How to Win a Scholarship from NASSP
Question: How can our school select a nominee who will win one of the scholarships available from NASSP? We’ve been sending our nominees for years and we’ve never had a winner!
Answer: There are many suggestions that we can make.
The NHS National Scholarship program is designed to identify well-rounded nominees. This is achieved when mental, physical, and social development are all present and exhibited through involvement in academics, the arts, athletics, and co-curricular activities.
Information provided by and about nominees on their nomination forms should clearly demonstrate their superlative qualities.
Wherever possible, avoid using unknown abbreviations. Abbreviations for national organizations may be common knowledge, but many state-based or local groups are not.
Verify that the processing fee ($6) included in the nomination packet along with all other requested materials, and that the packet is sent on time and to the correct company address.
Complete the nomination form thoroughly. Verify that all required signatures have been included (student, adviser, principal).
Recommendations should be effective and should not merely restate information found elsewhere on the form, but should provide insight about the character of the nominee. The scholarship review committee is a group of secondary school principals that value the recommendations of their peers.
If all of your nominees’ activities cannot fit in the space provided, the nominee should choose the activities that best support the nomination and reflect their well-rounded nature.
Encourage all potential nominees to perform significant service for the school or the community that speaks to an important local concern and creates visible results.
Stress the importance of a well-written essay to the nominees. The essay should respond effectively to the narrative assignment and should be checked for correct spelling and proper grammar.
For additional insight, be sure to review the scholarship winner profiles found in the fall editions of Leadership for Student Activities magazine. Also visit the NHS website at www.nhs.us, and click on Scholarships &Awards to review the “Writing Recommendations” listed in the Resources section.
Nominees are judged against other nominees from their state and from schools of similar size within the state (small, medium, large, or extra-large schools as defined in the nomination packet). This component of the selection process allows students to compete against peers from similar educational circumstances. This scholarship is based only on merit, not need.
Nomination information is available to all affiliated schools and chapter advisers on the NHS website each fall. The deadline for submission is late January of each year. Selection is completed by April and winners are notified in May. NASSP has sponsored the NHS National Scholarship program since 1946.
ã NASSP, 2009