JLV College CounselingNational WWII Museum invites students to enter annual essay contest
CDB Lot Magazine St WWII Museum by Infrogmation licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
The National WWII Museum invites middle school and high school students to enter their annual essay contest. In light of the 70th anniversary of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, the museum is asking students to think about what it means to be a hero. Middle school students can win $250 and high school students can win up to $1,000. In addition to prize money, the winning essays will be published on The National WWII Museum website.
Students are asked to answer the question: How do you define a hero? The museum does not want the essay to be a research paper on World War II. Instead, students should use WWII as a starting point. The essay should then build on the student’s idea of a hero is and use examples from their own experiences that can support their ideas.
Students must meet the following requirements to be eligible for the contest:
- Be in grades five through 12.
- Live in the United States, U.S. territories, or on U.S. military bases.
- Middle school students (grades 5-8) must submit an essay with 500 words or less.
- High school students (grades 9-12) must submit an essay with 1,000 words or less.
The official rules for middle school and high school students are available on The National WWII Museum website.
In addition to meeting eligibility requirements, there are specific formatting requirements. If formatting requirements are not met, the essay will not be accepted. The essay for the contest should:
- Be double-spaced
- Have one-inch margins
- Include page numbers.
- Include an essay title
- Be typed in 12-point font.
- Be in Microsoft Word-compatible format only. Zip files and Google documents are not permitted.
The deadline to submit essays is Mar. 31, 2015 at 5 p.m. CDT. However, The National WWII Museum will only accept the first 500 essays that are properly formatted in each category. Therefore, students should not wait to work on their essays until the deadline. The website will indicate when 500 essays have been submitted.
Staff of the National WWII Museum will read and evaluate essay entries. The essays will be “judged foremost for originality, clarity of expression, and adherence to contest themes, as well as historical accuracy, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.” One winning essay will be selected from each grade in the Middle School category. The Middle School winners will receive a $250 prize. First, second, and third place will be selected from the high school category with prizes of $1,000, $750, and $500 respectively. The National WWII Museum will also post the winning essays and honorable mentions from the high school category on their website. Names of the honorable mentions in the Middle School category will be posted on the website.
See the official rules and learn more about Annual Essay Contest at The National WWII Museum website.
Want to stay in the loop? Follow my blog to be notified when new articles are published. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest for information on college admissions.
Colleges of the 2015 Academy Award nominees for acting
Yale-Main_Quad by Matthew Lambert licensed under CC BY 2.0
Edward Norton and Meryl Streep, both nominated for a 2015 Academy Award, attended Yale University.
While a college education is not a requirement to be an actor, many of the acting nominees for this year’s Academy Awards were college students. Some studied drama or theatre, but others had more traditional majors. Some attended for only a short time, but others completed their degrees. Here is a list of the acting nominees who attended college.
Best Actor Nominees
Steve Carell was nominated for playing John Eleuthere du Pont in Foxcatcher. Carell attended Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He majored in History and graduated in 1984. While at Denison, he was the goalie of the hockey team, a member of a student improvisational comedy troupe, and a disc jockey for the college radio station.
Bradley Cooper was nominated for playing Chris Kyle in American Sniper. Copper initially attended Villanova University in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. However, after attending one year, he transferred to Georgetown University where he graduated in 1997 with a degree in English. He later went on to receive his MFA at the Actor Studio Drama School at the New School in New York City.
Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated for playing Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Cumberbatch attended the University of Manchester in England and studied Drama. Later he attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and received his M.A. in Classical Acting.
Michael Keaton was nominated for playing the Birdman in Birdman. Keaton attended Kent State University in Ohio in 1971-72. He majored in journalism and speech, but did not graduate.
Eddie Redmayne was nominated for playing Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Redmayne received his degree from Trinity College of University of Cambridge in England in Art History.
Best Actress Nominees
Felicity Jones was nominated for playing Jane Wilde Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Jones attended Washam College of the University of Oxford in England. She graduated in 2006 with a degree in English.
Julianne Moore was nominated for playing Dr. Alice Howland in Still Alice. Moore received her BFA in Theatre from Boston University in 1983.
Rosamund Pike was nominated for playing Amy Elliott-Dunne in Gone Girl. Pike attend Wadham College of the University of Oxford in England. In college she studied English Literature, but did not graduate.
Reese Witherspoon was nominated for playing Cheryl Strayed in Wild. Known for attending Harvard in Legally Blonde, Witherspoon actually attended Stanford University in California. In college she studied English Literature, but did not graduate.
Best Supporting Actor Nominees
Robert Duvall was nominated for playing Judge Joseph Palmer in The Judge. Duvall attended Principia College in Elsha, Illinois. He received is degree in Liberal Arts in 1953.
Ethan Hawke was nominated for playing Mason Evans, Sr. in Boyhood. Hawke tried college a few times, but never graduated. He first enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but left after being cast in Dead Poets Society. He later enrolled at New York University to study English, but did not complete his degree.
Edward Norton was nominated for playing Mike Shiner in Birdman. Norton attended Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in History. During his time at Yale he was a competitor rower and acted in university productions.
J.K. Simmons was nominated for playing Terence Fletcher in Whiplash. Simmons attended the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. He graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music.
Best Supporting Actress Nominees
Laura Dern was nominated for playing Barbara “Bobbi” Grey in Wild. She did not receive her college degree, but did attend to well known universities in Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. Dern attended UCLA for two days before leaving to film the movie Blue Velvet. Later she attended USC, but only attended for one semester.
Meryl Streep was nominated for playing The Witch in Into the Woods. Streep attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York where she received her degree in Drama in 1971. She then went on to attend Yale University and received a MFA in Drama in 1975. During her education, she also was a visiting student at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Later, in 1981, Dartmouth gave Streep a Honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
Scholarship Saturday – Feb. 21, 2015
Current Scholarships Available Here
There are thousands of scholarships out there. Some are large scholarships that are well publicized, while others are lesser known. My goal is to share some lesser-known scholarships with my readers every Saturday.
Don’t wait. Apply for these great scholarships today! And, if you missed the last Scholarship Saturday, check it out. There are scholarships there that are still open! Lastly, check out my lists of scholarships with February and March deadlines. Only brief information about each scholarship is listed. Therefore, you are encouraged to visit the scholarship websites to get further details about eligibility and requirements.
Here are your scholarships for Saturday, February 21, 2015.
M. Josephine O’Neil Arts Award
Sponsor: Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Lambda State Organization
Award Amount: Varies
Deadline: Mar. 1, 2015
Description: Award is open to females who are legal residents of Illinois and in or approaching her junior year at an accredited college or university and majoring in one or more of the arts (music, dance, drama, or fine arts).
Bucks for Books Scholarship
Sponsor: Lodi Grape Festival
Award Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to high school seniors graduating from a school in the Lodi Unified School District or whose primary residence is within the Lodi Unified School District, or college students who graduated from a high school in the Lodi Unified School District.
Engineering For You 2 Video Contest
Sponsor: National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
Award Amount: Up to $25,000
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Competition is open to all individuals, including students in grades K-12 and current college and graduate students. Contestants must submit a video on a topic related to engineering.
GEICO Achievement Award
Sponsor: GEICO
Award Amount: $2,500
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Applicant must be enrolled full-time at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States with sophomore or junior status. Applicant must be majoring in business, computer science, mathematics or a related field and have demonstrated leadership on campus or within the community.
Harriet Fitzgerald Scholarship
Sponsor: The Sunflower Initiative
Award Amount: $10,000
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to highly motivated female graduating high school seniors who have a desire to attend a women’s college in either the United States or Canada.
NPPA Scholarship
Sponsor: National Press Photographers Foundation
Award Amount: Varies
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to students who are currently enrolled in an accredited four-year college or university in the U.S. or Canada or have been accepted at a four-year institution to complete suspended studies. Applicant must provide evidence for an aptitude for photojournalism as well as academic ability and financial need.
Tzu Chi Scholars
Sponsor: Tzu Chi Foundation
Award Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Applicant must be a U.S. high school senior who will enroll in an accredited U.S. college full-time during the entire academic year of 2015-2016. Applicant must demonstrate strong financial need for college tuition.
Vincent de Paul Scholarship
Sponsor: SCL Health
Award Amount: Up to $3,000
Deadline: Mar. 2, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to dependent children and stepchildren, age 25 and under, of regular full-time and part-time associates of SCL Health and its affiliates. Applicant must be a high school senior or graduate who plans to enroll or students who are already enrolled in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school.
“Frame My Future” Scholarship Contest
Sponsor: Church Hill Classics
Award Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Mar. 3, 2015
Description: Applicant must be a legal resident of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and intend to enroll as a full-time student at a U.S. college or university in the 2015-2016 academic year. Applicant must submit an original creative image that shows “how you want to Frame Your Future!”
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State
Award Amount: Up to $5,000
Deadline: Mar. 3, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to undergraduate students in good academic standing who are U.S. citizens. Applicant must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant and is applying to or has been accepted into a study abroad program or internship.
Life Lessons Essay Contest
Sponsor: Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education
Award Amount: Up to $15,000
Deadline: Mar. 3, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, who are between 17 and 24 years of age and have experienced the death of a parent or legal guardian. Applicant must be currently enrolled in, or have been accepted to, a college, university or trade school. Applicant must submit a 500-word-essay or a 3-minute video discussing how the death of their parent or guardian affected their life financially and emotionally.
SanDisk Scholars Program
Sponsor: SanDisk
Award Amount: Up to $10,000
Deadline: Mar. 3, 2015
Description: Applicant must be a high school senior or college freshman or sophomore who will be majoring in (or planning to major in) Computer Science, Engineering or a related field.
yconic Health and Medical Student Scholarship – link no longer available now that deadline has passed
Sponsor: yconic
Award Amount: $3,500
Deadline: Mar. 3, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to U.S. residents who are enrolled (or will be) in a healthcare related program at an accredited institution of learning.
Hamilton Award
Sponsor: Alexander Hamilton Friends Association
Award Amount: $500
Deadline: Mar. 5, 2015
Description: Award is open to high school juniors who are college bound with a strong record of community service and academic achievement. Student must have financial and/or personal need.
Annual Kaplun Essay Contest
Sponsor: Morris J. and Betty Kaplun Foundation
Award Amount: Up to $1,800
Deadline: Mar. 6, 2015
Description: Contest is open to students in grades 7 through 12. Applicant must submit an essay related to Jewish values. Students do not have to be Jewish to enter.
DNA Day Essay Contest
Sponsor: American Society of Human Genetics
Award Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Mar. 6, 2015
Description: Contest is open to high school students in grades 9-12. Applicant must submit an essay on a topic related to genetics.
NoFilter Scholarship Slam
Sponsor: Power Poetry
Award Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Mar. 6, 2015
Description: Applicant must be 25 years of age or younger and a current or former high school student who will attend or is attending college within the United States or its territories. Applicant must submit a poem addressing the questions, “What do your selfie photos look like without filters? What do your words sound like without filters?”
Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest
Sponsor: Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
Award Amount: Up to $2,000
Deadline: Mar. 6, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to high school juniors and seniors. Applicant must write an essay on a topic related to religious liberty.
ACEC Scholarships
Sponsor: American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
Deadline: Mar. 9, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to students seeking degrees in engineering who will be entering their junior, senior, fifth, or master’s degree year in the fall of 2015 at an ABET-accredited engineering program or in an accredited land-surveying program.
Leadership 1000 Scholarship
Sponsor: College Success Foundation – Washington State
Award Amount: Up to $5,000
Deadline: Mar. 9, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to students who plan to attend, or currently attending, an eligible four-year college or university in Washington State whose family income does not exceed the amount listed by family size (available on website).
Women in Technology Scholarship (WIT)
Sponsor: Visionary Integration Professional (VIP)
Award Amount: $2,500
Deadline: Mar. 9, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to students enrolled at, or accepted into, either a two or four-year college or university within the United States for the 2015 school year. Applicant must be planning a career in computer science, information technology, management information systems, computer engineering, or related field.
Want to stay in the loop? Follow my blog to be notified when new articles are published. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest for information on college admissions.
11 scholarships and awards for future actors and filmmakers
OSCARS Statuettes by Prayitno licensed under CC BY 2.0
Current Scholarships Available Here
As we approach the prestigious Academy Awards, it is only fitting to have a list of scholarships related to the Oscars. The following list of scholarships and awards are for students with talents and interests in acting, film making, and screenwriting. In addition to acting, filmmaking, and screenwriting, many of the scholarships are also open to students interested in performing arts.
Only brief information about each scholarship is listed. Therefore, students are encouraged to visit the scholarship websites to get further details about eligibility and requirements.
M. Josephine O’Neil Arts Award
Sponsor: Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Lambda State Organization
Award Amount: Varies
Deadline: Mar. 1, 2015
Description: Award is open to females who are legal residents of Illinois and in or approaching her junior year at an accredited college or university and majoring in one or more of the arts (music, dance, drama, or fine arts).
Friends of the California State Fair Scholarship Program – Arts Category
Sponsor: California Exposition & State Fair
Award Amount: $1,000
Deadline: Mar. 5, 2015
Description: Scholarship program is open to students enrolled or planning to enroll in a four-year California accredited college, community college, university, or an accredited trade school. Applicant must be a California resident and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Applicant must be enrolled in in an “arts” program or major (visual arts, dance, music, film, etc.).
King Family Foundation Scholarship
Sponsor: Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation
Award Amount: $3,500
Deadline: Mar. 15, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to juniors and seniors majoring in television and film at accredited four-year, degree granting colleges and universities in the United States.
John L. Dales Scholarship
Sponsor: Screen Actors Guild Foundation
Award Amount: Varies
Deadline: Mar. 16, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to SAG-AFTRA members or dependents of SAG-AFTRA members who are active and in good standing. In addition to required application materials, applicant must submit an essay on a topic of their choice.
Young Filmmaker Scholarships
Sponsor: THEA Foundation
Award Amount: $2,500
Deadline: Mar. 27, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors who are legal residents of the state of Arkansas. Applicant must have an interest in directing, scriptwriting, videography, or editing.
Princess Grace Foundation-USA – Theatre Scholarship
Sponsor: Princess Grace Foundation-USA
Award Amount: Varies
Deadline: Mar. 31, 2015
Description: Scholarship is for students in their last year of professional training at a non-profit school located in the United States. Applicant must submit an online application, resume, personal statement and work samples. Student must be nominated by a school department chair/dean or company artistic director.
Thespian Scholarships
Sponsor: Educational Theatre Association
Award Amount: Up to $1,500
Deadline: Apr. 1, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to high school seniors and current college students who are active members of the International Thespian Society. Most scholarships require an audition. There are multiple scholarship opportunities, so check website for specific requirements.
Henry and Joyce W. Sumid Scholarship
Sponsor: Pasadena Playhouse Alumni and Associates
Award Amount: $5,000
Deadline: Apr. 30, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to high school seniors, undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in studying theatre arts. Applicant must be a legal resident of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, or Washington.
CBC Spouses Heineken USA Performing Arts Scholarship
Sponsor: Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation
Award Amount: Up to $3,000
Deadline: May 1, 2015
Description: Scholarship is open to full-time undergraduate degree-seeking students at an accredited college or university OR a current high school senior preparing to become a full-time undergraduate student. Applicant must be pursuing a major in the performing arts and planning a career in performing arts. The scholarship is intended for African-American students, and preference will be given to African-American students residing in BC member districts.
YoungArts Program
Sponsor: National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts
Award Amount: Up to $10,000
Deadline: To be determine. The 2014 deadline was Oct. 17.
Description: Program is open to young artists in grades 10-12 or ages 15-18 with talent in cinematic arts, dance, design arts, jazz, music, photography, theater, visual arts, voice, and writing. There is a $35 application fee, but fee waivers are available to qualified applicants.
Beinecke Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Beinecke Scholarship Program
Award Amount: $34,000
Deadline: 2016 deadline is to be determined. The 2015 deadline was Feb. 20.
Description: Scholarship program is open to juniors who are currently majoring in the arts, humanities or social sciences and plan to attend graduate school. Applicant must demonstrate superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement, and personal promise.
Want to stay in the loop? Follow my blog to be notified when new articles are published. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest for information on college admissions.
UC tuition hikes postponed
University of California President Janet Napolitano announced yesterday the UC tuition hike would be postponed. Students taking courses at a UC campus this summer will not see an increase in tuition. “We are doing this as a good faith gesture, optimistic that the ongoing negotiations will bear fruit,” said Napolitano at a speaking engagement at the University of Southern California. While there will be no tuition hikes this summer, tuition increases are still on the table for fall 2015.
In November, the UC Board of Regents approved a tuition hike of up to five percent every year for the next five years. The vote to approve the tuition hike was 14-7 with Gov. Jerry Brown and the student regent, among others, voting against the hike. Following the vote, UC students throughout the state protested the hikes with marches and sit-ins.
Lawmakers in Sacramento have also been concerned with the UC tuition hikes. State Senate President Tempore Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) introduced SB 15 to, among other things to help California students afford college, stop the hikes. This week in Sacramento, an Assembly subcommittee is holding a UC Budget Hearing. In an article special to the Sacramento Bee, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly member Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto) said they would be applying a “zero-based budget approach.” According to Atkins and Olsen, “every line item of an organization’s budget must be approved, rather than only changes from the previous year.”
Napolitano and Gov. Jerry Brown have been at odds about the tuition increases. Napolitano has said increases are needed to keep the UC as a world-class institution. Gov. Brown argued the UC needs to scrutinize spending patterns and make cuts. The governor’s budget proposal for the 2015-16 fiscal year would withhold $120 million from the UC if the tuition increases went forward. Napolitano and Brown have been meeting privately to discuss UC costs and spending.
“Because these discussions are still ongoing, and because the legislature is still at work putting together the state budget, I am announcing here today that UC will not implement a previously approved tuition increase of up to five percent for the summer quarter,” Napolitano said at the event. “It is our conviction that all parties engaged in these negotiations want tuition to be as low as possible, and as predictable as possible. Moreover, as a matter of fairness, we want potential summer quarter students to enroll free from any uncertainty and unpredictability inherent in a fluid and still unresolved budget situation.”
Assembly Speaker Atkins praised the postponed tuition hikes. In a written statement she said, “I am pleased President Napolitano is beginning to walk back UC’s reliance on fee increases. With the Assembly beginning our top-to-bottom review of UC’s budget today, I am sure we will be able to identify savings, as well as increased state funding, that will help ensure UC remains a world-class treasure.”
Buy Me a Coffee
Book Pick of the Month
The link for the book is an affiliate link. You will not pay extra; however, I do receive a small reimbursement if you purchase through the links. Thank you for your support of JLV College Counseling.
JLV College Counseling 
