$2500 HSF Aspiring Scholars Award

Application Form 2023-24
and
Application Form 2024-25

Due: February 18, 2025 at 11:59PM PT

Feb 19, 2025 - Application Closed

The HSF Aspiring Scholars Award for the 2024-2025 season is now closed.

Best,
House Scholarship Foundation

Jan 2, 2025 - Application Update

Hi, my name is Cameron Dang, one of the co-founders of HSF and a current senior at UC Berkeley. I started HSF in 2020 with my friend Charles as a small attempt to provide educational opportunities for other students -- I am grateful to have been able to run HSF (with more success than I had imagined) these past few years.

In late 2024, due to personal, academic, and work commitments (we are all students), our team chose to pause the HSF application between 2024 and 2025. However, we failed to realize that many external websites continued to link to our old 2023-2024 application. This resulted in many students applying for our old application, unbeknownst to us.

Although we have no funding for this application, denying this opportunity to students, especially those who have applied, is incredibly unfair. As a result, I will be restarting the application, set to be due February 18, 2025 at 11:59PM PT with a $2500 award.

This application will be funded solely by me. So, if you are aware of any small businesses or sponsors willing to help out, anything would be greatly appreciated!
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For FAQ, please click the button below.
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Best,
Cameron Dang
House Scholarship Foundation

FAQ

Aspire to Lead

PLEASE READ:
Before you begin the application, we recommend you copy the questions over to a word document and answer there. Once you are done with answering, copy your answers over to the boxes here and submit. We will not save your answers unless you hit submit. For the short answer questions, we highly recommend you stay around the recommended word count.

Please also make sure you meet our eligibility requirements:
- You are a US citizen or permanent resident.
- You are a current high school student (9-12th grade).
- You have a high school transcript available (unofficial or official).
- You will go to a US-based college or equivalent after graduation.

This year at HSF, our primary award is $2500 with two secondary $500 awards. Finalists, semi-finalists, and honorable mentions may be named and honored but no financial award will be given. We reserve the right to refuse the award.

For information about our privacy policy, click here.

I have read the above information and am ready to begin!

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Contact Information

nameemail address (please use a personal email address)Phone NumberYour AddressSchool NameSchool AddressGrade LevelState/Territory

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Personal Background Questions (choose to the best of your ability)

The first three questions have no impact on your application and are only for us understanding our demographic audience. Please choose Other if you would prefer not to answer these questions.

Genderethnic backgroundSexualEstimated Annual Household Income ($)Select All That ApplyI qualify for free or reduced lunch at school (if school lunch is not already free).I have family members who are serving/have served in the military.I have a disability.My parents/guardians are currently separated.I am or have been in the foster care system and/or homeless.English is not my native language.

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High School Transcript, GPA, and Extracurriculars

Unweighted GPAIn the textbox below, please provide an accessible link to a pdf/picture of your up-to-date high school transcript. Google Drive works the best. Unofficial transcripts are okay!

Sample Picture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Iv6vzYYKAydZooj6iQyA0SkrtO4Lv9ux/view?usp=sharing
*We cannot accept your application if we cannot access your transcript. Please ensure the link works. The URL should NOT start with file://... but should be an https:// link.

For a sanity check, try opening the link on your phone or in an incognito tab.Please list your most significant community service/extracurricular activities and explain your position/role in each of these activities. (CHARACTER LIMIT: 1000)

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General Questions (Recommended 50-100 words or 600 character limit)

1. Choose three words that best define you and explain why you chose those words:2. What is the best advice you have received? Why was this good advice?3. Pick an object in your home and describe its importance to you.4. Why should you be the next Aspiring Scholar?

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Themed Questions (150-300 words, 2000 character limit)

Please choose any two of the seven following prompts to answer. All prompts are given equal weight.1. All of a sudden, you're given a budget of $5,000,000 and have been thrown into the executive position of a nonprofit. What field does your nonprofit target, why that field, and how will you lead your team to invoke the changes you want to see?

2. Who do you see as a leader in the world and why?

3. Winston Churchill led Britain during World War II. Malala Yousafzai led an educational rights movement for women. Describe a time when you overcame obstacles as a leader.

4. Being a film director is a lot like leading a project for movies! Choose a subject to direct a film/documentary around, and why you should lead this project over other directors in the business.

5. There are many ways to be a leader, especially in a political context. What type of leadership style will you choose to hold if you lead a country, and why?

6. Being a successful leader often involves making tough choices. Imagine you're in a leadership position where you have to pick between helping Group A but hurting Group B, or helping Group B but hurting Group A. How would you handle this situation?

7. Imagine having the opportunity to lead a very professional and skillful team of individuals from all over the world to solve a world crisis. These individuals come from diverse backgrounds and skill sets that you are not fond of and have not been exposed to yet. How would you approach building and leading a cohesive and productive team that must be guided by you?Please check which two prompts you chose. You only have to answer two.

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Applicant Signature (Print Name)Parent/Guardian Signature (Print Name)

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*Please note that if you are selected as an honorable mention, semi-finalist, finalist, or a winner, we may request a picture of you. Furthermore, in accordance to our privacy policy, we will not disclose your information; any usage of your information is only to contact you or judge your application in a fair and indiscriminate manner.

Submit when you feel satisfied. Double check and don't stress!I am ready to submit my application.

Application Closed

Thank you! Your application has been received!

Please note that if you are selected for an award, we may request a picture of you.