Creativity
Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest
The Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck on Prom Contest is open to
students age 14 years or older who are attending a high school prom in
the spring. US citizenship is required. Entrants must enter as a
couple (two individuals) and attend a
high school prom wearing complete attire or accessories made from duct
tape. The submission must include a color photograph of the couple
together in prom attire. The first place prize consists of a $5,000
scholarship for each member of the winning couple and a $5,000 cash
prize to the school that hosted the prom. Other prizes include
$3,000 each for second place, $2,000 each for third, and $500 each for
the remaining top 10 couples.
The winning couple will be selected based on a variety of criteria,
including originality, workmanship, quantity of Duck Tape used, use of
colors, and creative use of accessories.
The Duck Tape contest web site includes photographs of the winning costumes.
Seussvile: Oh, The Places You'll Go! College Scholarship
Random House, the publisher of the Dr. Seuss books, sponsors a $5,000
essay competition for high school seniors age 21 or younger. Essays
must be original, typed, double-spaced, written in English, at most
one page, in at least 12 point type and no more than 500 words. The
essay must answer the essay question fully. The deadline is February
15.
National Make It Yourself with Wool Competition
The National Make It Yourself with Wool (NMIYWW) competition awards
$2,000 and $1,000 scholarships for knitting wool garments. Winners are
selected based on the appropriateness to the contestant's lifestyle,
coordination of fabric/yarn with garment style and design, contestant's
presentation, and creativity. For more information send a
self-addressed stamped envelope to:
National Make It Yourself with Wool Competition
Box 175
Lavina, MT 59046
David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship
The David Letterman Scholarship was established by David Letterman in
1985 to provide scholarships for telecommunications students at Ball
State University. The awards are intended for average students who
nevertheless have a creative mind. Winners are selected primarily
based on creativity. Projects may involve a variety of media,
including written work, research, audio, video, graphics and film.
The winner receives a $10,000 scholarship. The first runner-up
receives $5,000. The second runner-up receives $3,333.
Collegiate Inventors Competition
Sponsored by the National Inventors Hall of Fame,
the Collegiate Inventors Competition (previously known as the
BFGoodrich Collegiate Inventors Program) seeks to encourage
undergraduate and graduate students to pursue new ideas, processes and
technological innovations. The invention must have been reduced to practice and
patentable. It may not have been made available to the public as a
commercial product or process or been patented or published more than
one year prior to the date of submission to the competition.
Submissions are judged on originality and inventiveness, as well as on
their potential value to society (socially, environmentally, and
economically), and on the range or scope of use. Up to four students
may work together as a team, but only one prize will be awarded per entry.
The
grand prize winner receives $25,000. There is also one Graduate
Collegiate Inventors Competition prize of $15,000 and one
Undergraduate Collegiate Inventors Competition prize of
$10,000. The deadline is June 1. For more information, write to
The Collegiate Inventors Competition, c/o The National Inventors Hall
of Fame, 221 S. Broadway Street, Akron, Ohio 44308-1505.
Rube Goldberg Machine Contest Scholarship
The Milwaukee School of Engineering runs an annual
Rube Goldberg Machine Contest
in early March each year. Students who participate in the Rube
Goldberg Machine Contest during high school and who enroll as a
freshman at the Milwaukee School of Engineering are eligible for a
$1,000 scholarship, renewable for up to 4 years. Recipients must
maintain at least a 2.25 GPA on a 4.0 scale to retain the
scholarship. The application deadline is March 1. Applications are
available on the MSOE financial aid web site.
J.D. Salinger Award
The J.D. Salinger Award at Ursinus College is intended to recognize
and support "oddball geniuses" in the field of creative writing. The
unconventional award is named after the renowned author of The
Catcher in the Rye, who attended Ursinus College in 1938. Besides
a four-year scholarship of $30,000 per year, the winner will also get
to live in the same dorm room previously occupied by Mr. Salinger. The
competition is open to high school seniors. Candidates must be
nominated by a high school teacher or guidance counselor for their
"quirky brilliance". Recipients are selected on the basis of a
portfolio of 10 to 15 pages of creative work in fiction, poetry,
creative nonfiction or hybrid genres. Although grades are not weighted
as heavily, candidates should be able to achieve admission to Ursinus
College (i.e., class rank in the top 25%, GPA of B or better, and SAT
score of 1,210 or better). The deadline is January 15.
Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contests
The Ayn Rand Institute sponsors several essay contests.
- The Anthem Essay Contest is open to high school freshmen
and sophomores. It provides annual cash awards for short, original,
unpublished essays on the philosophic themes in Ayn Rand's novel,
Anthem. The first prize is $2,000. There are three 2nd prizes
of $500 and five 3rd prizes of $200. There are a total of 229
awards. The deadline is in mid-March.
- The Fountainhead Essay Contest is open to high school
juniors and seniors. It provides annual cash awards for short,
original, unpublished essays on the philosophic themes in Ayn Rand's
novel, The Fountainhead. The first prize is $10,000. There
are five 2nd place prizes of $2,000 and ten 3rd place prizes of
$1,000. There are a total of 244 awards. The deadline is in mid-April.
- The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is open to all college
students. It provides annual cash awards for short, original,
unpublished essays on the philosophic themes in Ayn Rand's novel,
Atlas Shrugged. The first prize is $5,000. There are three
2nd prizes of $1,000 and five 3rd prizes of $400. There are a total
of 49 awards. The deadline is in mid-September.
Essay topics and other information about these contests can be found
at