Here's are the writing prompts from the Common Application in 2013-14:
The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don't feel obligated to do so. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 250 words.)
Another Private Sector Database
College Board scholarship search
Aid Estimator and Scholarship Search
Database 6,000,000 Scholarships
Ethnic and Minority Scholarships
More Scholarships, with categories
Scholar Resource Network Express
Scholarship Information and Search
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
President John F. Kennedy respected and admired acts of political courage. His book, Profiles in Courage, published in 1956, recounts the stories of eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers by taking public stands for unpopular positions. The Profile in Courage Award, presented each May by the Kennedy Library Foundation, honors elected officials who have demonstrated exceptional political courage.The Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites United States high school students to consider the concept of political courage by writing an essay on a U.S. elected official who has chosen to do what is right, rather than what is expedient. A “Profile in Courage” essay is a carefully researched recounting of a story: the story of how an elected official risked his or her career to take a stand based on the dictates of the public good, rather than the dictates of polls, interest groups or even constituents. The contest challenges high school students to discover new profiles in courage, and to research and write about acts of political courage that occurred after the 1956 publication of John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage.
The winner of the competitive annual contest is awarded a $10,000 prize and is invited to accept the award at the Profile in Courage Award ceremony held each May at the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. The student’s nominating teacher receives a John F. Kennedy Public Service Grant in the amount of $500 and is also invited to attend the Profile in Courage Award ceremony. A second place winner receives $1,000 and up to five finalists each receive $500. All finalists receive a hardcover copy of Profiles in Courage. The essay contest is sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and generously supported by John Hancock Financial.
The Profile in Courage Essay Contest meets severalNational Standards in Social Studies and English and offers a meaningful opportunity for students to develop and enhance research, writing and critical thinking skills while they deepen their understanding and appreciation of politics and history.
Students are asked to write an original and creative essay of 1,000 words or less that demonstrates an understanding of political courage as described by John F. Kennedy in Profiles in Courage. Students should use at least five varied sources such as newspaper articles, books, and/or personal interviews, including one non-internet source, to address the following topic:
Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a United States elected official that took place during or after 1956. Include an analysis of the obstacles, risks, and consequences associated with the act. The essay may concern an issue at the local, state, national, or international level.
First Freedom Student Competition
The First Freedom Student Competition is a first-semester national essay and video contest. It offers high-school students an opportunity to compete for $2,500 awards as they examine the history and current-day relevance of religious freedom, and then, by written essay or video production, present their evaluation. The competition is open to students in the United States and U.S. territories, and to American schools and American home-schooled students worldwide. We invite 9th - 12th grade students at all levels of academic placement to participate.
The right to religious freedom is set forth in constitutional and international human-rights law. Today’s youth play an important role in upholding and strengthening this liberty; therefore, the First Freedom Student Competition has been developed to:
The online student registration deadline is Monday, November 18, 2013. The postmark deadline for mailing the entry and its accompanying materials is the following Monday, November 25, 2013.
GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program
Honoring the legacy and character of our nation’s 40th President, the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program rewards college-bound students who demonstrate exemplary leadership, drive, integrity, and citizenship with financial assistance to pursue higher education.
Each year, the Program selects numerous recipients to receive a $10,000 scholarship renewable for up to an additional three years – up to $40,000 total per recipient. Awards are for undergraduate study only, and may be used for education-related expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, and board. In addition, Scholars are invited to participate in a special awards program.