Frequently Asked Questions

The State Farm® Texas Scholar Award Program recognizes students who live throughout the state of Texas who exhibit excellence and leadership in academics and extra-curricular and co-curricular activities in their schools and communities. Fifty (50) students will be selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship, and are eligible to compete for additional scholarships of $5,000 or $10,000. Selection is based on criteria including GPA, SAT/ACT scores, class ranking, academic and extra-curricular achievements, and participation in activities in the school and community that demonstrates a commitment to excellence and good citizenship

Students must be high school seniors who excel in academics and demonstrate their diversity and leadership through current participation in UIL sanctioned extra-curricular activities and who meet the follow criteria:

• Will graduate with the Class of 2012
• Will graduate with a minimum overall GPA of 3.5 or equivalent
• Currently participates in at least one of the following UIL sanctioned extracurricular activities:

Students must be currently engaged in one or more of the following and must be confirmed by a coach, counselor, program director, or administrator.

Academics:

• Business – accounting, computer science, computer applications
• Journalism – editorial writing, feature writing, headline writing, news writing
• Language Arts – literary criticism, ready writing, spelling & vocabulary
• Math & Science – Calculator applications, mathematics, number sense, science
• Speech – cross examination debate, informative & persuasive speaking, Lincoln Douglas debate, poetry & prose interpretation

Athletics

• Fall Sports - cross country, football, team tennis
• Spring Sports – baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, wrestling

Music

• Concert – band, choir, orchestra
• Marching Band
• Medium Ensemble
• Sight-Reading – band, choir, orchestra
• Solo & Small Ensemble
• State Solo Ensemble – Divisions 1 & 2 only
• State Wind Ensemble – Divisions 1 & 2 only
• Mariachi

Other UIL Competition

• Current Issues & Events
• One-Act Play
• Social Studies

UIL Sanction-Pending

• Cheerleading
• Drill Team

High School Officials (Principals and Assistant Principals, Varsity Coaches, Program Directors, and Counselors are eligible to nominate a student for this program (accurate academic information must be supplied at the time of the nomination). All nominations must specify a Senior Counselor or School Administrator who has full access to the student’s academic and extracurricular record and who will be contacted, in the event the student is considered for selection, for validation and certification of all supplied information.

Coaches, directors, moderators, and teachers are encouraged to initiate nominations and should coordinate their efforts with the appropriate school counselor or administrator.

In order to protect the integrity of the State Farm® Texas Scholar Award program and to ensure that all information is accurate and verified by senior counselor; students, their relatives or friends are not permitted to nominate students or post information to the website directly. Those interested should check with their counselor. program director, administrator, or coach to initiate the process.

Counselors, coaches, program directors, and High School officials are invited to nominate all qualified students who meet the criteria defined above. There is no limit to how many nominees a High School can have.

The online nomination process opens at 8:00 AM (CT) on August 29th 2010 and closes at 11:59 PM (CT) on March 1st 2012.

Candidates are reviewed on a rolling basis during the course of the year and Texas Scholars will be selected in five classes:

• November 4, 2011 Class 1 Selection (5 awards)
• December 2, 2011 Class 2 Selection (5 awards)
• January 6, 2012 Class 3 Selection (10 awards)
• February 3, 2012 Class 4 Selection (15 awards)
• March 2, 2012 Class 5 Selection (15 awards)

When selected, the student’s senior counselor will be notified by phone and asked to certify the nomination information that was supplied on the website. Once these credentials are confirmed by the school administration, emails will be sent to the selected student and her/his parents; and formal letters of notification will be sent via USPS first class mail.

It is very important that contact information is provided in the most detailed and complete manner possible to expedite the notification process.

Three Hundred high-achieving seniors who demonstrate the characteristics of the program and who comply with the rules for eligibility will be recognized in this program.

• 250 will be awarded TSA Honorable Mention
  • Prize will be Framed Certificate
• 50 will receive a Texas Scholar award
  • Prize will include a one-time scholarship of $1,000
  • Personalized TSA Plaque presented by a State Farm Agent
  • “1 of 50” State Farm® Texas Scholar t-shirt
• 3 of the 50 will be awarded an Texas Scholar of Merit award
  • Prize will include an additional $5,000 Scholarship (one-time)
  • Framed Certificate presented by a State Farm Agent
  • “1 of 50” State Farm® Texas Scholar t-shirt
• 1 of the 50 will be named the Outstanding Texas Scholar
  • Prize will include an additional $10,000 Scholarship (one-time)
  • Framed Certificate presented by a State Farm Agent
  • “1 of 50” State Farm® Texas Scholar t-shirt

State Farm® will announce these winners via email and Press Releases to local and regional print and broadcast media. These students will be enshrined on the www.texasscholaraward.com website and will be announced on related Facebook and Twitter sites. In addition, State Farm will invite the Texas Scholars to participate in signature events over the following year that might be held at their college/university.

The Texas Scholar Award check and T-shirt will be sent to the student in July 2012. All other recognitions will be granted during at presentations held in May and June of 2012.

Please visit the Texas Scholar Award nomination website http://www.texasscholaraward.com/Nomination/NewNomination to register yourself and your school in this year’s program and to receive your personal ID and Password. The website contains complete information on the program’s rules. If you registered for the 2010-2011 Program, your login information is unchanged and you are already registered for this year.

Once registered, you will be able to compile all information on the student, and then visit the secured State Farm® Texas Scholar Award nomination website to enter/update the information needed to complete the nomination. The nomination will not be considered until all required information is provided and the “Submit” button is clicked.

If you are unable to nominate on-line or have questions, please contact the TSA Program Support at TSASupport@texasscholaraward.com or by calling the TSA Program Support Center at 855.696.1122.

It is of critical importance that all information be supplied as completely as possible. Incomplete nominations will not be accepted, and the selection of the winners will be based on the details supplied by the counselor during the nomination process. The qualifications of the nominees are uniformly high so the differentiation established in the application is of significant value.

Please visit the Texas Scholar Award nomination website www.texasscholaraward.com/nominate to register yourself and your school in this year’s program and to receive your personal ID and Password. The website contains complete information on the program’s rules. If you registered for the 2010-2011 Program, your login information is unchanged and you are already registered for this year. If you forget your password, click on the “Forgot my password” link and we will immediately send an email with your password to your registered email address.

Talk with your counselor, coach, program director/moderator, or school administrator to verify that you qualify and to get nominated for this scholarship program. Students will be selected based on the strength of their academic performance, and extra-curricular achievements and contributions to their schools and communities.

The Texas Scholar Award check from State Farm® will be made payable to the order of the student and can be used however he/she deems necessary to further his/her education. The award can be deferred or spread over multiple semesters (if so desired by the Texas Scholar). If this option is selected, the prize money is held in the name of the Texas Scholar and does not earn interest.

The following information is requested and will be important in the selection and notification processes. The Counselor is encouraged to supply as much of the requested, but optional, information as possible.
Nominations will not be accepted unless all “Required ★” elements are entered.

Nomination Information

• Name ★
• Address ★
• Telephone ★
• Email ★
• Date of Birth ★
• Graduation Year ★

Parent/Guardian Information (at least one Parent/Guardian must be given)

• Parent/Guardian “A” Name ★
• Parent/Guardian “A” Address ★
• Parent/Guardian “A” Telephone ★
• Parent/Guardian “A” Email
• Parent/Guardian “B” Name
• Parent/Guardian “B” Address
• Parent/Guardian “B” Telephone
• Parent/Guardian “B” Email

Academic Information

• GPA and Scale ★
• Rank and class size ★
• SAT/SAT2 scores ★
• ACT scores
• Special honors
• Academic achievements

UIL Information

• Primary activity ★
• Secondary activity
• Other UIL activities
• Extra-curricular and co-curricular achievements and awards

Extracurricular Information

• Community/faith-based extracurricular activities
• Employment activities and/or achievements

References

• Up to 2 recommendations from administrators, coaches, counselors, program directors/moderators, or faculty

The information requested on the form tells us about you/your nominee, and what (in your opinion) qualifies him/her for consideration as a Texas Scholar.

Some items (that are flagged ★) must be filled in before the nomination will be accepted for consideration.

The remainder of the information is optional. However, since the majority of nominees are of comparable high standing (in terms of GPA, Rank, and sports involvement) the differentiation between students is often made based on the supplemental information supplied in this nomination.

Nominees are also encouraged to supply up to two recommendations per nomination which can be written by administrators, counselors, faculty, or coaches and program directors/moderators.

The rules for the 2011-2012 Texas Scholar Award Program are listed on the website and all frequently asked questions are answered here. However, if you are unable to nominate on-line or have questions, please contact the TSA Program Support Center by sending an email to TSASupport@texasscholaraward.com or by speaking to one of our TSA Support Representatives at 855.696.1122 (between 8 AM and 4 PM (CT) Monday through Friday).