Judging & Awards

Each year, up to 120 students will share as much as $456,000 in college scholarships, with the top two national winners each receiving a $50,000 college scholarship. Scholarships can be used for educational expenses at accredited colleges or universities in the United States. The judging and awards process will take place in three rounds, as described below:

Semifinalist Round
YES Competition judges will select up to 120 Semifinalists based on the quality of their written Research Project Reports. Of these 120, up to 60 will receive scholarship awards of $1000, completing their participation in the competition. The other 60 Semifinalists—up to 10 from each of six regions of the country defined by the College Board—will advance to compete at the Regional Finals.

Regional Finalist Round
The students advancing to the Regional Finals will receive an expense-paid trip to the YES National Event in Washington, D.C., April 2008, to compete with other students in their region. Regional Finalists will be judged on the basis of their written research reports, as well as an oral presentation and question-and-answer session. Forty-eight of the Regional Finalists will receive scholarship awards of $2,000, completing their participation in the competition. Twelve Regional Finalists—two from each of the six regions—will go on to compete at the National Finals.

National Finalist Round
The 12 students advancing to the National Finals will be judged by a national panel of judges on the basis of their written Research Project Reports, oral presentations and question-and-answer sessions.

YES college scholarship awards to the 12 National Finalists:

Six will receive scholarship awards of $15,000 each.
Two will receive scholarship awards of $20,000 each.
Two will receive scholarship awards of $35,000 each.
The top two national winners will receive scholarship awards of $50,000 each.

Award Notification

March 25, 2008: 2007-08 Semifinalists and Regional Finalists announced on the YES website
April 2008: YES Regional/National Competition, Washington D.C.

Next Page: Instructions to Enter