College is expensive. Whether you are going off to college in a few months or a few years, it is never too early to start preparing for your future financial needs. Here are a few scholarships that you can apply to this March to either kick-start or further your scholarship search.  

Scholarship #1: Live Deliberately Essay Contest

Amount: $250

Deadline: March 15, 2017

Age Requirement: 14-21 years old

Other Requirements: Requires a teacher or adult sponsor if you are under 18.

Write an essay with 750 words or less. The prompt is: Consider the different meanings of trees, cultivation, and soil as Thoreau uses them in the passages above (passage can be found on their website, linked below). What guidance does Thoreau offer us in these quotations about living a deliberate life full of humanity and meaning? How do you “cultivate the tree which you have found to bear fruit in your soil” and why is that important? Use specific examples to support your ideas.

Apply at: https://www.walden.org/education/essay-contest/submissionform/

 

Scholarship #2: Create Real Impact Contest

Amount: $1,500

Deadline: March 17, 2017

Age Requirement: 14-22 years old

To enter, you must create an original work (video, music, creative writing, or artwork) showcasing your idea for a solution or strategy to fix the problem of distracted and reckless driving. The winner is based on the number of votes your submission gets. You can refer your friends and family to vote for you to have a better chance of winning.

Apply at: http://www.createrealimpact.com

 

Scholarship #3: Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes

Amount: $5,000

Deadline: April 15, 2017

Age Requirement: 8-18 years old

Other Requirements: Must be permanent residents of and currently residing in the U.S.A. or Canada. Working as an individual to lead their service work. The Barron Prize does not accept applications from large groups of young people.

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes is available to students ages 18 and younger who have made a significant positive impact on people, their communities, and the environment. You must be currently working on an inspiring service project or have done so within the past 12 months to be considered for this award. Your service activity must have been initiated and motivated primarily by you and cannot have been an assignment for school or work.

Apply at: http://barronprize.org/apply/

 

Scholarship #4: America the Great?! Scholarship Slam

Amount: $1,000

Deadline: May 10, 2017

Age Requirement: 25 years old (or younger)

Other Requirements: You must be a current or former high school student who will attend or is attending college within the U.S. or its territories.

"Does that star-spangled banner yet wave / O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" The United States of America has always been on a mission to achieve greatness through reconstruction. But change comes slowly, and not all change is for the better. More than 7.6 million people are unemployed in the United States, and only 35% of high school students continue to pursue studies in college while 75% of citizens agree that race relations in the country are at an all-time low. So how well does the state of the nation reflect the national anthem? What is your personal relationship with the country? We want to know if you think America is great as-is, or if there are areas that need to be improved upon. Tell us in a poem if there are changes that need to be made to the country and why.

Apply at: http://www.powerpoetry.org/poetry-slams/america-great-scholarship-slam

 

Scholarship #5: "A Voice for Animals" Contest

Amount: Up to $650

Deadline: April 10, 2017

Age Requirement: 14-18 years old

The "A Voice for Animals" Contest is open to high school and home schooled students. To be considered, 14 to 15-year-old students must submit an essay that addresses the mistreatment of one animal species, one cause of animal suffering, or the preservation of one species threatened with extinction; occurring anywhere in the world. Students who are aged 16 to 18 must take an active involvement in a project that strives to mitigate the suffering of animals and submit a written essay with accompanying photos or an original video.

Apply at: http://www.hennet.org/contest.php

 

Scholarship #6: Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship Award

Amount: $1,250

Deadline: June 30, 2017

Age Requirement: High school, undergraduate, and graduate students

To be considered, you must submit a maximum 500-word essay on one of the following topics: "Why is it important to work to delete cyberbullying?" or "How has cyberbullying personally affected you?" Selection is based on the written essay and one's commitment to the cause of deleting cyberbullying.

Apply at: http://endcyberbullying.net/scholarship/

 

Scholarship #7: Rubincam Youth Award

Amount: $500

Deadline: December 15, 2017

Age Requirement: 16-18 years old

Other Requirements: Submissions must be in English and must be original, unpublished work. Submissions will become the property of NGS, will not be returned, and are not eligible for later resubmission.

To be considered, you must submit a single-line genealogy in a biographical format for five generations. Submissions should demonstrate an understanding of various original and derivative source records. It should apply critical analysis and intellectual skills in compiling the family genealogy. Events should be placed in historical and genealogical context.

Apply at: http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/rubincam_youth_award/nomination_form