$3,300 Total Award

FormsPal Scholarship Essay Contest

At FormsPal, we believe that the best investments are made to pursue applicable knowledge. We are excited to announce our Annual FormsPal Scholarship Essay Contest—a financial aid opportunity for college and senior-year high school students across the United States who share our commitment to environmental sustainability.

We are offering $3,300 to a total of 3 individuals (see the distribution below) who demonstrate exceptional insight into the environmental impact of paper documents and innovative solutions to address it.

Notice that this is a one-time, non-renewable scholarship. Please review our Scholarship Rules for more information.

Essay Topic

“The Role of Digital Transformation in Reducing Carbon Footprints”

Prompt: "Analyze how digital transformation in businesses and daily life contributes to reducing carbon footprints. Provide examples of effective strategies and discuss potential challenges."

Award Details

Total Award

$3,300

Deadline:

May 15, 2025,by 11:59 PM EDT

Winner Announcement:

May 31, 2025,by 11:59 PM EDT

Renewable:

$1,000

2nd place

$1,500

1st place

$800

3rd place

How to Apply

Step 1

Before you begin, make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements.

Step 2

Write your essay. It is the most crucial part of your application, so please ensure it meets the essay requirements.

Step 3

Submit your application at essay@formspal.com, following the submission instructions.

Eligibility Criteria

Education Level

Enrolled in an accredited high school (senior year) or college in the United States

Nationality

Unrestricted. International students studying in the United States on a valid student visa are eligible to apply.

Field of Study

Unrestricted. Students from all fields of study are encouraged to apply.

Affiliation

Employees of FormsPal and their immediate family members are not eligible to apply.

Reentry

Previous recipients of the FormsPal Scholarship are not eligible to reapply.

GPA

Unrestricted.

Application Requirements

Essay Requirements

Type	Description
Language	English
Length	800–1000 words
Formatting	12-point Times New Roman font Double-spaced 1-inch margins PDF or Word document
Cover Page	Include a cover page with your name, high school or college name, major, and contact information. Do not include any identifying information within the essay itself.
File Name	Name your file as "LastName_FirstName_Essay" (e.g., 'Smith_John_Essay.pdf').
Originality	Essays must be original and unpublished. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism; any essay found to be plagiarized will be disqualified.
AI	The essay must be written entirely by the applicant without the assistance of artificial intelligence tools; any essay found to be generated or partially created by AI will be disqualified.
Graphics	Please submit text-only essays without images or graphics to maintain consistency and focus on written content.
Entries	One entry (essay) per student.

Submission Details

Submit your essay via email to essay@formspal.com.
Include your high school or college name, major, and contact information in the email.
The subject line should be - FormsPal Scholarship Essay Submission - Your Full Name.
You may include a brief bio (maximum 150 words) introducing yourself and your academic or career goals.
For any technical difficulties during submission, please contact us at support@formspal.com.
All essays will be reviewed by our scholarship committee. Winners will be notified via email by May 31, 2025.

Selection Criteria

To provide a clear and consistent evaluation process, we've created a rubric based on the selection criteria of Originality, Vision, and Writing Ability. Each criterion is scored on a scale from 1 to 10, with specific descriptors for score ranges.

Overall Scoring Guide

Total Possible Score:

30 points

Criteria:

Each criterion is worth up to 10 points

Score Ranges:

1-4 (Needs Improvement)
5-6 (Adequate)
7-8 (Good)
9-10 (Excellent)

Score Range	Description
9-10	Presents exceptionally original ideas that challenge conventional thinking. Demonstrates high creativity and innovation. Provides unique perspectives that significantly enhance the topic.
7-8	Offers unique perspectives with some novel concepts. Shows creativity but may rely slightly on existing ideas. Adds value with interesting insights.
5-6	Provides relevant ideas but lacks uniqueness. Limited originality in approach or thought. Relies on common concepts without significant innovation.
1-4	Relies heavily on common knowledge or widely known ideas. Lacks originality and creative thinking. Does not contribute new perspectives to the topic.

Score Range	Description
9-10	Articulates a clear, compelling vision for the future. Proposes feasible and impactful solutions with detailed analysis. Demonstrates deep understanding of environmental issues and digitalization.
7-8	Presents a solid vision with practical ideas. Addresses key issues but may lack depth in some areas. Shows good understanding but may not fully explore implications.
5-6	Demonstrates general understanding but lacks a strong forward-looking perspective. Ideas are relevant but underdeveloped. Provides basic solutions without detailed analysis.
1-4	Shows minimal understanding of the topic. Lacks a clear vision or proposed solutions. Ideas are vague or irrelevant to the prompt.

Score Range	Description
9-10	Exceptionally well-written with excellent organization and flow. Virtually free of grammatical and spelling errors. Engages the reader with a strong, consistent voice.
7-8	Clearly written with good structure. Minor errors that do not impede understanding. Maintains reader interest throughout most of the essay.
5-6	Adequately written but may have organizational issues. Contains several errors that slightly distract the reader. Writing is functional but lacks flair.
1-4	Poorly organized with frequent errors. Difficult to follow due to writing quality. Fails to engage the reader.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you have any other questions not addressed here, please feel free to reach out to us at support@formspal.com. We are here to assist you!