Complete Contest Information

Applicant Eligibility Requirements

• Open to 2008-2009 high school seniors in the United States who are U.S. citizens or legal residents.
• Scholarship payable to the winner’s account at college/university or certified trade school in the United States; student must enroll in semester beginning no later than fall 2009.
• Winners not based on financial need
• Home-schooled students may apply as long as they can verify that course of study is equivalent to that of a senior in high school.
• Relatives of AFSA staff or board members may not enter.

Read complete contest information before applying. Please read all requirements carefully. Entries that do not meet ALL requirements will be automatically disqualified from the contest without notification to the student.

  Requirements

• Read the "Fire Sprinkler Essay" (pdf) or (html) (approximately 3,000 words) about automatic fire sprinklers.
• Complete registration page with all requested information. Before scholarship funds will be awarded, all information submitted on the application by the student will be verified. If ANY false or misleading information is submitted on the application, the student will be disqualified without notification to the student.
• Take a ten-question multiple-choice test. This is an open-book test and you may print the essay beforehand for reference during testing. For each question answered correctly, students will receive one (1) entry into a drawing for one of ten $2,000 scholarships. For each question answered incorrectly, you will be given one more chance at the end of the exam to answer those questions correctly.  A total of ten (10) entries into the drawing is possible if the student answers all ten questions correctly. 
• Each student is allowed only one opportunity to take the online test.  Any attempt to enter again under a different name, address, etc., will automatically disqualify the student without notification to the student.
• Students selected as winners are required to submit the name and contact information of their chosen college/university/certified trade school for verification of registration and payment of the scholarship to the school. Information must be submitted no later than August 31, 2009 or the scholarship will be considered unclaimed and another winner will be selected.

Deadline

Entries will be accepted from 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT August 1, 2008 until 12:00 p.m. (noon) CDT April 6, 2009.

Prizes

A total of $20,000 is awarded.  Ten (10) winners will receive a scholarship of $2,000 each.  Only one $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to any single individual from this contest.  Odds of winning are based on total number of entries received.

The scholarship is paid directly to the educational institution in the student’s account to be used for tuition and/or books for the fall 2009 semester. The scholarship monies may be used over a period not to exceed four (4) years.

Winner Notification

Winners will be notified for appropriate recognition to include award assemblies, graduation ceremonies and newspaper announcements. Due to the number of entries received, AFSA can only notify winners.

Winners’ names will be posted on the AFSA web site on May 1, 2009.

Application Process

Applications will only be accepted online through the AFSA scholarship web site (www.afsascholarship.org). Student must provide all information requested to be able to submit his/her entry.

Step 1: Read all contest information.

Step 2: Read the "Fire Sprinkler Essay" (This essay is approximately 3,000 words in length.  You may print the essay for reference if you choose.

Step 3: Click on “Take Test Now” button and fill out the student information section. You will need to provide the following information:

    - Full Name

    - Home Street Address

    - City, State, Zip Code

    - Home Phone (with area code)

    - 2nd Phone Contact (optional)

    - Email Address

    - Birthdate

    - Parent/Guardian Name

    - Parent/Guardian Contact Number (with area code)

    - Your High School Name

    - High School City/State

    - Anticipated date of Graduation (Month/Year)

Taking the Test:

Select answers for the ten-question multiple-choice test.  This is an "open book" test.  You may refer to a printed copy if you choose, or use the essay text online to find the correct answer to the question.

Click on "submit" button.

You will immediately receive notification of questions answered incorrectly. For each question answered incorrectly, you will be given one more chance to answer those questions correctly.  This is your LAST CHANCE to refer back to the information in the essay and select the correct answer to the question/questions that you missed.

Click on the “Submit” button.

You will immediately receive a score, i.e., "7 out of 10 questions answered correctly." The number of questions answered correctly equals the number of times your name will be entered into the scholarship drawing.