Scholarships Available

The Newtown High School Career Center publicizes all scholarships of which it is notified.

A few of the scholarships, typically national ones, request that money be enclosed with the application. The Career Center believes that students should not have to pay to apply for scholarships. If a student chooses to apply for a scholarship that charges a fee, however, the Career Center strongly advises parents and students to check its authenticity through the FTC Consumer Response Center, www.ftc.gov or 877-FTC-HELP; the National Fraud Information Center, www.fraud.org or 800-876-7060; or the Better Business Bureau, www.bbb.org or 703-276-0100.

Full details on all scholarships are available at the high school Career Center.

Create-A-Greeting Card Scholarship — One $10,000 college scholarship for the winning submission of an original greeting card design will be awarded by Prudent Publishing Company. The card can be a holiday card, birthday, or all-occasion greeting card that could include photography, artwork, or graphics. All high school and college level students are eligible to participate. All contest information is available at www.gallerycollection.com/scholarship.htm; entries are due by January 15.

Stamford Symphony Orchestra — High school seniors from Connecticut who will study at an accredited conservatory, college, or university as music performance majors are eligible to compete for this scholarship. Two prizes will be awarded. The first place award is $10,000 ($2,500 annually) and the second place award is $7,000 ($1,250 annually). The deadline for applications is December 1. Applicants must submit an application, a recently recorded CD or audiocassette, three letters of recommendation, a high school transcript, proof of residency, and a brief biography. Those selected as finalists must perform a 15-minute program for an expert panel of judges on Saturday, January 10. Interested students should download an application from www.stamfordsymphony.org.

Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows Essay Contest — This scholarship is based on a writing contest open to all high school students throughout the state of Connecticut. The 2009-2010 topic is “The Trouble with Texting.” The essay must be in the form of an opinion either supporting or opposing the prosecution set forth in a hypothetical problem. Each entry must not exceed 1,000 words. The winner will receive a $3,000 savings bond and two runners-up each receive a $1,500 bond. The application packets may be downloaded from www.cbf.ct-bar.org. The postmark deadline is March 5.

AXA Achievement Scholarship — The AXA Foundation will award one $10,000 scholarship to a high school senior from Connecticut and ten scholarships of $15,000 to national recipients. Applicants should be well-rounded, determined to succeed, and have demonstrated achievement — at a job, sport, or extracurricular activity. Applicants are asked to describe in detail an outstanding achievement they have accomplished in a nonacademic activity or project. To apply, download an application from the website and have an adult complete the appraisal. Completed applications must be submitted by December 15. The first 12,000 applications received, which have met the postmark deadline, will be considered. Download applications from www.axa-achievement.com or complete online.