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Anyone who knew Joe Foss, or is familiar with his life knows that Joe believed in service to others and his country. His words: “I’m proud to be an American. I’m humbled to have been able to serve this great country and fight for its matchless Constitution;” reflect the values by which he lived.

The Joe Foss Institute has developed video and essay scholarship contests that ask students to take time to consider what the Founding documents mean, as well as the sacrifices made by those brave Americans defending our freedoms. In each contest, they invite high school students to submit an entry based upon a selected theme. This year’s theme is "American Flag & Anthem Etiquette." This contest is open to U.S citizens of all national backgrounds that are currently studying in the United States or in an American military school out of the country. Eligible contestants must be high school students in a public, private, alternative, parochial school, or a home study program. Previous JFI scholarship recipients are not eligible.

For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

In an effort to help talented low-income high school students get into and succeed in college, Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced a new initiative to do just that.

According to The New York Times, the effort will involve hiring 130 full-time college counselors and enlisting 4,000 college students as part-time advisers. Using video chat, email, telephone and text, they will mimic the support network — composed of guidance counselors, teachers, parents and friends — that more affluent high school students take for granted. "Many of America's brightest students don’t apply to college simply because they lack access to the right information and guidance, particularly students from low- and middle-income families who want to go to competitive colleges but don’t think they can afford it. That limits their opportunities and contradicts what we stand for as a society – and it holds us back as a nation because it prevents so many smart young people from contributing to the best of their abilities,” said Michael R. Bloomberg. This new initiative aims to directly help as many as 65,000 students a year! (For more on this story, click here.)

Share your thoughts on Bloomberg Philanthropies new initiative in the comments section. And don't forget to try and fund your college education with as much free money as possible; a great place to start is by creating a free profile on Scholarships.com, as our scholarship search allows you to search more than 2.7 million college scholarships and grants worth more than $1.9 billion!

For most high school students, senior year is chock-full with college to-dos. From finalizing where you'll go and what you'll study to applying for scholarships and getting your financial aid in order, the list is quite long but what about those students who don't have their sights set on college after graduation? If you're a student at a high school in Oregon, gaining acceptance into a post-secondary institution will soon be a prerequisite for graduating regardless of your stance on obtaining a college education.

Corbett School District Superintendent Randy Trani's proposal would require each student to be admitted into an institution of higher education but they would not be obligated to attend. He went on to explain that the requirement would not stop a student from graduating since all Oregon high school graduates are eligible for spots at local community colleges as long as they apply. The district school board will vote on the proposal in December with many expecting it to pass. Interestingly enough, some are suggesting an ulterior motive for the modification: According to an editorial piece in The Oregonian, there is speculation that the proposal would help the prestigious high school maintain its current standing – fifth best high school in the nation – on Newsweek’s Best High Schools list. (Having a 100-percent college acceptance rate would undoubtedly increase their ranking, even if every student was “accepted” into non-selective community colleges.) Trani is quick to discredit that claim and told the editorial board that the plan was “just one step among many we’ve been taking for 10 years. We want to make this change so kids have more choice.” (For more on this story, click here.)

If the high school is requiring a student to be admitted into a college but not attend, what purpose do you think it might serve the student? Let us know in the comments section.

Five years after the financial crisis, recent college graduates (and folks in general!) still find themselves struggling with a stagnant job market. And with the slow pace of job growth looming, internships are a great way to for students to boast their resumes, gain experience in their fields of study and become more viable candidates once the economy does improve. Plus, according to a survey of more than 1,000 employers, 56.5-percent made full-time offers to their interns just last year. So if you're looking for a college that makes internship participation a priority, check out U.S. News and World Report's top colleges with the highest rate of undergraduates graduating with internship experience below:

• Bennington College - 100%
• College of the Atlantic – 100%
• Delaware Valley College – 100%
• Holy Cross College – 100%
• Lasell College – 100%
• Massachusetts Maritime Academy – 100%
• Wagner College – 100%
• William Peace University – 100%
• Burlington College – 94%
• American University – 90%
• Bentley University – 90%
• Husson University – 90%
• Taylor University – 90%

In a perfect world, every student would have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and an insatiable passion for learning. Reality check: We don't live in a perfect world and motivating underachieving students to perform well in school and on standardized tests is a serious challenge. What should educators do? The school board in Huntsville, Alabama has decided to try an approach many exasperated parents have considered: cold, hard cash for high ACT scores.

To encourage students to apply themselves while ensuring the district maintains an academic edge in the state, the school board unanimously agreed to pay students for achieving benchmark scores on the ACT. Here’s the breakdown: Benchmark scores will be set and for every component of the test a student reaches a benchmark score, $50 will be earned. If a student gets an overall score of 22 or higher, they’ll get an extra $100 and students will have the opportunity to earn $300 total! "The ACT is important," said Superintendent Casey Wardynski. "It's important for our kids but they may not all realize it because they're taking it junior year, or some may not think they're going to college or want to have that test under their belt for when they do choose to go to college," she added.

With another round of standardized test dates just around the corner, students are praising the initiative while concerned parents are questioning where the funds will come from and if it's a form of bribery. So, future ACT test takers, where do you stand? Do you think providing a financial incentive is right way to motivate students or not? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Whether you're putting pen to paper, live tweeting campus events or blogging until the wee hours of the morning, one thing is certain: Sharing information is your passion. And you know what? It's ours, too, so let's join forces through Scholarships.com's virtual intern program!

Over the last 15 years, Scholarships.com has been a go-to site not only for high schoolers in search of financial aid but for college students living away from home for the first time, trying to balance limited money for food and fun, and adjusting to postsecondary academic expectations. We have plenty of information on those topics and more but we want to hear from you about what's going on at the campus you call home for the majority of the year. From parties to politics, from housing to hazing, and from class registration to commencement exercises, let us know what's trending at your school and your musings could be featured regularly on our blog.

The Germans from Russia Heritage Society Youth Essay Contest encourages students from around the world to learn about the history and culture of the German-Russians, people who emigrated from Germany into Russia during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, in the USA, Canada and other countries in the Western Hemisphere, these people have become known as Germans from Russia.

The GRHS Essay Contest is open to all students attending public, private, parochial or home schools and to students attending accredited universities as full-time undergraduate students. The subject of the paper must be directly related to German-Russian history heritage or culture and be the contestant’s original work. A contestant does not need to be ethnic German-Russian to enter the contest. Resubmission of previously judged work is not permitted.

For more on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

Growing up, were you a Pizza Hut BOOK IT! kid? Who wasn’t? Their pizza-based incentive program helped motivate millions of young readers over the years and it’s back: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of its reading program, Pizza Hut is inviting alumni to participate in BOOK IT! one last time!

If you’re a bit rusty on the terms of the program, allow me to remind you: Students kindergarten through sixth grade who meet monthly reading goals are awarded a voucher for a one-topping personal pan pizza. Since its inception in 1984, 60 million students have participated in the program. And if you are indeed a BOOK IT! alumni, you can register at Pizza Hut’s alumni site and get your very own personal pan pizza Oct. 1st – 10th. "The number one thing we get asked by any adult who went through the program is can we please develop an adult version of the BOOK IT Program," Shelley Morehead, BOOK IT! Program Manager, said in a statement. "With the creation of the BOOK IT! Alumni page, we now have a destination to celebrate the positive memories that so many kids, now adults, have with the program."

If Pizza Hut extended the program to adults, would you participate? Share your thoughts on reading-incentive programs in the comments section below. And don't forget to create a Scholarships.com profile to find personalized financial aid opportunities to fund your college education. Our scholarship search allows you to search more than 2.7 million college scholarships and grants worth more than $1.9 billion.

The American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship Program is unlike many traditional scholarship essay contests. That’s because instead of writing an essay, applicants will read one. That’s right!

To apply, students must go online and read a short essay about sprinklers and fire safety. After finishing, they complete a 10-question quiz on what they just read. Each correct answer gives the student a chance at winning one of 10 $2,000 scholarships (maximum 10 chances per entrant).

The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) Scholarship Contest is open to high school seniors in the United States who plan to further their education at a college/university or certified trade school in the United States. Home-schooled students may apply as long as your course of study is equivalent to that of a senior in high school. For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

As a Scholarships.com member, you have free access to a customized scholarship search, detailed financial aid information, an organized college search, standardized test study guides and much more. Like what you see? Spread the word about Scholarships.com to your friends through our “Tell A Friend” Scholarship and you'll have a chance to win money for college - $1,000 for you and $500 for one of your buddies.

To enter, simply copy your personalized TAF referral link and blog it, tweet it, email it, IM it or Facebook it. For every one of your friends who creates a profile on our site by clicking your link, you will be entered to win a $1,000 award; there’s no limit as to how many people you can send your link to and if you win, one of your friends who created a Scholarships.com profile using your link will be chosen at random to win $500.

For more information, visit our Tell a Friend Scholarship page and for additional scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!