Scholarship Application

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Final Video Submission Deadline: Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 10PM PT

What’s good RTSB Scholarship Applicants! Thank you for taking the time to apply for our Rock The School Bells Scholarship.  When it comes to applying for scholarships, the hardest part is deciding to apply!  Well, you made it this far.  The rest is easy.  We’ll tell you how you can apply.  This isn’t your standard, traditional scholarship application.  Hip Hop culture has always created a space for youth and communities to be creative, fresh, and innovative.  

This scholarship is an opportunity to express yourself, tell your story, be heard and enter for a chance to get a $500 RTSB scholarship! Below you will see a few instructions on how to structure your creative piece virtually (3-5 minute video). These are just the recommended instructions to help guide you, but you are more than welcome to get creative and DO YOU!

But before we go further, who can apply?  While we want anyone to apply, we are only opening this scholarship opportunity to graduating high school seniors who are intending to apply to college and current college students.

So, here we go!  Listed below are steps in applying to our RTSB Scholarship opportunity.

STEP 1:  Choose a prompt.

Please be sure to complete the required question AND choose prompt A or B to address SEPARATELY in your creative piece.

Required Question:  In what ways has Hip Hop played an instrumental role in your educational goals and experiences?  What would this scholarship mean to you?

Prompt A:  How has Hip Hop and/or other creative art forms provide you space to cope, address, and heal from challenges you have experienced in your life?

OR

Prompt B: What does infinite possibilities look like to you when it comes to education?  In other words, what is your ideal school?  What would you be able to learn?  Using your wildest imagination, what does education look like?

STEP 2: Choose one or more styles that you will use to answer Prompts A or B.

  • Graffiti*

  • DJ/Turntablism*

  • Dance*

  • Rap/Freestyle

  • Photography*

  • Poetry/Spoken Word

  • Fashion*

  • Beat Production/Beat Boxing*

  • Art/Collage*

  • Musical Instrumentation*

  • Singing/Songwriting

  • Any other art forms of your choosing

STEP 3: Craft your reflection by responding to one of the prompts using your selected style(s).


If there is an (*) next to your style(s), please be sure to do the following:

  • Tell us more about your creative process.

  • How did your piece address the question? 

  • For example, if you chose dance as a way to respond to the scholarship prompt, please share the meaning behind the choreography and how it connects to the prompt.

  • If you choose a style WITHOUT the (*), EXPRESS YOURSELF and DO YOU!

STEP 4:  Share your story on FlipGrid.

Log onto https://flipgrid.com/3601a579.

  • Follow steps 1-3 above to guide you in creating the video that best represents you and your style.

  • Once you have recorded and submitted your video, please make sure to engage and comment on at least 2 other participants' videos. Show some love and support!  This is a great way to share your talent and also network with other artists. 

  • IMPORTANT:  Please email us at info@rocktheschoolbells.com with your full name and the high school/college you are currently attending so we know that you have submitted a video application.

  • By submitting your video, you are giving RTSB permission to be able to post your video on our social media outlets, website, or any other platform.

  • If you have questions, concerns about your creative piece or looking for pre-approval of your video, please feel free to contact us at info@rocktheschoolbells.com.

So you got any video tips you can share?

Please take into consideration the following recommendations when crafting your piece:

  • Record in a well-lit room

  • Record horizontally

  • Experiment with your angles

  • Give credit to artists

  • Have clear audio

  • Avoid shaky footage

  • Do multiple shots/recordings

  • Be authentic but respectful

  • Be mindful of the language you use 

  • Have fun with your session

Rock the School Bells aligns to the Skyline College mission to empower and transform a global community of learners. Please be mindful when creating your scholarship submissions that Rock the School Bells does not support messages that can be harmful to others including racism, sexism, homophobia, or xenophobia as some examples.

So when’s the deadline and when will scholarship winners be notified?

Final video submissions are due by Wednesday, April 21 at 10PM PT.

Scholarship Winners will be announced at our final RTSB Live Twitch event on Friday, April 23.