I don’t think I’ll make it. Again I had 3 typos after all the hard work I put into it. But it’s not a big deal I already have other summer writing programs in my hometown so even I don’t make it I have that
Again guys here’s a thread to the Scholastic art and writing 2018-2019 awards! 
@Lunarlitgend I’ll check it out when the Awards for that year come up. As for now, I’m waiting nervously for SAS!
Hey guys! Congrats to everyone who received a Gold Medal, and I’m proud of everyone who entered anything at all into the regional level. I merely want to share my high school journey with Scholastic Art & Writing Awards with you guys in hopes that it might lift someone’s spirits.
9th Grade:
1st time I had ever heard of this competition. I entered 2 art pieces and 1 writing piece. I received a regional Honorable Mention for the writing piece which was published in the regional book. I was overjoyed with this, even though I’ve grown so much since.
10th grade:
I submitted 5 art pieces and received a regional Silver Key for one of them. All else was a bust, but I was still content.
11th grade:
I submitted around 7 art pieces and won 1 regional Gold Key and 1 Silver Key. This made me eligible for a MECA Pre-College Scholarship which I attended this past July. My Gold Key did not receive any national awards, and I remember that being so tough to swallow. Please, don’t ever lose hope, and ESPECIALLY don’t judge yourself or base your creative worth off of one competition.
12th grade:
The year is 2018. Hope is dwindling down the drain… Haha, no, but I submitted a whopping 20 art pieces and 2 art portfolios. It was possible thanks to some generous funding from my (new) school at which myself and 3 other students are recognized as “prominent” in art.
My tired self received 6 Gold Keys, 3 Silver Keys, and 4 Honorable Mentions, as well as a Silver Key for one portfolio and an Honorable Mention for my other one. Boy, was I shocked. But you best believe I couldn’t contain myself when I opened up my e-mail yesterday to discover I had won a National Gold Medal for one of my Drawing & Illustrations.
So hopefully I will see many of you at Carnegie Hall on June 7th, and for those of you who did not make it this year, I’ll be happy knowing you’ll be taking up the mantle of this year’s graduating class with some absolutely incredible art and writing, whether the 12 judges at Scholastic deem it “worthy” or not.
My story is actually similar–so for those who didn’t win, it’s not the end of the world. 
Out of 22 regional awards over four years, it took me until senior year to win medals. If you really want it next year, put your heart into it. I started prepping for Scholastics in May, and by December I had poured everything I had into it and now I have three awards. And, at the end of the day, if you just receive a gold key, know that writing is so hard to judge. If your piece is a narrative poem and it falls into the hands of a judge that doesn’t like narrative poetry, then you’re unfortunately not going to medal. It doesn’t mean your work is bad–it’s just out of your control at that point.
I wish I could go to the National Ceremony though. 
My family trip to Disney World happens to fall that week and we already bought the tickets/reservations, so, alas, I won’t be going.
@shakuton @Aceris Thanks guys that means so much hearing that and it just pushed my ambition even more! Believe me I’ll pour my heart into my writing like I never had before and hopefully it pays off 
I can’t go to the National Ceremony either, but have fun to everyone who is going!
@shakuton I hope you don’t mind but I added you to a group chat with other writers from this thread who are preparing for Scholastic and other competitions for this and next year! And it’d be amazing if you can help us with advising and bettering our stories
just to add to @shakuton and @Aceris , i also didn’t win anything until senior year.
my sophomore year i was blessed enough to win a gold key but was crushed when i didn’t get anything at nationals.
junior year i worked my butt off for six different writing pieces only to receive 2 silver keys regionally.
this year, i told myself i’d again put my best foot forward and let all my emotions channel into my writing.
i was honored enough to receive three gold keys this year in six entries and ending up winning two gold medals. now i’m a senior ready for college and i can say i’ve learned just as much from the rejections - if not more - than i ever did from the successes. if anyone wants to talk anymore, pm good luck to all the amazing artists and writers, and remember you’re never done creating. don’t let a subjective competition discourage you from doing what you love because it’s only such a tiny piece of a much bigger art/writing world out there. thanks all for reading!
@Skipper99 thank you so much!
question: does anyone happen to know how scholastic wants paintings shipped? I have an unstretched canvas and was wondering if I should stretch it or attach it to a panel or do something else
I have a question, for the medal winners–do we have to record a video of ourselves + audio etc? Is it mandatory?
@ArtAesthete It’s not required. Idk what they do with the video, but for the audio/picture, it goes on the online gallery with your work
Ahh okay, thanks! @shakuton
Do silver medalists receive tangible medals? If so, are they sent via mail? I know that gold medalists receive their medals at the Carnegie Hall ceremony, but I’m unsure about silver medalists.
@rsiken I know that silver medalists get tangible medals but I’m unsure on how they get it
@ArtAesthete @shakuton They use your videos for Cargenie Hall. They basically merge them with other medalist recordings as a video to reflect on the passion, hard work and joy of the winners and show them during the ceremony. So it’s highly recommended but not required
Does anyone know the answer to the silver medal question?
@ArtAesthete I answered the video question as for Silver I’m not sure. I think the website should tell you as well as the directions given to Silver Medalists in their accounts for steps to acquiring their medals
Do Silver Medalists get a medal? I won gold and silver but my account only talks about getting the gold medal before the ceremony so I assumed no