Scholarship Committee: Reviewer Information Center
Tentative Review Timeline (Subject to Change)
Updates: 2/17/2025
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- If you’ve forgotten your SUBMITTABLE password or login, please use the guide here to recover: https://submittable.help/en/articles/9508596-changing-your-password-faqs
- We were notified that the pronouns are not visually available to the reviewers in this round. (This section is currently labeled “concealed” in the form.) Some applicants have included their pronouns in their bios and/or identity narratives. If pronouns are missing and needed for your review comments, please use first names and they/them in your submission notes as needed, until we are able to correct this error. Thank you!
- If you need to edit an application that you’ve already submitted, please email the Highlights Foundation team and we can open the review for you.
Scholarship Reviewer Office Hour and FAQs
Scholarship Committee Roles & Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of the Scholarship Review Committee include:
- Allocating time to review scholarship applications based on talent/promise and seriousness of purpose. Round one generally involves reviewing up to 30 applications, and round two involves reviewing up to 15 applications. This includes scoring applicants on a 1-5 scale for talent/promise and seriousness of purpose, and providing 1-2 sentence insights based on your given score.
- Maintaining confidentiality throughout the review process. If you come across concerning material, please bring it forward to members of the Highlights Foundation and/or notify the review team if you have a personal connection to an application (this is not a conflict, though it helps alleviate any concerns you might have).
We understand that caring for storytellers requires dedication and time away from your own creativity. As a token of our appreciation, we hope you will accept a two-night gift certificate from the Highlights Foundation for your own personal retreat or to share with another creative. You will receive information about redeeming this certificate after the review process.
FAQs
What if I am unsure how "serious" someone is about writing for kids and teens?
Is talent/promise scored the same for someone who is "aspiring" as it is for someone who is "established"?
This is one reason we do ask participants to self-select where they are “on their journey” and to provide more information in their narrative responses. Think of the sample on a spectrum of promise. Would a scholarship help this person move forward? That may mean, move forward because there is something special about the concept, but they would need some support to learn the craft, or it might mean, move forward because they are writing highly exceptional stories, and this award could give them time and space to do more! We hope you’ll use your own talents to score for “promise” and think about what an award from the Highlights Foundation could help this writer or illustrator do next.
How do I score "talent" if a sample wasn't attached?
If a sample wasn’t attached most likely it is because this person is an illustrator and they’ve provided a link to their online portfolio or website for you to review their work. (If someone left off both a sample and/or a link, we’ve reached out to them from our staff.) That said, if you encounter a problem with the link or with their sample, please reach out to one of us.
What if I am unsure if I am the best person to review this submission and/or I know the person I am reviewing and fear I might be biased?
If you are unsure about how to score an applicant, please use messaging capabilities in Submittable to let us know. We will pass that applicant onto another reviewer. Please also feel free to bring this specific concern our Qustion and Answer session.
How are my scores used?
The combination of scores (seriousness of purpose and talent) will help us determine if the applicant continues on to additional rounds. Last year we received more than 600 applicants for a limited number of scholarships. Your review of these applicantions help us narrow that pool to the most qualified applicants, so that we may award scholarships thougthfully and accordingly.
