Writing scholarships are unique since they ask you to use your words to win one. If you are an aspiring novelist, journalist or enjoy writing poems as a hobby, you may qualify.
Creative writing scholarships are about how you craft a story and develop characters. Essay contest scholarships often ask you to answer a question in a very original and clear way.
As such, each scholarship will have its own set of guidelines to follow. You may need to write a story for a specific topic and meet the word count limit. To apply for a writing scholarship, you’re going to have to write something original.
In some scholarships for writers, applicants must be literature or creative writing majors. Judges of these programs may want to see your transcripts and know about your academic goals along with a completed form.
For other essay scholarships, you might not have to be an English major at all. These can be sweepstakes where there is no essay required. Most of the time, anyone is eligible to enter these sweepstakes.
10 Writing Scholarships You Can Apply For Now
Amy Lowell Travelling Poetry Scholarship
Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Ayn Rand Fountainhead Essay Contest
Optimist International Essay Contest
Visionary Scholarship
L. Rn Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest
Ayn Rand Anthem Essay Contest
Morton Marr Poetry Prize
National Society of High School Scholars Foundation Scholarships
What Writing Scholarships Can Students Apply for?
There are writing scholarships for eligible students at all levels of education. As long as you meet the terms the provider sets, you may apply.
Writing Scholarships for High School Students
The Profile in Courage Essay Contest is open to eligible students in grades 9 to 12. This year’s topic is about political courage. To apply, you will write an essay of up to 1,000 words that has at least 5 sources. You can submit your essay online or by mail. Just make sure to follow the guidelines.
There are 15 awards in all. One first place winner receives $10,000 and one second place winner receives $3,000. Five finalists each receive $1,000 and eight semi finalists each receive $100.
It is available from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation
(SVCF). It was named to honor the author who created the idea for Mickey Mouse.
There are up to two winners. Each winner receives a sum of up to $1,000.
DACA students, US citizens and legal permanent residents may be eligible. Applicants must live in Santa Clara or San Mateo County. To apply, you must send two writing samples. The other required documents are transcripts and grades, personal essay, letters of reference and proof of financial need.
What Creative Writing Scholarships Are Available to Students?
Creative writing scholarships are for eligible English majors and students who like to write a poem, script, fiction or play. You need to be very creative, imaginative and think outside of the box with the provider’s essay question.
Scholarships for Fiction Writers
Writer’s Digest offers Popular Fiction Awards. It is one of their oldest and most popular competitions. One grand prize winner receives $5,000 in cash. 10 other winners receive awards ranging from $25 to $1,000.
To apply, you need to be a US citizen or legal permanent resident and submit an entry fee. You also have to select a creative category. You can choose between spiritual, memoir, rhyming poetry, TV script, children’s fiction and more.
Scholarships for Creative Writing Majors
The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) offers the Helen McCloy Scholarship. It aims to nurture talent in mystery writing of all kinds. Writing topics may include fiction, nonfiction, play writing, and screenwriting.
Although you don’t need to be an MWA member, you do need to
be a serious aspiring mystery writer. Applicants must also be a US citizen or
legal permanent resident.
MWA will award $500 each to two winning writers. You may use the money to offset tuition and fees for writing workshops, seminars or college level writing programs.
How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay?
To write a scholarship essay, you want to be creative and follow the essay instructions. Here are five helpful tips to write your next winning scholarship essay.
1. Understand the essay question
You can only write a solid essay answer if you understand the question. When the question is direct, be direct when you answer it. If not, judges will spot the confusion no matter how good your writing is. Here’s an example: What are you planning to study in college and why? “In college, I plan to major in writing because…”
2. Reel the audience in
Open your essay with a hook or clear beginning. This captivates the reader’s attention. It may help judges who have to read many essays remember yours better. Of course, once you have reeled your reader in, keep up the good work.
Don’t stray off topic. Use the rest of your essay for more in depth details and examples. Then, conclude your essay to tie up all of your points. This shows the judges you used an outline and organized your thoughts well.
3. Follow the scholarship guidelines
Judges often have hundreds of essays to score. So, most essay scholarships have guidelines to help them reach a decision. Word count is the most common guideline to meet. So, even very creative essays may get points deducted if they are too wordy.
4. Spell check and proofread your essay
Make sure to proofread a few times and spell check your entire essay before submitting it. Also, proofread for any grammatical errors. If it helps, you may print out your essay and read it off screen. Spell check software does not pick up mistakes related to context. For instance, you may spell “their” correctly but intended to write “there”. Try to avoid these mistakes along with slang.
5. Don’t copy anyone
Many scholarship providers do not tolerate plagiarism which is unethical. You should tell a story that resonates with your personal goals and experiences. Be original and write from the heart so that your essay stands out.
Why You Should Apply for a Scholarship?
Writing scholarships may be useful if you want to pay for college. The money can offset tuition, fees, books and other expenses. You may be able to use a scholarship along with federal grant money too. And, unlike loans, you don’t repay these funds.
According to the NCES, cost varies by type of school. Also, a four year degree in creative writing is on the rise. If you choose an in state public college, tuition is about $7,368. If you study at a private college for out of state students, tution costs $35,878.
Many writing and essay scholarships are easy to apply for. They may also be less competitive than ones that assess your grades. A final point, if you win, you get to add it to your resume and list of accomplishments.
List of Writing Scholarships
Check out our list of writing scholarships below. We have awards worth .
Our team at the Law Office of David E. Gordon is excited to share the 2023 Nuclear Family Scholarship! This scholarship was created to help students reflect on how someone in their immediate family has helped them become the person they are today. The applicant that best answers the prompt will be awarded a $1000 scholarship to help them pursue their higher education.
To be eligible for the 2023 Nuclear Family Scholarship, applicants must submit their completed application (essay, transcript(s), and resume) by e-mail to lawofficeofdavidgordon@gmail.com. All applications must have a subject line that reads: “[Applicant’s First and Last Name] – 2023 Nuclear Family Scholarship”. Submissions without this subject line will not be considered. The deadline for all application materials is February 28th.
At The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers, we take special pride in serving the people of Illinois and being able to call this state our home. Whether you lived in your hometown or state your whole life, or call a new place your home, we want to hear all about why where you came from is important to you. Through our 2023 Hometown Pride Scholarship, we will award one deserving student with $1,000 to assist them in obtaining their education and their future endeavors. To learn more and apply, visit our scholarship page.
We All Have Mental Health… How Can Students’ Mental Health Be Supported Virtually? Connect with your peers virtually to understand what is needed to support their mental health during this time. Create a virtual mental health campaign or program, including how you would implement it, by working with your school staff such as, principal, counseling office, and teacher(s). Deadline Date: December 1st Value of the Scholarship: $1,000, $500, $250 Number of Scholarships Available: 3 (one for each cash award) For more information or to apply, please visit the scholarship providers website below.
Any allegation of participating in criminal activity is a serious matter. Sadly, many people who face accusations of criminal activity are young adults or teenagers. After being accused of an offense, a child or young adult might worry about how this will impact the rest of their life.
At Ghanouni Teen & Young Adult Defense Firm, our mission is to protect the futures of younger generations from their mistakes to help them achieve their full potential. That is why we are proud to announce our 2023 Achieving My Potential Scholarship. We are seeking students who went through the juvenile justice system or criminal justice system and have worked hard to move past their experience, seeking a brighter future to achieve their full potential. Visit our scholarship page to learn more about this opportunity. We will be accepting applications until February 28, 2023.
1902 Software is a Danish-managed software development company based in the Philippines. For over 20 years, we have been working with companies, big and small, for their design, development, and support needs with ecommerce, websites, mobile apps, and custom software.
Write an essay (minimum of 1,500 and maximum of 3,000 words) that details your personal experience with bullying and how you have overcome it, or the initiatives that you have done to help stop and campaign against it in your school or community. Furthermore, describe how technology can help prevent or stop bullying.
Download and fill out the application form at https://1902software.com/scholarship-fighting-bullying-with-technology/. This form is to be submitted along with your essay to scholarship@1902.software.
The Norwegian National League is an umbrella organization for all Norwegian cultural, athletic and fraternal organizations in the Chicago area and sponsors a Norwegian Constitution Day Parade in Park Ridge, a Leif Erikson Celebration and Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science and Industry.
At Chad Jones Law, we see firsthand the effects an injury has on individuals and the perseverance they show along their recovery process. It is common for victims of an injury to feel a sense of hopelessness, but as time passes, people realize they are capable of more than they could ever imagine, and new potential unfolds. After years of being in this work, we continue to be inspired by the individuals who overcame injuries and the doors they opened up along the way. For that reason, we are proud to announce our Open Door Scholarship!
As humans, we are capable of much more than we give ourselves credit. We believe that when we experience a life-changing event or decision, our bodies’ instincts take over, and we somehow ‘know’ what to do. For this scholarship, walk us through a time in your life when you had been faced with a life-changing choice or opportunity. How did you know which decision to make, and what doors opened/ opportunities presented after you made this decision?
Once all submissions have been received, the entries will be reviewed, and one student will be selected to receive a $1,000 award. The award will be given to the person who best discusses the choices or thought process they have when a new opportunity presents itself.
Ok, so first question–why is this scholarship named the “Gutsy” Graduate Student Essay Scholarship? If you are enrolled in graduate school (during the 2023-24 academic year) or have heard stories from those enrolled, you already know! “Gutsy” means courageous and determined, which nearly all successful graduate students are. Why else would one continue on with rigorous academics while often living on a shoestring? The rewards of graduate school are numerous, especially the more focused and advanced level of specialized study in your chosen field. Learning with like-minded people who share your passion is fulfilling, and the networking is awesome. The flipside of graduate school is the costly student loans to fund it. With this in mind, the “Gutsy” Graduate Student Essay Scholarship aims to help out a passionate graduate student who is actively looking for ways to fund their higher education journey. Thus, this scholarship will be awarded to students based on both the quality of their essays and quantity of scholarships applied for on the Scholarships360 platform. Good luck on your educational journey, and we hope to read your application!
The “College Here I Come” Scholarship for High School Seniors is open to just who you think: incoming high school seniors (current Class of 2024)! Here at Scholarships360, scholarships are our passion–we know that you can never have enough of them! After all, scholarships are essentially “free money” to help fund your education. We want to help out a lucky high school senior who is just starting out on their higher education journey and actively looking for ways to fund it. Thus, this scholarship will be awarded to students based on both the quality of their essays and quantity of scholarships applied for on the Scholarships360 platform. We hope that you apply and look forward to reading your application!
At Scholarships360, we know how hard it can be to pay off the hefty costs of a college tuition. Oftentimes, this is even more difficult for students coming from low-income backgrounds or for those who demonstrate financial need. This is where our “A Helping Hand” Scholarship comes in! We’re offering a $500 scholarship to help out a low-income student who is passionate about their higher education journey and is actively looking for ways to fund it. This award is open to high school students in the graduating class of 2024, as well as undergraduate and graduate students enrolled during the 2023-24 academic year. The “A Helping Hand” Scholarship will be awarded to students based on both the quality of their essays and quantity of scholarships applied for on the Scholarships360 platform. In order to apply, students should submit an essay detailing how winning the scholarship would help you fulfill your dreams. We look forward to reading your application!
