If you are in high school and good at writing poetry, you can apply for poetry scholarships for high school students to showcase your talent as well as get a chance to have your poem(s) published. It could also be a stepping stone for more significant success.
There are several poetry scholarships offers for high school students and these scholarships are great opportunities for them to demonstrate their creativity in writing poems
Whether you are a published poet or you are still emerging, trying to find your feet in the poetry world, you can always apply for scholarships.
Yes, scholarships go a long way in helping you achieve your big dream without having to spend so much money. It doesn’t end there, there are also other great benefits like having national, international, or even world recognition for you and your poems.
Before we dive into listing these poetry scholarships for high school students, let’s take a quick look at what poetry is all about.
Poetry is a term that does not have a single universal definition because people give it different definitions at the same time. Nevertheless, it is a universal art, and there are great similarities among its various definitions.
In a layman’s definition, poetry is the expression of feelings/thoughts in an intensive way that arouses emotions with rhythmic words arranged in lines, and stanzas.
Some criteria for judging good poetry include Imagery, Originality, Creativity, and Master of poetic expression.
To be a good poet, you need to be creative because what makes a good poem is how strong/imaginative the impact is on the readers. This is to say “the higher your sense of creativity and originality, the higher your chances of receiving any of these below-listed poetry scholarships.
We are sure you do not want to snooze on this opportunity, follow us let’s get you started.
6 Top Poetry Scholarships for High School Students
Let’s take a look at some of these scholarships now.
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The Narrative Prize
The “Narrative” is a nonprofit organization that aims to encourage good literary work.
Each year, they award a prize of $4,000 for the best poem, one-act play, novel excerpt, graphic story, short story, or literary work of nonfiction published by a new or emerging writer on Narrative.
The prize is announced each September and is given to the best work published each year in Narrative by a new or emerging writer, as judged by the magazine’s editors.
Click here to submit your poem, but before you do so, check the GUIDELINES first.
Submission deadline: June 15 of every year.
2. Frame My Future Scholarship
The “frame my future” scholarship contest is provided by Church Hills Classics. This contest is open to all students who are in college or plan to enroll in college in the following year of the contest.
Participants must submit an original creation expressing what they hope to achieve in their personal and professional life after college. Entries can be through photography, ink, collage, painting, mixed media, or graphic design work.
Finalists of this contest are always chosen based on their creativity during entry. Each year, a new theme is given which contestants must adhere to while creating their poems.
You can Apply for this scholarship either online or via email.
Eligibility
All legal residents of the United States and the District of Columbia including APO/FPO addresses are eligible. ( Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories are excluded from this list).
3. National High School Poetry Contest.
This contest is to encourage and support American high school students with high zeal for literary pursuits to explore the field.
Contestants are to write their poems in English, and if they write any phrase in a foreign language, they should provide a translation for it. Please note that only one poem may be entered during any of the 90-day spans.
Contestants must submit a poem of 20 lines or less on a topic of their choice.
The Easterday Poetry Award of a $500.00 college scholarship will be awarded to the American High School Poets, “Poet of the Year”. In addition, there will be 4 “Best of Issue” Winners ($500 scholarship prize, 1 selected each quarter) and 4 Editor’s Choice Selections ($100 scholarship prize, 1 selected each quarter).
If you are dead set against having your poem published, it is suggested that you shouldn’t enter.
Eligibility Criteria
- You must be a citizen a high school student and
- A citizen of America
Submission deadlines: open 24/7.
To see full scholarship details and applications visit the scholarship page.
4. Nimrod Literary Awards
The Nimrod Literary Awards is founded by Ruth G. Hardman
The Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction & The Pablo Neruda Prize for Poetry.
This contest is open internationally and encourages poets and fiction writers and at the same time hugely benefits the winners. (2winners).
The contest will begin on January 1, 2023, with a postmark deadline on April 1, 2023.
Awards
First Prize: $2,000 and publication
Second Prize: $1,000 and publication
There are several other benefits for both winners and finalists. View them here.
Contest rules
- Write poetry of 3-10 pages (one long poem or several short poems).
- Write a fiction work of 7,500 words maximum (one self-story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel)
Already published works or works accepted somewhere else will not be accepted. The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript. Include a cover sheet containing titles, author’s name, full address, phone number, and email.
Online submission may be made here.
Postal Submissions: “Contest Entry” should be clearly indicated on both the outer envelope and the cover sheet. Manuscripts should be stapled or bound with a heavy clip.
Manuscripts will not be returned. Include SASE for results only. If no SASE is sent, no contest results will be mailed; however, the results will be posted on Nimrod’s website.
Mail to:
Nimrod International Journal
Literary Contest–Fiction or Poetry (indicate the appropriate category)
The University of Tulsa
800 S. Tucker Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74104
Entry Fee: Each entry must be accompanied by a $20 fee. Make checks payable to Nimrod. $20 includes both the entry fee and a one-year subscription (two issues). Writers may submit multiple entries, but each entry must include its own $20 fee.
Postmark deadline: April 1, 2023.
5. Just Poetry Scholarships
The Just Poetry Scholarships is open to high school students. Only one entry per poet per 90-day period will be accepted.
To qualify, contestants’ poems must be 20 lines or less (the title and any spaces between stanzas are excluded).
The Runner-Up selections will be offered an opportunity to be published in one of their Topical Anthologies.
The anthology titles (i.e. topics) which they currently publish at various times throughout the year include:
- Of Faith & Inspiration
- Of Love & Dedication
- Inside of Me
- and My World.
Awards: $500 college scholarship and $100 college scholarship as well.
Before entering, please read the “Official Rules and Entry Procedures” below
Submission deadline: open 24/7. Only one submission per poet will be accepted quarterly. Deadlines per each quarter are
- June 30th (for fall issue)
- September 30th (for winter issue)
- December 31 (for the spring issue) and
- March 31 (for the summer issue).
The Easterday Poetry award winner will be announced in August and appear in the fall issue.
View here Http://www.justpoetry.org/submissions
6. Creative Writing Scholarships and Prizes – University of Washington
This scholarship is provided by the English Dept. of the University of Washington and is open to all UW English majors enrolled as an undergraduate for two quarters by the application deadline.
Scholarships are awarded by the English Department Creative Writing Program and are announced before the end of the Spring quarter.
Eligibilty/Requirements
- Have a UW GPA of 3.5
- Have UW English GPA of 3.7
- Have a minimum of 10 credits of UW English coursework completed, lastly
- During the term of the scholarship, recipients must enrol in a minimum of 6 credits each quarter
The poetry scholarship comes in three different categories:
The first category is Joan Grayston Poetry Prize
This scholarship is available for undergraduate and graduate students.
Students may submit as many poems as they like, up to a total of 100 lines.
Award: $1,500
The second is Arthur Oberg Award for Poetry
Available for undergraduates. Applicant must have taken a beginning or intermediate poetry writing class this academic year. Students may submit as many poems as they like, with a ceiling of 150 lines.
Award: $2,000 ( $1,000 per winner if co-winners are selected).
Academy of American Poets Prize
Available for undergraduate/graduate
Any graduate or undergraduate student may apply. This prize is awarded for the best poem or group of poems. Submit up to three poems anonymously.
Award: $100
Application deadline: The application deadline for these awards is the last day of the Winter Quarter unless otherwise indicated.
Conclusion
If you are in college or a high school student preparing to enrol in college, we encourage you to participate in any of the above-listed poetry scholarships for high school students, they might be of great financial support for you during your college study.
Not only that but winning any of the scholarships could be a new turnaround for you and your poetry works. Good luck as you apply.
Poetry Scholarships for High School Students – FAQs
[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h3″ question-0=”How do I qualify for a Poetry Scholarship?” answer-0=”To qualify for a poetry scholarship, you need to meet the set outlined eligibilities and requirements for that given scholarship. Some scholarships might require you to have some certain GPA score (usually between 3.5-3.8).” image-0=”” headline-1=”h3″ question-1=” Are Poetry Scholarships Legit?” answer-1=”Yes, there are lots of poetry scholarships open to creative writers and we listed some of them above. Though you need to be always careful so you don’t fall into scammers hands.” image-1=”” count=”2″ html=”true” css_class=””]