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FEBRUARY 03, 2010
It's the beginning of February, and we have about a month and a half left for the "Frame My Future" Scholarship Contest 2010 entry period. It's been a great entry period so far, with over 3,850 entries to date. Students have been very creative for their chance to win one of five $1,000 scholarships, plus a possible donation to their 2010-2011 attended college or university.
Entries are coming in from all across the country, from students attending all different types of schools, and students of all ages. We have entries from high school seniors, current college students, and non-traditional students who are coming back to school. The beauty of this contest – it’s open to any legal US resident who will be attending college for the 2010-2011 academic year!
For those students still working on their entries here are a few suggestions:
- Keep in mind, the main concept of this scholarship is creativity and originality! To enter, you have to create something that expresses how you frame your future. Original entry pieces can be a photograph you’ve taken, a work of art you’ve created, a graphic piece you’ve designed, a poem you’ve written, a collage you’ve compiled, or anything you can create and submit within one image. The key point is that your “Frame My Future” entry is something YOU have created yourself. Sometimes I see people trying to submit just a piece of clip art from Google, or using a photo that is clearly not theirs because it has a watermark across it. Please submit your own work! If our scholarship seems like one you’d be interested in entering, but you aren’t quite sure on the type of entry to create or if it fits the concept, take a look at last year’s Frame My Future Winners and Finalists.
- Your original entry piece needs to be in a JPEG or JPG image file format. If you have created a file that isn’t in this format, you will need to resave it as a JPEG in order for it to be properly submitted through the online entry form. If you’ve created your entry in a Word document or PowerPoint slide, there isn’t a clear option to save your file as a JPEG image. Your best bet is to print out your final entry, and then to scan it onto your computer. When you scan it, select the option to save your file as a JPEG or JPG file.
- Review your work before you submit your entry. Before you upload your entry to the online form and fill out your 500 character accompanying description, make sure this is the final version of what you plan to submit. Review your entire submission and be sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors and that it follows all of the official rules. Have someone review your work for you to be sure you didn’t miss anything. Once an entry has been submitted, no changes may be made.
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Image © Microsoft Office
| Don’t wait until the last minute to enter. If you plan on entering, complete your entry and submit it to the online entry form with plenty of time before the deadline. You never know what problems you might run in to if you wait until the last minute: your computer could crash, your internet might be down, your file might not be in the correct format or within the size constraints, you could have problems filling out the form, etc. Don’t miss your chance for a "Frame My Future" Scholarship because you ran out of time. The entry cut off is March 15th at 10 am EST, no exceptions!
While I wrote this blog specific to the "Frame My Future" Scholarship Contest 2010, the basic concepts can be applied to other scholarships you may be applying for. If anyone has any other comments or questions about our "Frame My Future" Scholarship Contest, or other scholarship tips, please post in the comment section.
If you would like to enter Church Hill Classics’ "Frame My Future" Scholarship Contest 2010, please view the main scholarship page at http://www.framemyfuture.com for full details, official rules, the online entry form, and to view entries already submitted for this year.
Connect with Church Hill Classics on Facebook and Twitter for all scholarship updates!
 
Blog Author: Jessica Joram
JANUARY 13, 2010
From Minnesota State University Bookstore
And Colorado State University Bookstore at Fort Collins
As most of us from across the country know, (from what I hear, maybe not San Diego), it's been an extremely cold and/or snowy winter to this point. From the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the West, and surprisingly, even in states in the South, winter weather has been off the wall!
A place that's been especially arctic-like is in Minnesota where temperatures (actual temperatures!) have dipped way down to -32 degrees! Brrr!
Recently, I was in touch with Sue Carlson, bookstore buyer from Minnesota State University Moorhead Bookstore, as well as Barbara Lovendahl, gift manager from Colorado State University Bookstore at Fort Collins.
I had asked Sue about whether people actually plug their car battery into a charger to keep it from freezing. I knew to ask this question because a co-worker, Amanda, had just told me that her cousin Danny's family in Canada needs to plug their cars into a charger during the winter. Danny attends the University of Toronto.
This is what Sue had to say about the Minnesota winter weather:
“To answer your question - some people do plug in their cars. Most cars around here have block heaters installed - so they have an extension cord hanging out of the front grill! (Looks kinda funny!) However, if you are able to keep your car in a garage - then you don't need to plug your car in.
This morning it was 17º out - and it felt like a heat wave! Later this week it's supposed to get close to 30º - and I don't doubt that I'll see people in shorts! Once you become acclimated to the colder weather, anything over zero feels warm.
We mostly just bundle up - wear layers - lots of layers - and stay inside. I used to live in Florida, so it's just like it's there when it was way too hot. You just stay inside.”
Barbara had this to say about the wintry weather Colorado has been dealing with so far: “Well the weather here in Fort Collins CO is much better than it was. We have frozen snow on the ground…the kind that tries to melt and when it does…it freezes into solid sheets of ice….have fun driving on that… the secondary roads are horrible! We had frigid temps last week with wind chills -26 degrees and highs in the afternoon of 4-6 degrees. This week however it has been in the 40’s so we think it’s summer around here! My daughter Rachael just got back from a visit to North Carolina to see family and my Mom lives on the coast in New Bern…she said it was very cold and Mom said it was pretty unusual to have temps that cold.”
It’s only mid-January, so time will tell how the rest of our winter plays out. In any event, it’s a great time for drinking mugfuls of hot chocolate (with whipped cream), playing some board games or doing jigsaw puzzles at home, and wearing lots of layers of winter garb.
Other blogs about bookstores on diplomaframe.com:
May 8, 2009 Hottest ticket in Tempe: President Obama to give Commencement Address at Arizona State University
May 1, 2007 22 Graduation Tips & Resources For College Grads
More about the winter weather:
Winter Weather Update: Hard Freeze from Canada to Gulf of Mexico
Blog Author: Lauren Miller
DECEMBER 21, 2009
Create Holiday Wishlists
We came across this really cool site last week called Polyvore, allowing you to combine items to create your own room décor vignettes, clothing outfits for any fashion style, wedding collections, and more. It's a free, easy-to-use web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. You put your items together in a set, and each one links to where the item can be purchased online. That means it's perfect for putting together your holiday wish lists!
Once you put together your set, you can share with friends and family. You can join a group or even start your own to collaborate with others that have similar styles. There are also contests within the community, inviting you to create sets with specific themes.
It seems that the majority of the site is for clothing and fashion sets; however, we came across Polyvore because we noticed someone designed a room with one of our diploma frames on the wall! We were pretty excited about that here at Church Hill Classics! After contacting the creator of this set and letting her know we loved it, she gave us permission to share her creation on our blog. Here is one of the rooms she designed:
This site was a great find! I’m going to explore it further and try creating my own sets. My apartment could use a new look!! Has anyone else ever used Polyvore before? Share links to your favorite sets that you have created. I’d love to check them out.
Plus, if you design a room with one of our frames, we’ll feature it on the blog in a follow up post!
Blog Author: Jessica Joram
NOVEMBER 16, 2009
November is National Scholarship Month, and although squeezing more work into your already frantic schedule may not seem like the best cause for celebration, free money for college certainly is. So how can you celebrate National Scholarship Month?
If you haven't yet begun finding and applying for scholarships, now is the time. While it's commonly recommended that students start searching for scholarships their junior year of high school, November is a great time to begin regardless of your grade level. High school seniors, college students, even soon-to-be graduate students, can still find scholarship opportunities, and many of those scholarships will have applications that either become available or are due in November or soon after. This is the main reason the National Scholarship Providers Association chose to designate this month National Scholarship Month. It's a reminder to students of all grade levels that scholarships are out there for them and they should begin applying for them now.
Millions of scholarship opportunities exist and you can begin to learn about them by doing a free scholarship search, such as the one offered by Scholarships.com. By completing a profile with your academic background, interests and unique characteristics, you can access a list of scholarships tailor-made for you. You can also find a variety of college resources written to help students complete their scholarship applications and prepare for college success.
Some general guidelines for finding and applying for scholarships are:
Apply early and often. Begin your scholarship search now, when most applications are just becoming available. Rather than waiting until the last minute, submit applications as soon as you complete them. Apply to multiple scholarships and devote a portion of your entire school year to doing so, rather than just the last two weeks of November.
Follow application instructions closely. The best strategy for being considered for a scholarship isn't to be an amazing scholar, athlete, and altruist (though none of those things hurt), but to avoid being disqualified by following the rules. Make sure you meet minimum requirements for all the scholarship applications you complete, and be sure to follow formatting and submission guidelines closely.
Make the most of your time. While it would be nice if you could put important things like graduating on hold to focus on funding your education, that's not likely to happen. So, when applying for scholarships find ways to maximize the effectiveness of your search. Pay attention to things like the dollar amount of the award, the size of the applicant pool, and your fit for the scholarship—how closely you match the ideal candidate for the award—when deciding which scholarships to apply for first. Also, be on the lookout for scholarships that ask for similar supporting materials, such as essays on nearly identical topics. You could potentially apply for multiple scholarships with essentially the same application.
Find free money--and only free money. Avoid falling prey to scholarship scams by staying away from scholarships with large application fees, promises of guaranteed money, notices you're a finalist in a contest you didn't enter, or requests for your credit card information to process your application. These are signs of scholarship scams. Make sure an award is legitimate and that you feel comfortable providing the requested information before you apply. The FTC has more information on how to avoid scholarship scams.
The recognition and financial reward that come with winning scholarships are certainly cause for celebration. By spending November searching and applying for scholarships, you can extend this celebration long past the close of National Scholarship Month.
This is a guest post from Emily Hilleren, Director of Content for Scholarships.com
Scholarships.com is the leading college scholarship search site helping students find money to get a college education. Find the scholarships that match your profile and discover free money for college!
You can also find Scholarships.com on Twitter and Facebook. Follow and Fan them for even more scholarship resources!
 http://twitter.com/scholarshipscom
http://www.facebook.com/scholarships.com.info
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