Gain Admission to Top Universities and Scholarships with the Prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
What are the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards?
Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a competition aimed at inspiring teens aged 13-17 to explore their interest in art and/or writing. It is considered to be the most prestigious opportunity for young and creative minds in the United States, US. territories, and Canada.
Students select one of 28 categories such as painting, poetry, digital art, or journalism, and are evaluated on their ability to submit high-quality, personal, and original work. Below are the writing and art categories offered by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
Art
Architecture & Industrial Design
Ceramics & Glass
Comic Art
Design
Digital Art
Drawing & Illustration
Editorial Cartoon sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation
Expanded Projects
Fashion
Film & Animation
Jewelry
Mixed Media
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
Writing
Critical Essay
Dramatic Script
Flash Fiction
Humor
Journalism
Novel Writing
Personal Essay & Memoir
Poetry
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Short Story
Participating students may win local and national awards, have their work featured in publications and exhibitions, and may even be granted generous scholarships if named a winner, with the Portfolio Awards yielding the largest scholarship of $12,500 USD.
Some famous alumni of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards include Ken Burns, Amanda Gorman, and Tracy Reese.
Benefits of Winning the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
As previously mentioned, winners of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards receive high recognition, publications, opportunities to present at exhibits, and various scholarships.
Exhibits
The work of Scholastic Art and Writing Awards winners is generally exhibited at The New School and Pratt Institute in New York City, as well as an annual exhibit in Washington D.C. Student work may also be displayed in the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Arnot Art Museum, or Josyln Art Museum.
Publications
Selected students from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards may have their work featured in the Yearbook, as well as in Best Teen Art and Best Teen Writing.
Scholarships
In addition to the local and national recognition, and scholarships given by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program, many top colleges and universities, like Carnegie Mellon University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design, and Maryland Institute College of Art offer generous financial aid to Scholastic Art and Writing Awards winners wishing to pursue a college education.
Promising students are also guaranteed a full-ride scholarship to the Scholastic Awards Summer (SAS) Scholarship Program, a prestigious opportunity by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards to participate in further in-depth summer art and writing programs, encouraging students to grow in their field of interest.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards organization recognizes diverse forms of achievement and therefore prizes students on various aspects, as can be seen through their awards.
Regional Recognition
Gold Key Award (automatically moves on to the national level)
Silver Key Award
Honorable Mention
American Voices Nominee Award
American Visions Nominee Award
National Medals
Gold Medal
Silver Medal
American Visions
American Voices
Scholarship Awards
Gold Medal Art Portfolio
Gold Medal Writing Portfolio
Silver Medal with Distinction Art Portfolio
Silver Medal with Distinction Writing Portfolio
The Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoon
National Student Poets Program
New York Life AwardNew York Life Award
The Flaunt It Award
How to Register for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards registration process requires that all students are ages 13 or older and enrolled in grades 7-12. The application season begins in September and closes around December or January, based on the region you are competing in.
The registration process for students applying to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is quite simple, with just a few steps.
Create an Account
On the student registration portal, enter your date of birth and current grade level to determine that you fit the eligibility criteria. Next, provide information like your name, email, and phone number, as well as the information of a parent/guardian. You will also be guided to create a password at this stage.
At the bottom of the page, there will be a few questions asked in order to select your region. In general, your region is dependent on the location of your school (unless you are homeschooled, in which case you would enter your home’s address). Eligible teens must reside within the United States, U.S. territories, or Canada.
Craft and Submit a Meaningful Piece of Art and/or Writing
Create an original piece of art or writing about a topic close and meaningful to you. Then, submit your final work on the application portal. Students competing in the Art category will be required to take a picture of their artwork or digitally upload an image in a similar manner.
The following section of this blog, “Tips for Creating Award-Winning Work for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards,” will reveal what exactly judges are looking for in submissions while selecting winners.
Pay the Registration Fee
The cost to participate in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is relatively low, at $10 USD per person and $30 USD per portfolio. If there are financial barriers to applying, however, financial aid is offered.
The application season is from around September to December or January, depending on your region.
Tips for Creating Award-Winning Work for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
How do I make a winning project that will catch the judges’ attention? Turns out, there are specific aspects that judges are looking for in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
Original
Your work should be novel, unique, and different from what is considered typical submissions. Original and out-of-the-box solutions are generally those that catch judges’ attentions.
Personal
Judges want to see that there was a reason you did the work that you did. What personal backstory do you have that makes what you created more meaningful to you than if someone else wrote or made the same thing? At the same time, judges want to see something that stands out, like a new perspective or novel idea. Therefore, it is a good idea to find a unique aspect of yourself that you would like to showcase prior to creating your work for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
Skilled
In the end, judges want to see high-quality writing and art. This is often fueled by strong critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, creativity, and good craftsmanship.
It is also a good idea to have your work revised by a family member or friend, who can provide insightful feedback on where exactly improvements can be made, especially from a different perspective than you have. This can drastically improve the overall quality of your work. Additionally, remember that many judges are previous Scholastic Art and Writing Award winners. They have been in your shoes and want to see that you, just like them, are passionate about what you do and can bring something new into our world.
Winner selection is anonymous, meaning that judges will not have information on an applicant’s age, race, or financial situation when selecting winners.
Build Your Own Project for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
Want to find some guidance on starting a project from graduates of top universities? Interested in seeing how the latest technologies, like artificial intelligence, can boost your work quality in the fields of art, writing, and beyond? If so, the Inspirit AI Scholars and Inspirit AI 1:1 Mentorship programs may be for you.
Via the Inspirit AI Scholars Program, you can gain an introduction to natural language processing (NLP) and how models like GPT-4 are able to create original pieces of writing via NLP. Instruction is in small groups, with an average of a 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Additionally, topics like image generation and the creation of AI art, as well as their surrounding controversies, will be addressed within this course, which can create a strong foundation for you prior to participating in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
The Inspirit AI 1:1 Mentorship program goes even more in-depth, providing students with one-on-one support in their specific desired field of study correlated to artificial intelligence, ranging from writing to art to even music or science. The experienced research mentors, who are also alumni of top universities, assist with any task at hand that students require guidance with. The output of the program includes not only a completed AI project but also a research proposal and research paper/article.
If you have any questions about these programs, feel free to contact the Inspirit AI team.
In conclusion, if you are interested in gaining scholarships, national-level recognition, and admissions to top universities, as well as want to continue exploring your writing or art passions via the most prestigious opportunity for young and creative minds, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a fitting opportunity for you.
Good luck!
About Inspirit AI
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
