$2,500 COLLEGE RAPTOR SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
1. CONTEST ENTRY PERIODS: The $2,500 College Raptor Scholarship Contest (the “Contest”) begins 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) on October 1, 2024 and ends 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2024 (the “Contest Period”).
2. ELIGIBILITY: The Contest is open only to those legal residents of the 50 United States, D.C., and U.S. Territories, who are 16 years of age or older at the time of entry and are students or prospective students who are enrolled or intending to enroll in an accredited undergraduate/graduate post-secondary institution no later than Fall 2026. Current employees, officers, directors and agents of College Raptor, Inc. (“Sponsor”) and its affiliates and members of their immediate families (defined as spouse, parents, siblings and children) and persons residing at the same address are not eligible to participate or win. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
3. HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Contest, beginning October 1, 2024, an Applicant (defined below) must submit a completed scholarship application online at the Sponsor’s website (www.collegeraptor.com/2500scholarship) during the Contest Period. Limit one (1) application per person. To be considered an applicant (“Applicant”), a person must register with www.CollegeRaptor.com, use the College Match tool and submit a short original, previously unpublished response to one of the scholarship topics (“Submission”). If Applicant is not 18 years of age or older, they must have permission from a parent or legal guardian (“Parent”) prior to entry. Your Submission must be written in English, with correct spelling and grammar. Once your Submission has been submitted, no substitutions of new drafts or corrected pages will be accepted. Use of any automated or computer system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Normal Internet access and usage charges imposed by your online service may apply. If entering via mobile device, normal phone/data and usage charges imposed by your phone service may apply. By submitting your submission, you grant Sponsor a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, translate, publicly perform and publicly display and create derivative works from and display each submitted Submission, and with right to use, copy, modify, edit, and create derivative works there from, and agrees to waive any and all moral rights that the Applicant may have in the Submission with respect to the uses contemplated herein, and to execute documents confirming such right and license at Sponsor’s reasonable request. No information regarding Submissions, other than as otherwise set forth in these Official Rules, will be disclosed. By participating in the Contest, you fully and unconditionally accept and agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding, and you understand that your Submission (or portion thereof) may be posted online, in Sponsor’s sole discretion.
4. CONTEST ENTRY GUIDELINES: Submissions shall not:
a. Contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to, privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement;
b. Contain material that is inappropriate, indecent, obscene, hateful, tortious, defamatory, or libelous;
c. Contain material that is unlawful, in violation of, or contrary to the laws or regulations in any state where the entry is created;
d. Disparage Sponsor or any other person or party affiliated with the Contest;
e. Contain information known by Entrant to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
f. Contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age, or any other legally prohibited basis; or
g. Contain, incorporate or reference any content that is owned by any third party or entity, would require the consent of any third party or entity in any jurisdiction, or which infringes any third party’s copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity, right of privacy, moral rights, and/or any other applicable personal or proprietary rights.
5. SELECTION OF POTENTIAL WINNERS: No later than March 1, 2025, a qualified panel of judges will review the Submissions and select one (1) potential winner of the $2,500 prize and one (1) potential runner-up winner of a $1,000 prize based on the following judging criteria: GPA (25%), college entrance exam score (either ACT or SAT) (25%) and essay (50%). In the event that an Applicant has not taken either the ACT or SAT college entrance exam, the Application will be evaluated on GPA (50%) and essay (50%). Sponsor will select at least two (2) of the submitted Applications as the potential Prize Winning Applications. In the event of a tie, the potential winner will be the Applicant with the higher score for overall excellence. The potential winners will be notified by e-mail, at which time he/she will be required to sign further documentation as explained below. Sponsor shall have no liability for any potential winner notification that is lost, intercepted or not received by the potential winner for any reason. Sponsor reserves the right to choose no winner if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Submissions. Portions of the prize winning Submissions may be posted on the Sponsor’s website, or used in other marketing materials, without further compensation or notice to the winner.
6. PRIZES: One (1) overall winner will receive a scholarship in the amount of two thousand five hundred dollars and zero cents ($2,500.00) and one (1) runner-up winner will receive a scholarship in the amount of one thousand dollars and zero cents ($1,000.00) (each, a “Scholarship”). The Scholarships will be in the form of a check made payable directly to the accredited post-secondary institution of higher education attended by the winners (once the winner has enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education and submitted proof of enrollment to Sponsor). Each winner shall submit to Sponsor proof of enrollment on or before 12/31/2026. The Scholarships may not be assigned, transferred, or changed, except at the sole discretion of Sponsor. No cash equivalent prize will be awarded. The awarding of any Scholarship is contingent upon full compliance with these Official Rules and subject to Sponsor’s verification of Applicant and Applicant’s Submission. All Applicants agree to be bound by Official Rules, and if selected to be a winner of one of the Scholarships, agree that if they fail to provide proof of identity, refuse to provide required affidavit, high school transcript, official ACT or SAT scores, refuse to complete and provide any requested tax forms (including IRS W-9 form), is found to have violated the Official Rules or otherwise does not meet eligibility criteria, the Scholarship will be forfeited and the Submission with the next highest score will become an alternate potential Scholarship winner. Applicants understand that Sponsor is not liable for injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising from participation in this Contest and acceptance, possession and use of Scholarship. Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the Contest or in the announcement of the Scholarship. Taxes on prizes are sole responsibility of winners. Winners may be issued 1099 tax forms.
7. PRIVACY: By entering a Submission, you acknowledge that Sponsor and its related companies may also call and/or send you information it thinks may be of interest to you, subject to Sponsor’s Privacy Policy at www.collegeraptor.com/Home/Privacy. Sponsor collects information on Applicants when they enter Submissions for use in the administration of the Contest. The information collected is subject to such Privacy Policy.
8. PUBLICITY: Except where prohibited, by accepting a Scholarship Prize, the Scholarship Prize Recipients agree that Sponsor may, without any limitation or further compensation or notice, use his or her name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting the Website, the Sponsor, the Scholarship Program, or any other promotion, contest or sweepstakes sponsored by College Raptor, Inc.
9. OWNERSHIP: By submitting an Submission, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) Sponsor will own your Submissions, including your written response submission, and (b) as between you and Sponsor, Sponsor will own all publishing rights in and to the Submission. Each Applicant hereby irrevocably grants, transfers, sells, assigns and conveys to the Sponsor, its successors and assigns, all present and future right, title and interest of every kind and nature whatsoever, including, without limitation, all copyrights, and all rights incidental, subsidiary, ancillary or allied thereto (including, without limitation, all derivative rights) in and to the Submission and the written response submission(s) for exploitation throughout the universe, in perpetuity, by means of any and all media and devices whether now known or hereafter devised (the “Rights”). Sponsor shall have the right, in its sole discretion, to edit, composite, morph, scan, duplicate, or alter, the Submission for any purpose which Sponsor deems necessary or desirable, and each Applicant irrevocably waives any and all so-called moral rights they may have in the Submission submitted by him or her. Each Applicant hereby acknowledges that they do not reserve any rights in and to the Submission.
10. DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Except where prohibited, by participating, Applicant agrees that all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participants and Sponsor and their agents shall be governed by and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws of the state of Iowa without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law of any jurisdiction. Applicant agrees that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Contest, or awarding of the Scholarships, shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in the state of Iowa and Applicant hereby consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. Except where prohibited, by participating in this Contest, Applicant agrees that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest, or awarding of the Scholarships, shall be resolved individually,; and (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Contest but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any participant be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. APPLICANT HEREBY AGREES THAT THEY WILL NOT BRING A CLASS ACTION OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION AGAINST SPONSOR WITH RESPECT TO A CONTEST. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
11. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES/INDEMNIFICATION. Each person who enters this Contest represents and warrants to Sponsor as follows: (i) the Submission, is the Applicant’s own original, previously unpublished, and previously unproduced work; and (ii) the written response portion of the Submission (x) is wholly original with Applicant and as of the date of submission, is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim; (y) neither infringes upon nor violates the intellectual property rights or other rights of any other person or entity; and (z) does not and will not violate any applicable laws, and meets the Contest Entry Requirements set forth above. Each Applicant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold the Sponsor harmless from and against any and all third party claims, actions or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses relating to or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations or agreements of Applicant hereunder.
12. FURTHER DOCUMENTATION: Except where prohibited, potential Scholarship winners (or their parents or legal guardians if they are minors at the time of application) will be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, Publicity/Liability Release, and Copyright Assignment within ten (10) days of notification or the Applicant with the Application with the next highest score will become an alternate potential Scholarship winner. If notification to a potential Scholarship winner is returned as undeliverable, the Applicant with the Submission with the next highest score may become an alternate potential Scholarship winner.
13. NO OBLIGATION TO USE. Sponsor shall have no obligation (express or implied) to use any winning Submission, or to otherwise exploit a winning Submission or continue the development, production, distribution or exploitation thereof, and Sponsor may at any time abandon the use of the winning Submission for any reason, with or without legal justification or excuse, and the Scholarship winners shall not be entitled to any damages or other relief by reason thereof.
14. IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ – GENERAL RELEASE AND LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. By entering the Contest, each Applicant acknowledges and agrees that the Sponsor, its related companies, affiliates, and each such company’s respective employees, officers, directors and agents are not responsible for any costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising from or in connection with: (i) incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries or for failure to receive Submissions due to any cause, including without limitation human, transmission, or technical problems, failures, or malfunctions of any kind, whether originating with sender, or otherwise, that may limit an Applicant’s ability to participate in the Contest; or (ii) any injury or damage resulting, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from participation in the Contest and/or the use of any prize, including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, or any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages related to or based on the Applicant’s rights of publicity or privacy, or the Applicant’s claim that he or she has somehow been defamed or portrayed in a false light. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any damage to an Applicant’s computer system which is occasioned by accessing the website or participating in the Contest, or for any computer system, phone line, hardware, software or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, delayed computer transmissions or network connections that are human or technical in nature, or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, or the failure to capture any information.
15. SPONSOR’S RIGHT TO MODIFY, SUSPEND OR TERMINATE. In the event Sponsor is prevented from continuing with Contest by any event beyond its reasonable control, then Sponsor shall have the right in its sole discretion to modify, suspend, or terminate the Contest.
16. GENERAL PROVISIONS. Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who is found to be tampering with the application process or the operation of the Contest or the website, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, to be submitting responses dishonestly or inaccurately, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of any entrant, the authorized account holder of the email address used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. If a Submission is confirmed by Sponsor to have been erroneously deleted, lost or destroyed, the entrant’s sole remedy shall be another Submission, if time permits. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that or of any other provision.
17. LIST OF SCHOLARSHIP PRIZE RECIPIENTS: The name(s) of the Scholarship winners will be posted on the CollegeRaptor.com website on or before April 1, 2025.
18. SPONSOR: The Scholarship Program is sponsored by College Raptor, Inc.
College Raptor, Inc
327 2nd St, Suite 103
Coralville, IA 52241
USA
www.collegeraptor.com
