We prepared a handy-dandy list of Zinggia art scholarship submission tips for y’all. These tips cover how to prepare and mail your art scholarship submission. Ya know, things to do and not do. This list is based on things we’ve actually seen over the years. So read up so you can avoid some of these common issues. Then head to our scholarship page to download the application.

Plagiarism isn’t cool, y’all

Can you submit artwork referenced from a photograph? Yes, you can. Nearly all artists use reference material. The hope is that they can go beyond the reference material and make a piece “their own” by not completely copying a photo as-is. We definitely don’t want artists to take another artist’s already created painting or comic character and merely trace over their work. Only submit artwork that was created by you and not “stolen” from another artist’s portfolio.

Neatness counts

If you download our PDF application, it is setup as an editable form. You can easily type your submission on the Acrobat PDF form and print it out. Most submissions we receive are handwritten which is perfectly fine. But please be neat! We can’t decipher hieroglyphics. We will not get a microscope out to read super tiny handwriting. We will get frowny faces if you scribble over text instead of erasing it. And we can seriously tell when kids rush through their application. So don’t do that either.

Can we read cursive handwriting? YES! We are like super old, so we can still read cursive handwriting. Printing is cool too though.

Can you submit an artsy-looking application? Heck yeah! You can handwrite all your answers in different colored pens. You can doodle in the margins. Just don’t be sloppy Sally!

Yo, check grammar!

Not everyone is great at spelling or grammar. We get that. Jason is awful at spelling. Alison is awesome at finding typos. And while Alison gets unnervingly giddy at finding typos, she also gets really annoyed with them. Don’t make Alison mad. Don’t make Alison’s head explode by sending a submission filled with grammatical errors and misspelled words. If Alison’s head explodes, no one will get a scholarship. OK? Have a friend or Mrs. Crabapple check your submission for typos if needed. Save Alison’s cranium and perhaps win $2,000!

Send ALL application requirements

Every year we get submissions that are incomplete. We’ve received art samples without applications! We’ve gotten applications without art samples! YIKES! It is acceptable for your school to mail a transcript or teacher recommendation letter separately if that’s their policy. However, you MUST note this on your application. On the bottom of page 3 of the application, we include a handy checklist of all requirements, because we’re cool like that!

1. 3-page application
2. Art samples
3. Transcript with GPA
4. Teacher recommendation letter
5. Let us know if transcript or letter will be mailed separately.

NOTE: If your school mails your transcript or teacher recommendation letter separately, they must also be postmarked by the deadline. If anything is postmarked after the deadline, your submission won’t be eligible.

Read all of the detailed scholarship submission requirements.

You send it, we keep it

We don’t return anything mailed to us. So please don’t send original artwork unless you want us to keep it and cherish it forever and ever and ever. Send artwork on CDs, flash drives, or as print outs.

Also, please only send the required application pieces. We do not want essays, certificates of appreciation, or copies of your parent’s tax returns (yes, we actually got this one year).

Mailing your submission

Every year we get submissions that aren’t properly packaged that get destroyed in the mail. We’ve gotten CDs without protective cases that were snapped in half. We’ve had manilla envelopes ripped with flash drives lost. Flimsy envelopes with printed samples can get folded. We recommend mailing submissions in rigid or padded envelopes. You can add cardboard backing inside a regular old manilla envelope too. Mail gets tossed in bins, smashed under packages, or manhandled by angry postal workers. Make sure your submission is protected as much as possible. We will not contact you if your CD is broken or flash drive is missing.

What the heck is a postmark?

To be eligible for our art scholarship, your submission needs postmarked by our deadline. But what the heck is a postmark? Well, we will tell you young whippersnappers what a postmark is. When you take your envelope to the post office, they will stamp it with the date and time. This indicates when the mail was accepted by the post office. If the scholarship deadline is March 2, your submission needs postmarked on or before that day. That DOES NOT mean you have to wait until the final day of the deadline to mail your submission!!! We encourage you to send it before the deadline, otherwise “Murphy’s Law” may catch up with you.

IMPORTANT NOTES: If you mail the last day of the deadline, wait in line and have the mail clerk postmark the envelope for you. If you just chuck it in the mail slot before they close, they may not postmark it until the next day (so your submission would be considered late). You do not need to pay for expensive overnight shipping either. As long as the envelope is postmarked on or before the deadline, that’s all that matters. If your school mails your transcript or teacher recommendation letter separately, they must also be postmarked by the deadline. Your scholarship will be considered late if anything is postmarked after the deadline.

Postage

Pro tip: Take your submission to the post office. They will weigh the package and apply the correct amount of postage for you. Do not guess what what the postage is. Do not put one forever stamp on a 3 pound padded envelope. That isn’t enough postage! Most large envelopes average $3-$6 for postage. Every year we get at least one submission that didn’t have enough postage on it. If mailing stuff is totally new to you, here’s what will happen if you don’t have enough postage on a package.

1. Your package will get returned to you with a note saying there was incorrect postage.

or

2. The package will be delivered to us with a note saying postage is DUE before we can collect it. Will we pay for your additional postage? No, don’t be silly Billy. We will refuse your package and it will be returned to you. We’re paying $2,000 to an art scholarship recipient. We aren’t paying for everyone’s postage too. Dang, we’re greedy.

NOTE: The post office can add tracking to your mail. Then you can check the tracking number on their website to see when your submission gets delivered to us.

Deadline Schmedline?

Um, no. If your application is postmarked after the deadline, we won’t even open it. That would be a real shame if you spent all that time preparing your submission for nothing. Don’t wait until the last minute to do your application. Just don’t. Seriously, Alison is the type of person who likes to be 2 hours early for something instead of 2 minutes late. Do you think she will have sympathy for you and accept your late submission? Bwahahahaha.

NOTE: If your school mails your transcript or teacher recommendation letter separately, they must also be postmarked by the deadline. Your application will be considered LATE and not accepted if those pieces are mailed after the deadline.

Murphy’s Law

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” If you wait to mail your submission the day of the deadline, here’s what will happen. You will get stuck in traffic behind a 16 car pile up caused by a truckload of spilled chicken tenders. You will then get pulled over by a heroic hot cop who tickets you for speeding. He will not care that you have to get to the post office and will proceed to lecture you, thus taking up more valuable time. Good thing he’s hot. You will then drive off a cliff because your GPS told you to. While swimming out of the lake, you will get attacked by a kraken who will rip your scholarship submission. Luckily, you have duct tape because you are smart and handy. You tape your submission up and run to the post office as fast as you can. But you are too late because they just closed the door one minute earlier. The mail clerk will not feel sorry for you and let you in the door after closing time. They do not like procrastinators at the post office. Neither do we. Submit your scholarship application early!

The End.