essay Contest is open to 8th - 10th grade students. The deadline is March 25, 2016. Other essay contests related to Rand's books are also offered.

3. The 11th Annual DNA Day Essay Contest, sponsored by the American Society for Human Genetics, has set its deadline for March 11, 2016. This year, students are asked to either defend or refute the Society's position on genetic testing for adult-onset diseases and conditions. 

The organization's website offers a rubric as well as pitfalls to avoid when participating in the contest.

4. Hiram College has announced its second essay writing contest. The theme is "Borders," and the contest (with cash prizes) is open to 10th and 11th graders. Entry deadline is January 7, 2016.  

5. We The Students essay contest is accepting entries until February 7, 2016. Hosted by the Bill of Rights Institute, the contest is open to students ages 14-19 in grades 8 - 12. 

This year, students are asked to discuss in writing to what extent, in in what ways, our government has compromised individual liberties for the sake of general security or welfare. 

6. Profiles in Courage Essay Contest - read winning essays from recent years and get writing tips directly from students (and contest winners) on the organization's Facebook page.

Speaking of writing tips, the organization posted one from JFK, circa 1955.

Socrates of the 1980s

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. ~ Socrates

For months, my screensaver featured a photo of a rose hovering between bud and bloom. The accompanying quote, attributed to Socrates, tells “the secret of change.”

Recently, writing on the topic of change, I decided to look up the quote; you know, a little backstory can be so good for inspiration. I found the speaker was Socrates, all right - not the Greek philosopher, but a fictional character named for the famous sage. The character appeared in a book that was published in 1980.

Lesson learned? I guess sometimes the “change” that’s hard to accept isn’t a change at all, but a correction of a perception – or misconception. Ouch.

# #

My new book, Dumb Things We Say to Dogs, is a collection of essays inspired by some of the changes that life lays on us.

~Diane Stresing

Grandma Gets Rerun Over in This Blog

This is a rerun of a feature on "Grandma" Gatewood, whom I wrote about roughly a hundred years ago. <recalculating> Actually, it was 2003. It appeared on a (now defunct) content site for which I was the Ohio Guide. I see that look of awe on your face. Yes! And now you get to read it, right here! But wait, there's more...

I've been reviewing a lot of things I wrote back in the day, and decided (are you sitting down?) to compile some of them in a book. I'll publish using Amazon's CreateSpace, because if there's one thing the world needs more of, besides self-published books, it's a collection of snarky essays, right?

You're welcome.

But back to essays and writing them, since this is supposed to be a "writing blog" and all. As you're sure to notice, this ditty on Grandma Gatewood isn't an essay; it's an article. Factual is nice (I loves me my research) but there's no personal insight or thought-provocation going on here. I really need to fix that, but this post is a bit long already. So I'll add some enduring wisdom to the piece when I get a round tuit, and put it in the book, which will be available from Amazon sometime in December. In time for Christmas shopping, even!

#seewhatIdidthere

In the meantime, the original post appears below. This one is for Maureen, who rightly noted "We really need to bring 'pantywaist' back to the insult table."

Good Ohio Grandma

When we sing, “over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go…” most of us conjure up visions of a stereotypical grandmotherly figure, all round edges and special recipes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – that describes my grandma pretty well, and I’m not interested in amending my memories, thank you.

But let’s remember that grandmas come in all shapes and boot sizes. Grandma Gatewood, for example, raised 11 children in southern Ohio in the early 1900. She also worked as a practical nurse and trained Peace Corps volunteers. And when she read that no woman had hiked the whole Appalachian Trail in a single season, she decided to be the first. She was 68.

She hiked the AT twice more before taking on the Oregon Trail in 1959, when she was 72. At age 75, she was still building trails in Ohio, some of which would become part of the Buckeye Trail.

Thanks to the vision and toil of Grandma and others, today we can go over the river and through the woods, indeed, on more than 1,280 miles of the Buckeye Trail, on foot. If you haven’t logged at least a few miles over the river and through the woods on foot, Grandma had a name for you: Pantywaist.

Fittingly, one of the most frequently-used portions of the trail, from Old Man’s Cave to Ash Cave in Hocking County, is dedicated to Grandma Gatewood.

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This article first appeared on the long-defunct Suite 101 Ohio: People and Places page in 2003. Although I’ve logged a lot of miles on Ohio’s trails, including those between Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave. I’ve never built a trail, though, or trained a Peace Corps volunteer, so I suppose I could be labeled a “pantywaist.”

~Diane Stresing

Writing for Money and Fame in May

Dear scribbling, scrabbling scribes,
 Here are a few of the writing contests in process this fine month of May:

The Writers' Circle contests are ongoing, judged monthly, and free to enter.

The Writer Mag lists a bunch of contests - some are free, some aren't.

New Pages will surely generate many new pages, thanks to its list of contests with May and June deadlines.

Have you entered the 2013 Writer's Digest competition? Well, too bad - you just missed the Early Bird deadline. But there's still time.

Goi Peace hosts an essay contest for writers under 25 years of age - so it's a little late for me - but if you're  still a spring chicken, you're in luck:  your deadline is June 30. 

Writing Essays for College Applications: Advice I've overheard, part 1

I've found myself hanging out in college admissions offices recently, and have picked up some juicy tidbits about the essay-writing (or more accurately, reviewing) process that I'd like to pass along.

First, in case you're even newer to this process than I am, here are a few things it's helpful to know before you begin applying to colleges and universities:

1. Some applications require the applicants write on a particular topic, some just want a general "getting-to-know-you" essay. If you're applying to several schools, write on the prescribed topics first. Assuming you write several essays on prescribed topics, you can submit your best piece to the schools that leave the topic up to the applicant.
2. Longer is NOT better. One college admissions employee told me in confidence that many are merely skimmed for grammar and construction. "But not in my office," she added. Of course.
3. Obviously, that also means grammar and construction are critical. Of course. 

More to come... 
FroshMonster is a website in beta as of April 2013. Its goal is to help high school students more "easily manage the complex process of selecting, applying, and getting into college." Students who sign up now will be alerted to new features as they become available. 
(Thanks to Mary R. for the tip!) 

    

In the meantime, it should go without saying* that if you're concerned your student's writing skills aren't won't measure up to college admissions standards, writing or heavily editing an essay for your student is a HUGE no-no. And while help for writing college essays abounds** more important in the long-run is, a college student should know how to write. Well. Before he or she gets into college.

~Diane Stresing

*but people who blog are compelled to say such things anyway!
** I'm partial to the tip sheet US News published a few years ago.  

Because They Always Ask

                What's the difference between

    a walk and a hike?

  

In the dictionary,      

               hike                      follows                 hijack.

That makes sense               because you can walk          almost anywhere     but        

 a hike takes you 

        somewhere        

                                                    figuratively
and literally.

                       You can turn any walk

                                                                  into a hike

by hijacking your attitude

                                          by simply changing your mind.

                 And, hiking improves your mind.

                (Seriously. There have been studies.)

What’s the difference between a walk and a hike?

                                  Walking is a mode of transportation.

     

                                                          Hiking is a mode of exploration.

   So ... take a hike.    

And see where it takes you.

~~~ Why not grab a local hiking guidebook, 

            and see where the trails take you?

http://alturl.com/wict3

Good Sports Don't Lie

This is personal. It's about sport and celebrity and connotation and denotation.

In short, my advice is to know the difference.

Lance Armstrong is a celebrity, has been for a long time, and most of the thinking public figured out long ago that he was lying. And then they quit caring. Lance Armstrong is a celebrity. Sport was his vehicle to fame.

The same might be said for young Mr. Te'o, Notre Dame's celebrated (and many would argue, deliberately generated) Heisman Trophy runner-up.

And the same might be said about countless baseball heroes who stave off accusations of steroid use only to eventually admit it and then sometimes, cloak their big bicepped-selves in righteous indignation. File under Too Big for your Britches.

They are celebrities. They are not sports heroes. Sports heroes don't do that s#_+.

I'm sorry to say that I can't point to a sports hero with a name you'd recognize. But I know who my heroes are.

They're the coaches and players who do what they do (work hard, have fun) for the love of the game and respect the rules - why? because doing so adds a wonderful, thrilling, joyful dimension to life. They do what they do in spite of the coaches and players who are in it for some sort of screwed-up version of sports-self-importance. They do it in spite of the athletes and teammates whom we celebrate too often for their bullying flair. (Too bad we weren't quite ready to listen to Floyd Landis in 2010.)

Some of my sports heroes aren't players or coaches. They're the fans who attend the game, meet, or match, regardless of the weather; who cheer and smile, regardless of the score. Who smile even when they complain about the referee's stupid call. Because they get it. Sports - yes, even competitive sports - are supposed to be fun. They should add joy and spirit to life. They should be honest.

Isn't that what good sportsmanship is all about? That's a connotation, not a denotation, I suppose. Whatever you call it, that's my understanding. If yours is different, I welcome your comments.

Future sports heroes? I hope so.

~ Diane Stresing

Whee! Hop on the Media-Go-Round to Promote Your Book

Welcome and thanks to guest blogger Janie Reinart, who shares her recipe for making the media notice your book and support your sales.  

Janie Reinart’s first book, Love You More than You Know, is a collection of stories from 45 mothers of U.S. service men and women. They open their hearts and share what it feels like when your son or daughter leaves home to fight a war.  Some were stunned when they learned that their “baby” had enlisted. Others had long been familiar with military life. But all of these mothers knew their world had just changed the day their child called home and said, “Mom, I’m being deployed . . ..” Anyone who reads their stories will admire their faith and courage–and better understand the sacrifices made by our U.S. service men and women and their families.  ________________________________________

How to Jump on the Media-Go-Round by Janie Reinart

Promoting yourself as an author isn’t getting any easier because of the many local bookstores that are out of business. It is time to be creative and find other venues for meeting the public.  Connecting to people with the stories we write makes the world go round, like this chain of events poem.

In the paper
On my blog
LIKED on WordPress
Opened door
Worked together
MEDIA
Book signing
In real world

IN THE PAPER
I read an article in the Chagrin Valley Times about local musicians helping soothe the loneliness of our deployed soldiers by giving them the gift of music. Warren Henry Music is collecting old guitars and refurbishing them free of charge thanks to co-owners Aimee Zeller and Warren Henry. The USO of Northern Ohio is shipping these guitars overseas to our regions deployed service members.

ON MY BLOG
This turned out to be a perfect post for my blog. Warren explained, “One of our instructors is a veteran and told us how helpful it was to have his guitar to play while deployed. Our troops and their families sacrifice so much. This is our way of thanking them for their service to our country.” The Help Fight the GI Blues Campaign was launched.

LIKED ON WORDPRESS
Shortly after my post about donating guitars, I received a comment from a band, Select Start in Tampa, Fla: “We have a day off in Bainbridge on May 15, during our month long District Lines sponsored Go Radio headlining Tour. We plan on dropping by to donate a guitar to Warren and the USO.”

I said, “You guys rock!”
Select Start replied, “As does Love You More Than You Know  We ordered two copies this morning. One of the books is to be a gift to the mom of a family friend, whose son is being deployed with the USMC to Afghanistan soon. God bless all the troops and their families.”

OPENED DOOR
With the exciting news of a donation for the program, I walked downtown Chagrin Falls and paid a visit to Warren Henry Music. Aimee said, “You were so enthusiastic when you walked in that I thought I should know you.” It was the first time we met.

I told Aimee about the band and the guitar donation. I explained that I was the mother of a veteran and showed her my book, Love You More Than You Know Mothers’ Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War. Then I took the plunge asking if she and Warren would consider a book signing at the music store as we were all working together to help our deployed troops. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of my book is donated to charities benefiting wounded veterans.

WORKED TOGETHER
They liked the idea! Together we selected a date and time. We are collaborating on writing articles to publicize the event, which is also going to feature a live local band besides the book signing.

MEDIA
Continuing to learn, I use the media to promote this latest book signing, posting information about the event on: Booktour, Facebook, Twitter, Chagrin-falls.org/calendar, my blog, and the local newspapers. Warren Henry Music is posting on their website and emailing information to their customers. The local band is also promoting the event on their site.


IN REAL WORLD
Round and round we go. Jump on the media-go-round so that you can grab the brass ring connecting with people and sharing the stories you write. Make those connections through the Internet and face to face. Hope to see you at future book signings. Come around and say hello.

Click here to enter free giveaways of Love You More than You Know eBooks in honor of our Veterans and their families.  ______________________________________

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Love You More than You Know is donated to charities benefiting wounded veterans, including ReMIND.org, a Bob Woodruff Foundation initiative for injured service members and their families, as well as to the Semper Fi Fund.

Reinart is committed to continue bringing you true stories of our heroes in uniform, sharing with you the bravery and sacrifices that our troops and their families make everyday for all of us. You are invited to share your story about your soldier here at www.loveyoumorethanyouknow.com as a guest blogger. Send stories to storiesfrommoms@gmail.com

Pucker up and remember

This is personal. It's about pickles, and perception.

When I was young, my mom made refrigerator pickles, all the time. We loved to eat them. Opening the refrigerator and grabbing a forkful of the sweet, tangy cucumber slices on a hot day, particularly after having roasted and splashed away the afternoon at Mt. Air Swimming Pool, defined summer.

Or maybe not.

Proof! That's my mom's handwriting on the recipe.

40 or so years after this memory was recorded, I found out I'm the only one in my family who remembers "refrigerator pickles." 

But we ate them all the time. Every day, we'd come home from the swimming pool and ...

"I'm sorry. I don't remember them," my dad told me.

"Well mom will," I replied rather haughtily.

She didn't.

And so I came face-to-face with the revolting fact that some memories are invented, or at least embellished. My memories. It was so disconcerting I decided to quit thinking about it.

At least I have the recipe for those pickles, and mom's kind assurances that yes, she probably made them more than once.

Manufacturing Memories

In an effort to recover from the jolt of realizing my sweet memories may be more pixie dust than pickles, I've made those pickles three times this summer already. I'll make them again, too, because they're every bit as good as I remember. Or at least I think they are.

To set the record straight, I should point out that they're not even real pickles. They're "Pickled Cucumbers." (The injuries continue.) Now when I crunch them, made-up memories swirl in my head with nagging little questions. Questions like, what kind of memories will my kids have 40-odd years from now? I hope they're sweet and tangy, like mine. Even if they're mixed up with a little imagination.

Most moms I know beat themselves up frequently because they're not providing their kids with the idyllic childhoods they (the moms) remember.

But what if the recipe for a delicious, tangy childhood is really easy? What if it's based on selectively embellished memories? Wouldn't that be a relief?

Sweet Hope

Maybe the reason I don't remember my mom griping about driving back and forth to the pool and everywhere else my friends and I wanted to go is because she didn't complain. But I doubt it. Do you know any moms who don't complain about the driving and other humdrum tasks that comprise summer activities? Maybe I don't remember Mom's complaints because the pickles and a few other sweetly embellished memories (however inaccurate) crowded out the everyday grumbling.

The idea gives me hope. Maybe my kids will remember me as a little sweeter than I really am, and my cooking as a little better than it is. I sure hope so.

For posterity, then, here's the recipe that inspired my somewhat inaccurate but quite idyllic summer memory. In case you're wondering, my kids didn't exactly love these at first bite. But I'm hoping they remember these pickles - or something else, whether I actually made it or not - as the absolutely perfect summer treat.

Pickled Cucumbers with Dill

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

2 medium cucumbers

2 tablespoons fresh dill

Combine vinegar, sugar, water, salt and pepper in a saucepan. While you bring it to a boil, use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove strips of peel lengthwise from cucumbers, leaving alternate strips of peel intact. Slice cucumbers and place in bowl. Add vinegar mixture. Sprinkle with dill. Toss gently. Cover and chill at least two hours. Add memories and enjoy. 

~Diane Stresing

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This personal essay is included in Dumb Things We Say to Dogs. A much more scientific explanation about how memories are distorted and invented can be found on PsyBlog.

High School Essay Contest offers $1,000 prize

Why is it important that we have news media that are independent of the government? 

That's the topic for the Society of Professional Journalists' annual high school essay contest. Entries are due March 6. Rules can be found here. Inspiration and examples can be found...um, everywhere.