Tag: scholarship advice

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Scholarship Application Tip: Submitting Photos and Videos

It’s time for your weekly scholarship application tip! Last week, I encouraged applicants to document all the phases of their project through photos and videos. This week, we will cover what to do once you have all of your photos and videos and you are ready to fill out your application, and the specific requirements that must be met for video and photo submissions.

Since we can’t physically meet with every single applicant to see their project in action, we need you to SHOW us your work in the form of photos and videos. Both video and photos are required to be considered as a scholarship winner. Below, I have included the specific requirements and guidelines for both photo and video submission. The requirements listed below are exactly what you will find on the application.

Video Requirements:

  • 2-5 minutes
    Must be edited to include:
  • Examples of your work in action (photos, video clips, etc.)
  • A few words directly from you regarding your project (can be voice-over)
  • Include 1-3 brief interviews with people you worked with as you carried out your project
  • Must address the following questions:
    – What would you improve with more time?
    – What new skills or concepts have you acquired?
    – What have you learned about yourself based on the experience?

***IMPORTANT*** Please make sure your video is viewable. Please check the share settings before submitting it. You can choose to upload a link to a Google Drive folder containing your video OR you can upload or link a YouTube video you made.

Photo Requirements:

We would love to see evidence of your project and work! Photos could include, but are not limited to: pictures of brochures/handouts/advertisements you created to go with your project, pictures of your physical prototype, if applicable, and pictures of you in action– giving a presentation, working with your community, building your project, etc. You are the magic behind your project– take pride in it and document yourself making a difference, then share it with us!

Please share photos of publish-able image quality of your work. A minimum of 5 photos is required, but more is encouraged. 

Failure to upload images will result in disqualification. Uploading images directly or providing a link to a Google Drive folder of photos is acceptable. Providing photos in a video slideshow, PDF page, PowerPoint, social media account, or any other non-publishable way will result in disqualification. 

Please make sure that you have made your photos and video viewable. We can’t see them if you are the only one with access to them. We’d hate for you to put in so much time and energy to carry out your project and type up your application, only to forget to check the share settings on your files. Such a small misstep could lead to disqualification, so please triple check that your files are viewable.

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Applying for Our Scholarship? Here’s Some Tips!

Attention all graduating seniors! If you are planning on applying for our Build A Better Future Scholarship, this is for you! The final deadline is exactly one month from today! Final applications are due by 11:59 pm MST on Monday, April 13, 2026. Once a week until then, I will be sharing some tips and reminders for you to consider as you get ready to submit your final application.

As you put your project into motion, don’t forget to document your process through pictures and videos! Take pictures of you in action, working on your project. If you have volunteers helping you, snap some pictures of them as they work. If you host any kind of meeting, presentation, workshop, or class, have someone take a short video of you as you do your thing. If your project includes collecting donations of items, don’t forget to take some pictures of the donations that come in. Then, remember to take a picture of you at the place where the donations are being taken. If you think you’ll want a picture of something, take the picture!

One of the requirements for the final application is that you include a minimum of 5-10 pictures of your project in action. We also have a requirement for a short 3-5 minute video to be included with your application. You can certainly put some of your pictures in your video, but we also require that pictures be submitted separately as well. You can find the requirements for the video in our Scholarship Checklist, which can be found at the bottom of this page.

Beyond meeting the requirements for the final submission, having picture and video documentation of your project will provide you with lifelong mementos of the time you spent serving your community, and that is a priceless reminder of time well spent.

Scholarship-Checklist-2Download
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Final Scholarship Reminder!

It’s time for your final scholarship application reminder/tip! Can you believe that applications are due in just SIX days?! It’s so exciting! I’ve really enjoyed reading through the applications that have been submitted so far– there are some really neat projects in the works!

Remember that all applications must be submitted no later than Monday, April 7, 2025 at 11:59 pm MST.

Before you push that “submit” button, please double check a few things:

  • Proofread your application– read over and correct any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors you may find.
  • Double (or triple) check that all email addresses, phone numbers, and names are correctly entered on your application. If we can’t contact you, your mentor, high school, or planned college, we won’t be able to proceed in the event that your project is chosen as a finalist.
  • Please make sure your pictures are uploaded in a publish-able format. For the photo requirement, we cannot accept photos that are submitted in a Google slide show or a video. You can definitely add photos to your required video, but we also need them uploaded separately. If you choose to share them with us via Google Drive, please make sure you have checked the share settings. It seems obvious, but I can’t view your photos if I don’t have access to the file.
  • Don’t skip over the video requirement! If you don’t submit a video that meets the requirements we have posted here, we will not be able to consider your application. Again, please check the link or share settings to make sure they work.

Should you have any questions, you can contact us via email at scholarship@honorsgraduation.com.

Lastly, take a minute and breathe! You are doing amazing things!

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Weekly Scholarship Reminder

Here is your weekly scholarship reminder/tip!

All applications for this year’s Build A Better Scholarship are due on or before Monday, April 7, 2025 at 11:59 pm MST. That’s just 12 days away!

Before submitting, please make sure to double or triple check that your contact information for yourself, mentor, and high school is correct. On your application, you need to include:

  • Your email and phone number
  • Your mentor’s email and phone number (this must be someone who is directly involved in your project)
  • Your high school name, phone number, and city
  • Name, email, and phone number for the registrar or secretary from your high school
  • Name of the college, trade school, or university you will be attending in the fall

You can find other weekly reminders here and here.

If you have any other questions, you can check out our scholarship page here, or can send us an email at scholarship@honorsgraduation.com.

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Happy Holidays From HonorsGradU

The holidays are here and happening! It’s a great time to look back on the last year to see where our blog has gone.

We’ve published multiple book lists, personality tests regarding how they can be applied in the classroom, advice columns for scholarship applicants, and more. We also awarded $55,000 in scholarship money to five deserving, hard-working students.

My personal favorite is the discussions that have developed in the comments on our posts. Connecting with our readers and continuing the conversations beyond the base post make the information written come alive and is given more meaning!

Overall, this year has been one to remember, and we want to thank you, our readers, for being here and appreciating the content we place before you.

From all of us on the HonorsGradU team, happy holidays!

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Scholarship Advice Following Feedback Form One

Our new scholarship format for the ‘22-’23 school year includes more optional feedback between us and the student. The format is as follows: 

Form 1: The Idea

No idea what to do or where to start? No problem! By filling out this form, you will receive one-on-one mentoring to help you come up with a design thinking project.

Deadline: November 7th, 2022

Form 2: Plan of Action

Now that you’ve started on your project, we want to hear about it! Tell us about your goals, resources, tactics, and the steps you’ve taken (or will be taking) to build up your community. If you feel stuck or unsure, this form will provide one-on-one guidance to ensure that you have everything you need to get started. If you missed the deadline for the Idea form and are still interested in coming up with a project, you can use this form for help in determining what project would best support your community.

Deadline: December 5th, 2022

Form 3: Implementation

*speaks in the style of Kronk* “Oh yeah, it’s all comin’ together.”

This is our third and final form before final submissions are due and it is all about action. We want all the details about your project up to this point. Why you chose this project and the consequent goals that you set. Most importantly, we want to know HOW you accomplished your goals. Show us rather than tell us. We will provide personalized feedback and any tips we can to aid you in submitting your final application.

Deadline: February 20th, 2023

Now that Form One is complete and all feedback has been sent back to the students, here is some of the advice that I found myself telling students over and over. 

Enlist a mentor. This is not only required for the final submission but also incredibly helpful for the development of your project. We as a team here at Honors Graduation can help mentor you as much as we can, but having someone within your community that knows exactly what issues your community is seeing and ways to help make it better will be more beneficial to you than we ever can be! 

Establish a why. If the why behind your project is, “because I observed this issue within my community.” then I can tell you right now that there is a good chance your project won’t make it as a finalist. You need passion and drive behind your project, which brings us to our next point.

If you’re really passionate about it, it will naturally shine through. We read through each submission at least two or three times, if not more. If this project that betters your community in some way is something meaningful and important to you, it shows in your writing. Choose to do something that you love and care about. 

Think long-term. It’s not a scholarship requirement to continue working on your project for years to come, but we do prioritize the projects that will have an impact for the longest. Oftentimes graduating high school seniors will be moving away for college, how will you set your project up so that it can be a continuing thing once you’re gone? 

Don’t think too big. We’re asking you to change your community, not change the world. There are some great ideas out there for huge projects that will have a massive impact on our world! And we definitely do not want to shoot these ideas down. But what project can you do now that will better where you live? We’ve had winners and applicants that have started STEM clubs at their schools. Or planted sunflowers in their local park. Some have simply started tutoring programs. It doesn’t always have to be as massively scaled as some may think it needs to be. 

If you’re seeking additional feedback on your current project, feel free to fill out form 2 from now until Dec. 5th (this deadline is SOON!). Form 3 is also open for submissions from now until Feb. 20th. We look forward to seeing this year’s applicants and what great projects you have been working on. Choosing winners is never easy for us!