FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship
Have you ever taken an unexpectedly wonderful -- or terrible but funny -- trip with your family? Or have you journeyed somewhere with a school group or sports team and have some advice on how to make the most of your experience or destination? Have you taken a trip somewhere that opened up new ways of looking at the world?
Family Travel Forum (FTF), the web's leading trip-planning resource for family travelers, is conducting a scholarship contest that encourages teens to write about their travel experiences. In 600 words or less, tell us about where you went and what it meant to you ñ what worked and what didn't work, what you learned from the trip, or how it changed you. Bring us into the world you visited. It can be funny, serious, contemplative or informative.
The top three winners will receive cash prizes. Twenty-five finalists will win honorable mention awards and a gift certificate. All winners will be published on Family Travel Forum's for-kids, by-kids website, travelbigo.com.
Prizes:
- First prize $500
- Second prize $250
- Third prize $100
- Honorable Mentions receive a $25 gift certificate
All stories that make it to quarter-finals or beyond will be published on the travelbigo.com website, in addition to the work of winners. Travelbigo.com also hosts an alternative scholarship, the Bigo Awards, given to the top 10 most highly rated travel tales; see travelbigo.com for details, coming soon!
Rules
Eligibility
- You must be age 13 -18 and attending grades 8-12 as of August 2008.
- You must be officially enrolled in a junior high or high school.
- You must have taken the trip while you were age 12-18, and the trip must have been taken within the last three years.
- You must be attending school in the United States or Canada or an American school abroad, or be enrolled in a U.S. homeschool program.
Submission Requirements
- Multiple submissions are not allowed and we accept only one essay per entrant.
- Essays must be submitted online using the entry form provided. Please use the editing tools provided to make paragraph breaks or add punctuation.
- All applications must be received no later than 11:59pm EST on September 22, 2008. Late entries will not be considered.
- Your essay must be your original creation and must not have been previously published.
- Entries should consist of text and at least one photo, digital artwork or video to illustrate your story.
- All applicants must sign up for the travelbigo.com community
If you are notified that you are a finalist, you will be contacted on October 15, 2008 and asked to send a copy of your transcript from your school as well as a permission letter from your parents if you are under 18. These documents must be received by email, fax or snail mail by October 20, 2008.
Scholarship questions cannot be answered over the phone; direct them to bovalan@travelbigo.com.
The Judging Process
Essays will be judged on originality and quality of expression, as well as accordance with standard rules of English grammar, mechanics and spelling.
Please note that only finalists and winners will be contacted. All finalists are required to submit a school transcript and finalists under age 18 are required to submit a parental permission letter.
If you are not contacted and wish to view the winning entries, please visit travelbigo.com and FamilyTravelForum.com after November 17, 2008, when the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and honorable mention recipients essays will be posted.
