Making college more affordable by providing access to a unique portfolio of scholarships to all-around students in America's high schools

The Discus Awards honors students who do not always get the recognition they deserve, awarding college scholarships provided by our generous partners to well-rounded high school students and their families.

More than a numbers game

Traditional awards programs focus on the numbers: Test scores, grades, and win-loss records. But college admissions offices know that it takes more than academic success and athletic prowess to predict real-world success in and out of the classroom. The Discus Awards recognizes uncommon students whose character and passions are anything but average.

Ten key attributes

Discus Awards Finalists shine in more ways than one. In fact, the program highlights ten major categories, or attributes, where students can make an important contribution during high school. Every Discus Awards Finalist has a proven track-record in at least three of these attributes:

 Academics: For grades, honors, competitions...
 Arts: For drama, writing, music, film, photography...
 Athletics: For sports, training, coaching, cheerleading...
 Community Service: For volunteering, tutoring, mentoring...
 Faith: For youth groups, missions, retreats...
 Government: For student government, model UN, politics, campaigns...
 Green: For clean-ups, recycling, building awareness...
 Technology: For Web, programming, science, blogging...
 Work: For part-time jobs, family business, entrepreneurship...
 Other Achievements: For clubs, student activities, overcoming obstacles, and more...

National recognition programs often focus exclusively on grades, test scores, or athletic accomplishments.  By focusing on the whole student, the Discus Awards gives high school students the opportunity to earn recognition for being great at the things they love to do.

How it Works

Students in grades 9-12 can nominate themselves or their friends, and teachers, counselors, and parents can nominate a high school student they know. Nominations are free, and are accepted at www.DiscusAwards.com. It’s simple. Nominees pick three attributes, write a short blurb for each one, share some additional information about their activities and achievements, and provide a reference. Students are encouraged to go the extra mile with photos and videos illustrating their accomplishments. A judging panel of education professionals will review the nominations and name the winners.

Discus Awards Recognition

Recognition recipients are named year-round on a rolling basis, and highlighted in national and local media. Students can post their accomplishment to favorite social media sites, and include them in their college applications. The Discus Awards’ unconventional focus gives college admissions officers a complete, multi-faceted view of potential students.

Each school year, the Discus Awards partners with scholarship providers to identify a select group of recognition recipients who represent the cream of the cream of the crop. These exceptional all-around students are granted access to a unique portfolio of college scholarships, including the $2,000 National All-Around Student Scholarship to help pursue their talents and meet their educational goals.

Behind the Discus

The Discus Awards is owned and operated by Scholarship Strategies, LLC.  Scholarship Strategies provides high school and middle school students and their families access to a unique portfolio of scholarships to help reduce the financial burden or preparing for and pursuing a college education.