At ModernBrain, we believe that every student deserves access to the best educational resources, regardless of their background or financial status. That's why we're proud to offer our Speak Up Scholarship for in-need students.

Our scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance to students who are passionate about speech and debate, mock trial, and Model United Nations, but may face financial barriers to participating in competitions and tournaments. We want to ensure that every student who is interested in this rewarding activity has the opportunity to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential.

Eligibility:

• To be eligible for the scholarship, students must demonstrate (1) a commitment to the public speaking programs and (2) financial need. Applicants must be enrolled in elementary, middle, or high school.

Application Process:

• The scholarship application should be sent in an email to [email protected].
  
  • Email title: Please include the email title "Speak Up Scholarship Application - [Your first and last name]."
  • Personal information: Include your/your parent/guardian's name, address, and phone number in the email's body.
  • Educational background: Describe your current school, GPA, and any academic achievements or awards in the email's body.
  • Commitment to public speaking: Detail your competitive communications experience (such as your tournament results) in the email's body.
  • Request: The Speak Up scholarship gives selected students access to a ModernBrain class of their choice (depending on coach availability/scheduling). Tell us your desired class(es) in the email's body, referencing our Course Catalogue.
  • Financial need: Include an attached letter of financial need, describing any financial aid or scholarships they are currently receiving, and why they need additional financial assistance to participate in speech and debate activities. This letter must be signed.
  • Video: Include an attached recorded video, addressing why the applicant is passionate about competitive communication, how they have overcome challenges in their participation, and how the scholarship will help them achieve their goals. This is best sent as a Youtube/Vimeo link.
  • Letter of recommendation: Applicants should include an attached letter of recommendation from their speech and debate coach or knowledgeable teacher, highlighting the applicant's strengths, accomplishments, and potential for success.
  • All of these elements should be included in a single email (as opposed to several separate messages). Any missing elements may result in disqualification of the submission.

• Applications will be reviewed by a committee of speech and debate experts. Recipients will be announced within a month of submission. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on their passion for and commitment to competitive communications and financial need. All terms and conditions that apply to our non-scholarship private and Nationals Team students will also apply to scholarship recipients.

Scholarship recipients will receive access to exclusive training materials and resources to help them improve their skills and succeed in their competitions--specifically, they will be granted tuition-free access to the ModernBrain class to which they are applying. Applicants should review our Course Catalogue to see our classes; we cannot grant training scholarships for classes that we don't teach. For example, a student may submit a scholarship for our Speech Nationals Team, Debate Nationals Team, Congress Nationals Team, Mock Trial Nationals Team, or private tutoring in any of our areas of expertise.

Scholarship recipients agree to allow ModernBrain to use their name, photograph, and essay for publicity and promotional purposes related to the scholarship. Scholarship recipients are NOT required to compete under ModernBrain's team name. ModernBrain reserves the right to disqualify any applicant who fails to meet the eligibility requirements or who provides false or misleading information in their application. ModernBrain reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the scholarship program at any time without prior notice.