Scholarship Application – Rules and Info (updated for ’24/’25 school year)

Accepting applications beginning January, 2025.
Deadline for Applications is April 5th, 2025.

There are TWO parts to the application.  A paper mail-in part, and an electronic part.  Do both of them.

Read this entire page before emailing with questions, please.

Everything mailed in must be postmarked by the above date.  Everything submitted electronically must be submitted by this date.  Anything after this will not be accepted.  No exceptions.

What’s my email?  [email protected]

Application Info

1. For US residents only (US military bases and things similar to that DO count, so please do apply).
2. Scholarship award size will vary- $500, $1,000, $1,500, or $2,000.
3. Must have at least 2.5 gpa
4. Students can be from any type of school: public, private, religious, home school, etc.
5. Scholarships are for high school graduates going into college ONLY. Not for current college students or students returning to college, or any other sort of student.
6. Student must be signing up for full time classes – college of their choice – study of their choice.  4 year, 2 year, trade, fine arts, liberal arts, technical, barber, beauty, welding, electrical, plumbing, mechanics, ANY type of secondary school.
7. Scholarship checks will be mailed directly to your college/school, with instructions to apply it to either one or two semesters, which is up to you.  If you win a scholarship I’ll ask you how you want the money awarded.

WRITING PROMPT & some advice

1. Tell us a little about yourself and an amazing or traumatic thing that happened to you.  Our life experiences shape us.  That’s what we want to hear about.
2. GET SOMEBODY TO PROOF READ YOUR ESSAY.  If it’s hard for your teachers to read, it’ll be hard for us, too.  And your teachers WANT to help you with this.  Don’t be nervous to ask for help with your essays.
3. If you want to thank us for considering your application, please do so separately from your essay.  A small note or card is fine.  It won’t affect your score.

1- You will submit this part in the mail:

1. Your High school transcript.  Just print it out.  I don’t need an official printout because some schools charge for that.
2. Two letters of recommendation. From a teacher, a school official, an employer, volunteer organization, or somebody else.  Not family.  Not a peer.  Get letters from people who know you, who you’ve worked with, etc.  Have them include their contact info when they sign these – name, email, a phone number where I can text them. If your letter of rec doesn’t have contact info from the person who wrote it, your whole application will be discarded.
3. Your essay PRINTED OUT – with NO contact info printed on it.
4. Your contact info: A card or piece of paper with your name, email, phone, and mailing address.

You will send all of this to:
Newton Pens Scholarships
PO BOX 6084
Hot Springs, Ar. 71902

2- You will submit this part in an email:

Copy/paste this form into an email, fill it in, then email it to me – [email protected]

No Google docs, no PDFs, no attachments of any kind at all – I will ignore them.  Copy and paste everything as plain text into your email.  This is easiest for me to work with.

__________________________________________

Your application will be discarded if:

1. Essay does not meet minimum/maximum (about) word count of 450-550 words.
2. Does not include your transcript.
3. Does not include two letters of recommendation with contact info on them.
4. Does not have any contact info.