More Than a Test Score

Congratulations to our latest Double Your Money winner, Heather Bostock! Heather won the LEEP Dream Scholarship for $1,000, and because she found and applied for the scholarship on Zinch, we’re hooking her up with an additional thousand bucks. Heather took a few minutes to answer some questions about herself, and here’s what she had to say.

What is your strategy behind applying for scholarships?

Ultimately when I apply for scholarships, my goal is to not have to leave college in massive debt. I work hard to win scholarships that some choose to overlook. I put everything into my work at school so as to show that off to potential scholarship committees.

If you could “live in a movie” for one day, which film would you choose?

If I could live in a movie, I would live in Confessions of a Shopaholic. I absolutely love clothes and staying up with fashion. I always look well put together before leaving my house. Also, New York City would be awesome to live in. I love the city and go there every chance I get.

If you could take a trip around the world, what three landmarks would you have to visit?

I would definitely vist the Kremlin in Russia. The place is beautiful! It has so much history too. I like going to places no one ever thinks of. I want to go to Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. The stadium is home to one of my favorite soccer teams, Real Madrid. I also want to go where Dachau Concentration Camp was. World War II and the Holocaust are of great interest to me. I love history, the good and the bad, and want to learn everything I can about the past in hopes that it won’t be repeated.

How are you more than a test score?

I am more than a test score because a test score just says that a person is book smart. I am not just book smart, but street smart. I know how to communicate with people and am extremely outgoing. Numbers can’t describe a person but words can. I live to the fullest and work hard to earn everything. A test score can’t show that.

Do you have a friend also looking for college funds? Invite them to Zinch! With our Win Your Friend’s Scholarship feature, any scholarship they’re awarded will also land YOU a check for the same amount. Work smarter, not harder!

Congratulations to Simone Davis, our latest Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship winner!

Everybody could use a little guidance in life, so we asked what was the best piece advice of you’ve received and how it affected your life. Simone’s response showed us that in the face adversity, sometimes you have to let the pieces fall where they may.

Here is her winning essay:
My teacher told me that those who have more questions than answers must master accepting uncertainty. It made me feel less alone and pushed me to ask in-depth and conceptual questions without definite answers, leading me to think inside, outside, and around the “box”.

Here is a bit more about our winner:
I am a student in the theatre strand of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy. Much of my time is spent doing lighting designs for theatre and dance shows. I used to play junior varsity basketball and I’m the president and co-founder of our school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. I’m always interested in progress, internal exploration, and social change.

What’s the best piece of advice we have to share? Apply for our Weekly “Three Sentence Essay” Scholarship of course! We post a new prompt every Monday, so you have a chance to win $1,000 every week. How cool is that?!

Summer is a time for enjoying the weather, hanging with friends, and banking some scholarship moolah—at least that’s the way we see it.

That’s why we’re hosting a brand new scholarship competition called the Zinch My Summer Photo Contest! This is set to be one of our most exciting scholarship contests ever, so listen up, cause here’s everything you need to know…

Send us a picture of yourself displaying the spirit of the summer season—whether it be hitting the beach, enjoying the great outdoors, or even throwing a family barbeque—and include our “Zinch My Summer” graphic in the photo. You can download the graphic directly from the contest application, or by clicking here. Be sure to tell your friends all about your entry too, cause we’ll be picking the winner out of the top 10 highest-voted photos sent in. The submissions period starts today, so get started, cause the big payoff this time is a $1,500 scholarship!

Now, we could stop there and still have an awesome contest going on, but why not make it even better? To keep all you students on your toes we’re including a “Refer a Friend” Bonus Prize, where if you refer a friend to the contest, and they win, we’ll also award you $1,500 for bring them on board. Think of it like this, every friend you refer is another chance at landing that chunk of change, so the more people you tell the better your odds!

To enter, click on the Zinch My Summer Photo Contest app on our Facebook Fan Page. The submissions phase lasts until August 14th, and voting goes from August 15th through the 29th.

Good luck Zinchers, time to make this summer one for the record books!

Even though a winner has been chosen for our “More Than A Test Score” Photo Contest, we were still blown away by some of the incredibly creative submissions sent to us. Instead of letting these amazing works sit by the wayside, we wanted to share some of our favorite entries that really wowed us. Below are a few of our choice picks, be sure to click on the thumbnail to view the full image!

Thanks again to everyone that entered! Be sure to become a fan of the Zinch Facebook Fan Page to stay up to date on all the latest contests, scholarships, and college tips we have to share.

For our “More Than A Test Score” Photo Contest we wanted to see what made you special, and after two weeks, over a thousand entries, and more Facebook action than we could shake a stick at, you sure delivered!

While the submissions period has come to a close, the voting phase has just begun! To make sure you’re able to score as many votes as possible, we wanted to share how you can spread the word on your entry:

First, once you access the “More Than A Test Score” Photo Contest and view your entry, you’ll see a unique URL in the location bar. That’s the link to your submission—be sure to copy, paste, and share that with all your friends and family, it’ll take them directly to your picture.

Next, whenever you vote on a entry you’ll see a little box labeled “Share on my Wall;” make sure you keep this box checked so that your vote will be posted on your Wall and News Stream for all your Facebook friends to see.

The voting phase will last until June 30th, so spend the next week trying to get as many supporters as you can! Users can vote for as many different photos as they like, however voting is limited to once per day.

So now that you’ve shown us what makes you special, it’s time to prove it! Whether you’re planning to email, post, tweet, or shout from the mountain top about your submission, it’s up to you to rack up the votes. Best of luck Zinchers, may the best photo win!