Scholarship Contest Official Rules

$6,000 Scholarship for Black Women in STEM

No purchase is necessary to enter or win this scholarship contest. A purchase or payment of any kind will not increase your chances of winning.

Sponsor

The BestColleges Black Women in STEM Scholarship Contest (“Scholarship Contest”) is sponsored by Higher Education Coqui, LLC, operating as “Best Colleges,” 1423 Red Ventures Drive, Fort Mill, SC 29707 (“Sponsor”).

Administrator

This Scholarship Contest is administered by The University Network (TUN, Inc.), a Delaware corporation with its headquarters at 99 Wall St, #2508, New York, NY 10005 (“Administrator”).

Eligibility

This Scholarship Contest is open only to individuals who are legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who intend to enroll or are enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students in accredited colleges and universities in the United States for the 2024-25 academic year, who are at least 17 years of age, who identify as a cisgender, transgender, or gender non-conforming Black woman, and who are pursuing a STEM-related career field.

Entry Period

The entry period for this Scholarship Contest begins on March 15, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. and ends on July 15, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. (all times in these Official Rules are Eastern Time) (the “Entry Period”). All entries must be received by the Sponsor during the Entry Period.

How to Enter

• Write an essay with a maximum of 500 words on why you are pursuing a STEM degree and how you will impact the world through your contemplated STEM career.
• Submit your application through the online form.

Entries must: (a) be original to you and not previously published or submitted to any other contest, sweepstakes or promotion (and you must own or control the copyright to your Entry and have sufficient rights to submit the work to this Scholarship Contest and to grant permission to the Sponsor to use the Entry, as described below); (b) be suitable for general audiences and not offensive, obscene, defamatory or illegal; and (c) not contain any personally-identifiable information of any person other than yourself nor violate the rights of others or any applicable law. Personally-identifiable information is any information or data that could potentially be used to identify a particular person, such as a full name, social security number, driver’s license number, or email address.

Winner Selection

All entrants and Entries are subject to verification. After the Entry Period, the Administrator will review all eligible Entries received by the Sponsor that have not been disqualified. On or about August 1, 2024, the Administrator will select five (5) winning Entries in accordance with the following criteria:

• Category 1: Thoughtfulness of response – Fifty percent (50%)
• Category 2: Relevance to question – Thirty percent (30%)
• Category 3: Quality of composition – Fifteen percent (15%)
• Category 4: Grammatical accuracy – Five percent (5%)

In the case of a tie, winner submissions will be selected based on their thoughtfulness of response and relevance to the question, as compared to the other finalists.

The winning entrants will be notified by email to the email address provided in the Entry (the “Winner Notification”). Potential winners may be required, within five (5) days of Winner Notification being sent, to provide to the Administrator further contact and residence information and to execute and deliver a written affidavit of eligibility, acceptance of these Official Rules, release of liability/publicity, scholarship disbursement forms, and other reasonable documentation. (In the event that a potential winner does not timely comply, disqualification may result and an alternate winner may be selected based on the criteria listed above.)

Odds of Winning

The odds of winning depend on the quality and number of eligible entries received.

Scholarships

Five (5) scholarships will be awarded, each consisting of a check in the amount of US $6,000 made payable to each winner’s school, for the benefit of the winner’s education expenses (the “Scholarship Prize”). The Administrator will issue these payments on or before August 31, 2024, unless otherwise directed by the winner(s).

Identity of Entrant

Potential winners may be required to provide the Sponsor with proof of identification, in the Administrator’s sole discretion.

Scholarship Prize Recipient Publicity

Except where prohibited, Scholarship Prize recipients will be required to supply their image and agree that by entering the Scholarship Contest, they grant to the Sponsor (and any division or affiliate of the Sponsor), without any limitation or further compensation or notice, the right to use and publish their name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting the Sponsor and for future scholarship programs sponsored by Sponsor.

Scholarship Prize recipients further agree that they grant to the Sponsor (and any division or affiliate of the Sponsor): (a) the right to use and publish their submission information; and (b) a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up license to display, publish, reproduce, communicate to the public, perform, distribute, adapt, edit, modify, translate, create derivative works based on, and otherwise use and sublicense, their Entry, or any portion thereof, via the Sponsor’s website, and in the Sponsor’s trade, advertising or other promotional materials in any media, without further compensation or notification to, or permission from, them or any third party. For these purposes, Scholarship Prize recipients waive all “moral rights” under any applicable law to either object to modification of their Entry or require artistic credit in conjunction with their Entry. To the extent such waivers are not permitted by applicable law, Scholarship Prize recipients agree not to enforce such moral rights against the Sponsor. Scholarship Prize recipients agree that it is their sole responsibility to obtain all permissions and releases necessary for the grant of the rights contained in this paragraph. Scholarship Prize recipients also agree to take, at the Sponsor’s expense (but without compensation to Scholarship Prize recipients), any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits, licenses, and other documents) reasonably requested by the Sponsor to effect, perfect, or confirm the Sponsor’s rights set forth in these Official Rules. The Sponsor will have no obligation to publish, use or retain any Entry Scholarship Prize recipients submit or to return any such Entry to the Scholarship Prize recipients.

Scholarship Prize recipients will be required to: (i) certify that they were an adult at the time they submitted their application, or (ii) If a Scholarship Prize recipient was a minor at the time of application, have their legal guardian agree to the terms and conditions herein on the Scholarship Prize recipient’s behalf within ten (10) days of request from the Administrator, or the entrant with the next highest score will become an alternate potential Scholarship Prize Recipient.

Non-Infringing Entry Materials

You represent and warrant that: (a) you have the right to grant the rights granted in these Official Rules or, alternatively, you have obtained all necessary rights and permissions to use and submit your Entry in connection with the Contest and to provide all the rights specified in these Official Rules; and (b) your Entry and the use of your Entry as contemplated in these Official Rules does not and will not violate, misappropriate, or infringe upon any law or regulation or the rights of any third party, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, or any rights of publicity or privacy, or any other intellectual property or other rights.

Release of Liability

The Sponsor and Administrator will not be responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete, damaged, or misdirected entries or for any technical or human error in administration of this Scholarship Contest and accepts no responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from an entrant’s participation in this Scholarship Contest. By entering this Scholarship Contest, you release the Sponsor and the Administrator, and of their affiliates and representatives from any liability whatsoever and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with this Scholarship Contest or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use a prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses, and damages related to personal injuries, death, and damage to or destruction of property, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), or warranty, or any other theory.

Your Personal Data

The Administrator collects, stores, and processes the personal information you submit in your scholarship submission necessary to administer this Scholarship Contest (your “Data”). When you enter this Scholarship Contest, your Data is stored and processed at the Administrator’s locations in the United States. If you are a finalist, the essay portion of your Data will be shared with the Sponsor. If you are a Scholarship Prize recipient, your Data will be shared with the Sponsor as indicated above.

The Administrator may use your contact information to confirm receipt of your application, to gather more information if there are questions regarding your application, to send you notifications regarding your status, or for communication necessary to administer this scholarship. When you send email or other communications electronically, the Administrator may retain those communications to process your inquiries, respond to your request or question, and improve its services.

Other than as provided herein, your Data will not be shared with third parties without your explicit consent.

Additional Terms & Conditions

By entering this Scholarship Contest, you certify that you have complied with and accept these Official Rules and are eligible to win, and you give your express permission to be contacted by the Sponsor and the Administrator through any email address or telephone number you provide in connection with this Scholarship Contest.

If notification to a potential Scholarship Prize recipient is returned as undeliverable, the Applicant with the next highest score may become an alternate potential Scholarship Prize Recipient

This Scholarship Contest and these Official Rules will be governed, construed, interpreted, and enforced under the laws of the State of California. This Scholarship Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws, and is void where prohibited. The Sponsor reserves the right to amend these Official Rules or to terminate this Scholarship Contest in the event of any technical issues that corrupt the application process or any force majeure event that makes it impossible to complete the Scholarship Contest process as intended. Additionally, unless otherwise prohibited by law, Sponsor reserves the right to limit the number of Scholarship Prizes awarded (or award none at all) if there are insufficient applicants who meet the criteria for this Scholarship Content. Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect.

For a copy of the winners’ list or these Official Rules, send a written request with a self-addressed, business-size return envelope to: Scholarships, The University Network, 99 Wall Street, #2508, New York, NY 10005.