Thomas Jefferson

High School | Home of the Spartans

Greeting Cards for Cash

Posted 11/30/2015 by Sasha Mesropov

Bhawana Acharya puts her creativity to the test by applying for this unique scholarship. photo by Sasha Mesropov

As application due dates for colleges get closer, students are finding more creative ways to pay for college.

Planning for college is a stressful factor in many students’ lives. Although it can be exciting, the financial burden of public or private universities often weighs heavily on students and their families. Fortunately, there is a plethora of scholarships that can lessen this burden, one of which is the Ninth Annual Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest. Bhawana Acharya, a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School, has already taken advantage of applying for this $10,000 scholarship. Submissions to this contest are accepted until February 25th, 2016, so TJ students should take advantage of this opportunity.

This scholarship contest has awarded thousands of dollars to hardworking, creative students in high school, college, or a university. I want to go to CU Boulder,explained Acharya, [This scholarship is important] because I won’t have to pay as much for school. I’m really excited for this.Many students will find that this scholarship contest is very different from the time-consuming essays that they’ve had to write for others.

In order to be eligible for the contest, participants must send in an original design for a Christmas, birthday, holiday, or appropriate greeting card. Students may submit their own designs, or their own pictures, photographs or artwork (paintings, drawings, etc); if the work is unoriginal, the participant will be disqualified. Although it may be tempting to submit more than one, only one greeting card is to be submitted per applicant.

The winner of the competition will be announced on April 25th, 2016, after a period of voting by a panel of judges as well as online voting. Upon receiving the scholarship, the $10,000 will be given first to the university that the student is attending, or directly to the student if they are still in high school. If the winner is a minor, the money will be awarded to the parents of the winner. In addition to the prize money, $1,000 will be awarded to the current school of the winner. Students can enter the contest or view past winners. Good luck, Spartans!