@xineoph I emailed them and they sent out letters to all the winners (and the schools) last week. Thats not what they said they would do though! Its their first time as an affiliate.
@pacificnwgal Ohhh that makes sense. I was so worried for a second that my submission hadn’t gone through or something. Thank you! And best of luck when the letters come in!
Jerseymom, dancingmom, shakuton and dreamthief - thank you for your responses!
Hey guys! My daughter applied to Syracuse as an art major and got a Gold Key for one of her photos. She emailed admissions over the weekend and someone replied Sunday night right after the Super Bowl ended congratulating her. They told her who to send the info to and assured her that they would add the photo to SlideRoom if she emailed them a copy. She emailed them late last night the link to the Montclair art museum’s list of regional winners (which includes her name) and a copy of the photo. She then got an email back this evening from the director of recruitment and admissions again congratulating her on her Gold Key and telling her that the info has been added to her application. Bottom line: colleges see Scholastic as a big deal. If you are a senior and sent in your application months ago don’t let that deter you. Send the info about your award to the colleges you want to get into. Also, shoutout to Syracuse for having such a super attentive admission department.
has anyone started working on an SAS scholarship application?
@dreamthief001 I have! I’m currently working on some stories for it. I feel really bad because I sort of forgot about the fact that we had to submit some new work as well, lol. I’m overwhelmed about how many camps there are available! It’s really cool that Scholastic offers something like this, though I sort of doubt I’ll get a scholarship.
My fellow SAS applicants: what camps are you feeling partial to?
I’m most interested in the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio and the Shared Worlds Camp. Does anyone know if the Belin-Blank camp is any good? They sent me an email about it, so I’m wondering.
For those applying to the SAS scholarships-- did your guys Scholastics portals update with that? Mine says nothing about the camps and I wanted to apply. It might be because my region has no camps but idk.
Also does anyone want to swap work (writing)? I’m feeling down about my gold key pieces moving into nationals haha. just PM me if you want to swap. 
Congratulations to all the winners! My son got his 3rd gold key recognition for a sci-fi piece he did for his sophomore English final. It was an interesting piece but not remotely the strongest one he submitted, at least in my opinion. Actually the ones I always think are the strongest don’t ever get any recognition at all from the Awards, and the one time he was nationally recognized it was for a piece I thought was just ok. It really does seem to be very random at times…
Can any parents who have Scholastic writing award winner alumni in their families shed any light on how much or how little of a difference these awards can make on a college application, especially for a more competitive school?
Not writing but art: My daughter made a point of sending a copy of her award and a photo of the piece that won to every program she applied to. She has gotten incredibly enthusiastic congratulations back from some schools. For two programs there is some indication that her Gold Key may ultimately translate into more scholarship money. It’s actually a big deal. She notified both colleges that have already accepted her and ones where she is still awaiting a decision.
I just got an email from my regional division of the Awards! I’ve been selected for a Best of Grade Award! I’m freaking out right now!!!
I’ll clarify–regional Best of Grade. I think they announce Nationals in March like everything else.
@FlameAlchemist What is the regional best of grade? Also, are you in a at-large or affiliate?
@geometry1761 I’m pretty sure that regional best of grade is just the best writers and artists in each grade in a region, who then are entered in the national best in grade competition. I might be wrong, though. They’re supposed to call me about it, so I suppose I’ll find out. As for my region, it’s listed as a ‘region-at-large affiliate’, so I guess at-large? Hope that answers your questions.
@FlameAlchemist Thanks for the info! I just found it interesting. Also congrats!
I feel bad that I just found out about this only a couple of weeks ago. Guess I will have to try for next year. Is it a good idea to start creating writing pieces right now, despite the submission being months away? I am thinking about Poetry/Critical Essay, what would be the optimal number of pieces to create a really good submission?
i saw on the scholastic social media that writing judging has just finished today. ah, i’m so nervous for march 13th!
@Alluvial If I were you, I’d set to work now–not just because of the Awards, but because it’s always helpful to practice your writing. Besides, it can’t hurt to have a lot to submit, lol. Also, depending on your grade level you can also enter YoungArts, so you might want to have a couple extra stories to send into that. As for optimal number of pieces, I’m not really sure. Just submit your best work. A portfolio’s really where you have to think about it.
@skipper99 They just finished? Ah!!! I’m holding my breath right now. I’m really nervous as well! Crossing my fingers!
@skipper99 This makes me nervous. I agree that if you begin now the process would be better.
@JerseyMom2022 Thank you for the info!