The Cognella Cares Student Scholarship Program was established to provide students with a platform to speak to current issues that matter to them, highlight experiences that are unique to higher education, and share ideas from today’s youth that can inspire social, political, and intellectual change.

For Spring 2021, we’re looking for three outstanding students in any discipline of study who are inspired to share their unique thoughts, experiences, and ideas for change surrounding one of the following topics:

• Pandemics and the future of online learning
• Policing, social justice, and solutions
• Truth, credibility, and “fake news”

To apply, submit an 800 – 1,500-word essay on one of the above topics using the form provided in the Submit an Essay section below.

One winner will be selected per topic; three students will each receive a $1,000 academic scholarship in the form of a check from Cognella, Inc.

Cognella will accept entries through 5pm, PST, on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

Winners will be notified by Friday, March 19, 2021 via email. The winning essays will be posted to the Cognella website and the company’s social media accounts the week of March 29, 2021.

Review the eligibility details, application process, essay criteria, and scholarship information below, then click the Submit an Essay section below to send us your essay!

If you have any questions regarding the program or application process, please contact the scholarship team at scholarship@cognella.com

Learn about previous winners of the Cognella Cares Student Scholarship Program!

Eligibility

• You must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at an academic institution within the United States. We are not accepting graduate-level applicants at this time. Please use your university-issued email address when filling out your scholarship application to verify your student status. (If you attend an institution that does not provide you with a university-issued email address, please contact the scholarship team at scholarship@cognella.com to notify them prior to submitting an essay for consideration.)
• You must live in and go to school in the United States of America. We are unable to accept international applications at this time.
• All essays must be previously unpublished and completely original works.
• Though there are multiple topics from which to choose, you may only submit one essay for consideration.
• We understand that the sharing of personal stories (especially those that revolve around difficult interactions or social issues) may also mean the sharing of language that some would deem inappropriate or offensive. We encourage you to share uncensored stories, but to remember that your essay should remain academic in nature. Use your best judgment, only use strong language in the context of personal storytelling, and please understand that the non-academic use of offensive language or content serves as grounds for immediate disqualification.
• Essays that exceed the 1,500-word limit (excluding the title of your essay) will be immediately disqualified.
• Cognella employees, and family members of Cognella employees (immediate or extended), are not eligible for the program.
• Cognella authors, and family members of Cognella authors (immediate or extended), are not eligible for the program.
• Previous winners of the Cognella Cares Student Scholarship Program are not eligible for the program.

Essay Criteria

Personal essays should clearly, articulately, and intelligently describe why your selected topic—pandemics and the future of online learning; policing, social justice, and solutions; or truth, credibility, and “fake news”—is important to you, as well as why it is an important topic in the context of higher education and/or society at large.

Consider the following questions as you write your essay:

• What experiences have you had on campus related to the topic you selected? Describe a specific experience or interaction related to the issue (either positive or negative). How did you react to the experience? Why was it an important moment for you?
• In relation to your selected topic, what do you feel needs to change, either in the higher education community or in society, so that humanity can progress and/or evolve? How might you inspire or effect this change?
• How can others learn from your personal experiences and your unique perspective? How can your voice and your story have an impact?

While you may not be able to address all of the above prompts in an 800 – 1,500-word essay, the more you can cover, the better! Essentially, we want to know why the topic is important to you on a personal level, what changes you’d like to see in higher education or society to support a better future for students like you, and how you’d recommend we, as a society, go about that change.

Essay Formatting

Please list your name, academic program/major, university name, and word count (excluding your title) in the upper left-hand corner of your submission.

Center your title on the page, and justify the proceeding text in your essay to the left. Please indent the first line of each paragraph and double-space between lines.

Use 12-point black type and limit your font choices to Courier, Times New Roman, or Arial.

When you save your essay file, please use the following naming convention: LastName_FirstName_2021Scholarship (ex – Doe_Jane_2021Scholarship).

Application Process 

To submit an essay, fill out the form provided in the Submit an Essay section below by 5pm, PST, on Sunday, February 28, 2021. You may attach your essay to the form as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.

Please use the following naming convention when saving and submitting your essay: LastName_FirstName_2021Scholarship (ex – Doe_Jane_2021Scholarship).

If you experience any technical difficulties or have questions regarding the submission form or the required format or file type for your essay, please email scholarship@cognella.com

Application Deadline

All essays must be submitted by 5 pm, PST, on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

Evaluation

A panel of individuals will evaluate each essay in accordance with the essay criteria. This panel will also score each essay according to word count adherence, punctuation and spelling, writing style and voice, the clarity and persuasiveness of your message, and creativity. The panel will include members of the Cognella Editorial Team.

Award Details

*One winning essay will be selected per topic: pandemics and the future of online learning; policing, social justice, and solutions; or truth, credibility, and “fake news.” Accordingly, three students will win academic scholarships from Cognella in Spring 2021.

Winners will be notified by Friday, March 19, 2021, via email. Delivery of the monetary reward (in the form of a check from Cognella, Inc.) will be arranged at that time.

Winners will be announced publicly via the Cognella website and the company’s social media accounts the week of March 29, 2021. When you submit an essay to Cognella, you give us permission to post your essay publicly, along with your name, university, field of study, and a photo of you (to be supplied to Cognella if your essay is selected for a scholarship). No further information about you will be used or posted in any way.

Please note, all Cognella academic scholarships are of a taxable amount. If you win a Cognella scholarship, you’ll receive a 1099 Form that you can use to report this amount on your personal taxes for the 2020 calendar year. If you have any questions about how this amount may impact your personal tax filing, please consult an accountant or tax expert for advice.

*If we do not receive a suitable entry for a particular topic (ie – all entries are disqualified), Cognella reserves the right to select additional winners from one of the other topical areas. In any case, three students will be awarded scholarships.

Submit an Essay

To submit an essay, visit our official scholarship program page and complete the form under Submit an Essay.

Questions? 

If you have any questions regarding the program or application process, please contact the scholarship team at scholarship@cognella.com.