Hi everyone! My name is Lillian and I just recently joined the forum. I'll graduate high school this coming up spring and plan on beginning college in the fall. I've been surfing the internet for quite a while now looking for any scholarship opportunities that put my writing talent to the test (other than the usual essay), but have failed to turn up any. I need help! I would really appreciate it if any of you could give me information on where I may be able to find these types of scholarships. I hope to take my writing to the next level in college and need as many scholarships as I can get to accomplish this goal. Many thanks! *Lillian*
this is what schools have guidance counselors for... doesn't your school have one? have you googled for this?... the info is out there and takes but a second or two to type and search... why did you wait till the 'last second'?... scholarships are usually applied for in one's junior year... or at least at the beginning of the senior, not just a month or two away from graduation...
As a high school senior (err, technically sort of graduate.. my situation is complicated), it's not really late for scholarship applications. Many scholarships I've seen aren't even eligible for juniors to apply for. I googled "creative writing scholarships" and found PLENTY of things available. I do believe Scholastic does many scholarship competitions every year, and there are plenty of other places that do as well. Happy Hunting!
See if there's any scholarships from the writing department of the college you're in. Also, it's gonna be REALLY hard finding ones specifically for creative writing; most scholarships want the general package (good grades, leadership experience, extracurriculars, etc) and a good deal of them look at financial need. Your best bet will be using your writing skills to make the essay portion of the scholarship app (most apps have them) stand out from the rest.
Yep, most scholarships are academic or scholarly in nature, not creative writing. And there's nothing even close to getting a full ride like one can get for business or by being an athlete. In fact, English majors and departments in general usually suffer from the red-headed step child syndrome, and schools aren't exactly throwing funding at either the departments or the students. The return just isn't there. Give an athlete a scholarship and they bring in dollars. Give a business major a scholarship and someday they become a supporting alum. Give a student in research fields a scholarship and their research brings money and prestige to the school (usually at grad level, but can occur at undergrad too). But give a writer a scholarship, and it's pretty much money a school will never see returned. The only one I can think of is the Sigma Tau Delta poetry contest (don't think they even have one for fiction). It's not going to pay many bills, though. There are a lot of general scholarships out there, and getting involved in community businesses/nonprofits/programs/churches, honor societies, student government... stuff like that is more suited to finding support for your education. And be open to scholarly writing (essays, research papers, etc). These can lead to McNair Fellowships and stuff like that. Creative writing pretty much gets pooped on every step of the way, though. If you want any general advice on what you should pursue and why related to writing, college and degrees, let me know. I have experience as well as advice to not do what I experienced.
