Scholarship contest entry rules, dates and age lines from nine organisers
Gallery Collection's greeting-card scholarship contest closes March 8, 2027, and the Elks National Foundation's Legacy Awards contest closes February 1, 2027. Immerse Education's essay competition takes uploads through its entry form until October 25, 2026. Optimist International takes essays and speeches through local clubs, and the clubs set their own deadlines.
By BuyVotesForContest editorial desk ยท Updated
Quarters, sweepstakes periods and fixed windows: how the dates work
As of the September 30, 2026 review, Regions Bank's third quarter is ending and Immerse Education has under a month left. U.S. Bank counts modules through October 30, while the Elks National Foundation and Gallery Collection stay open into 2027. Duck Brand's 2026 Stuck At Prom window has closed.
Niche ties every entry to the sweepstakes period in which it was submitted, so an entry does not carry into the next period. Optimist International and Niche print no single closing date in the table, and Reach Cambridge gives only a season.
The hour matters as much as the day. Regions Bank requires an entry to be submitted and received by 11:59:59 PM Central Time on the period end date. Noon is not midnight, and Duck Brand's 2026 cut-off was the former: 12:00:00 PM ET on June 3.
- Quarterly periods: Regions Bank gives every quarter its own end date, and the third one falls on September 30, 2026.
- Sweepstakes periods: Niche chooses a new winner every period, and U.S. Bank announces its Entry Period 2 winners in early December.
- Fixed windows: the Elks National Foundation opened on September 1, 2026 and closes on February 1, 2027, and Immerse Education closes on October 25, 2026.
- Dates set elsewhere: Optimist International leaves deadlines to its sponsoring clubs, and Reach Cambridge expects its next public call in autumn 2026.
Two routes for students and teens: a local club or an online form
Optimist International takes student work through local clubs. Its 2026-2027 Essay Contest, Oratorical Contest and Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing each tell students to submit through their local Optimist Club. The entry line itself names no age or grade band, so the sponsoring club is where an entrant or a parent asks about eligibility.
Duck Brand's Stuck At Prom contest is aimed at high school students and takes entries straight online. Entrants must be at least 14 years old and enrolled in high school, or in a home school association at the high-school level, during the 2025-2026 school year. Duck Brand's checklist adds the consent line: anyone under 18 needs parental permission to enter, so a parent or guardian reads the rules with the entrant before the form goes in.
Children under 14 fall outside the Stuck At Prom age line, which starts at 14 for every entrant.
College scholarship contest: who qualifies and how many entries count
Niche's College Survey Scholarship is open to current college undergraduate or graduate students, and to college undergraduate or graduate alumni who graduated within the last four years, with entry either online or by mail-in entry.
A person, an email address or a household is allowed up to five entries. Every entry belongs to one sweepstakes period: entries are only valid for the period in which they are submitted, and a new winner is chosen every period. An entry from an earlier period does not count toward a later winner.
The survey answers carry a penalty. Attempts to submit incomplete or inaccurate survey responses lead to permanent disqualification from the scholarship contest and all future contests, so a half-finished form costs more than one missed period.
Stuck At Prom: 2026 entry period, noon cut-off and a dropped rule
Duck Brand's Stuck At Prom contest took 2026 entries from 12:00:00 PM ET on March 25 through 12:00:00 PM ET on June 3. Every component of an entry had to be submitted online within that period and received by the June 3 cut-off to be eligible. An entry assembled in pieces depends on each piece: a component received after the cut-off leaves the entry ineligible.
Only one entry is permitted per single entrant. Duck Brand also dropped a requirement: the rules no longer ask entrants to wear their creation to prom.
Every date above belongs to the 2026 period, and the eligibility line names the 2025-2026 school year, so a later edition needs a fresh reading of Duck Brand's rules.
How will you know you won grand prize? The administrator calls first
U.S. Bank's Student Scholarship sweepstakes has a named administrator, GMR Marketing. It contacts winners, trying the phone first and then email. A notice from any other sender is not the one those rules describe, which gives an entrant a direct check against a false winner message.
The timetable is published as well. Winners for modules completed by October 30 are drawn on November 9 and notified around November 16, and Entry Period 2 winners are announced in early December. The grand-prize drawing covers participants who complete at least 150 modules by October 30.
For the other contests in the table, the route by which winners hear sits in each organiser's full rules, so an unexpected winner message is checked against those rules before anyone replies.
Essay and speech entries: an assigned topic, an upload or an application
Optimist International asks for an essay on the assigned topic, so the organiser sets the prompt and the entrant does the writing. Its Oratorical Contest uses the same wording for a speech. Neither entry line offers a choice between prompts.
Immerse Education takes the essay as an upload through its competition entry form and closes on October 25, 2026. Regions Bank pairs an online application with an essay, sent through its Website before the quarter's end date.
Reach Cambridge plans its next public call for a scholarship essay competition in autumn 2026, for the summer of 2027. Entry details are not yet released, so there is nothing to submit until they are.
Gallery Collection asks for something else entirely: original artwork or a photo for the front of a greeting card, with submissions through March 8, 2027.
What gets an entry thrown out, and what a scam looks like
Three clauses tie eligibility to something the entrant controls: complete and accurate survey answers at Niche, every component received by the cut-off at Duck Brand, and an entry received by the period end date at Regions Bank. Entry limits work the same way, one entry per single entrant at Duck Brand and up to five per person, email address or household at Niche.
An entry fee is the question a scam turns on. The official rules are where a fee is stated or ruled out, so a fee that appears only at the submission step is not included in the published rules.
An entry starts a process that the organiser finishes: winners are drawn at U.S. Bank, chosen each period at Niche and decided under each organiser's own rules elsewhere. Nothing an entrant does at the entry step settles the result.
| Organiser | What entrants send | Date in the rules |
|---|---|---|
| Duck Brand | Stuck At Prom contest: online entry, every component received | March 25 to June 3, 2026, closing 12:00:00 PM ET (closed) |
| Regions Bank | Online application and essay through its Website | Third quarter ends September 30, 2026, 11:59:59 PM Central Time |
| Immerse Education | Essay uploaded through the competition entry form | Closes October 25, 2026 |
| U.S. Bank | Completed modules; grand-prize drawing needs 150 or more | Modules by October 30, drawn November 9 |
| Reach Cambridge | Public scholarship essay call; entry details not yet released | Expected autumn 2026 for summer 2027 |
| Elks National Foundation | Online application for the 2027 Legacy Awards contest | September 1, 2026 to February 1, 2027 |
| Gallery Collection | Original artwork or photo for a greeting card front | Through March 8, 2027 |
| Optimist International | Essay, speech or communication entry through a local club | Club deadlines vary |
| Niche | College Survey Scholarship: survey, online or mail-in | A new winner every sweepstakes period |
Step by step
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Start from the organiser's own rules or FAQ
Every age line, deadline and entry limit traces to an organiser's published rules, FAQ or entry page, such as Regions Bank's Official Rules or Duck Brand's FAQ. Open that page before entering: Stuck At Prom's 2026 rules speak of the 2025-2026 school year, so a later edition needs a fresh reading.
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Match your status to the eligibility line
Stuck At Prom asks for enrolment in high school or a home school association at the high-school level. Niche's College Survey Scholarship asks for a current college undergraduate or graduate student, or an alumnus who graduated within the last four years. An entrant outside the line is not eligible, so this check comes before any form.
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Get a parent's permission where the rules demand it
Duck Brand's checklist says entrants under the age of 18 need parental permission to enter the Stuck At Prom contest. A parent or guardian reads the rules with the entrant and gives that permission before the form is sent.
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Write the deadline hour and time zone down
Regions Bank's cut-off is 11:59:59 PM Central Time on the quarter's end date, and Duck Brand's 2026 cut-off was 12:00:00 PM ET. Immerse Education closes on October 25, 2026, and the Elks National Foundation closes on February 1, 2027. A time zone is part of the rule.
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Use the stated channel and stay inside the entry limit
Use the route each organiser names: the Website for Regions Bank, the competition entry form for Immerse Education, an online application for the Elks National Foundation, a local club for Optimist International, or online or mail-in entry for Niche. Duck Brand allows one entry per single entrant, and Niche allows up to five per person, email address or household.
Questions
How will I know if I won a grand prize scholarship?
GMR Marketing, the administrator named in U.S. Bank's Student Scholarship sweepstakes, contacts winners by phone first and then by email. A winner message from any other sender is not the notice those rules describe, so it gets checked against them before anyone replies.
How long does it take to receive results after the competition?
U.S. Bank draws winners for modules completed by October 30 on November 9 and sends notice a week later. Its Entry Period 2 winners are announced in early December.
Are essay prompts provided randomly, or do entrants select one?
Optimist International assigns the topic, so entrants do not select one. Its Essay Contest and Oratorical Contest both ask students to submit work on the assigned topic through a local Optimist Club, and neither entry line offers a choice of prompts.
How is the essay submitted, on paper or digitally?
Regions Bank and Immerse Education take essays digitally: Regions through its Website application, Immerse through an upload on its competition entry form. Optimist International routes essays through local clubs without naming a format. Niche's College Survey Scholarship is the one program here with a mail-in entry route.
Does the Stuck At Prom contest require parental permission?
Yes. Duck Brand's checklist says entrants under the age of 18 need parental permission to enter the contest. Entrants must also be at least 14 and enrolled in high school, or a home school association at the high-school level, during the 2025-2026 school year.
How many entries does the College Survey Scholarship allow?
Niche's College Survey Scholarship allows up to five entries per person, email address or household. An entry is valid only for the sweepstakes period in which it was submitted, and a new winner is chosen every period.
How many scholarships will be awarded?
No single count applies, because each organiser sets its own. Niche chooses a new winner every sweepstakes period, Regions Bank runs a separate contest each quarter, and U.S. Bank draws winners for each entry period; the number of awards per draw sits in each organiser's full rules.
Sources
- regions.com. regions.com/-/media/pdfs/about-regions/Official-Rules-2026-Regions-Riding-Forward-Scholarship-Contest.PDF.
- elks.org. elks.org/scholarweb/resources/legacyFAQ.cfm.
- duckbrand.com. duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom/official-rules.
- niche.com. niche.com/about/scholarship-rules/college-survey-scholarship/.
- usbank.com. usbank.com/about-us-bank/community/student-scholarship.html.
A page like this one cannot enter a contest for anyone, judge an entry or pick a winner. Each organiser's own rules decide eligibility, judging and the draw, and an entry that breaks them is disqualified. The dates belong to one edition of each contest and do not carry over, so nothing here is a standing deadline. Teacher of the year voting is a separate poll and is not covered.
A contest vote sits under two rulebooks, the platform's and the organiser's. On CuteBaby, voters get ten free daily votes that expire at midnight, and an account needs a South African mobile number. Organisers then enforce their own terms: Darley may disqualify and replace a potential winner who does not follow its rules, and the Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition disqualifies over-length entries automatically. An order for contest votes changes none of that.
Contest voting has a rhythm of its own. The Arizona State Fair includes live audience voting on every qualifying night, and the Ernie Ball contest measures online activity throughout its contest period. A count that builds across the window, from separate voters, matches that rhythm. None of this is a method for passing an organiser's checks, and an organiser can still disqualify an entry it doubts.
In the United States, the FTC says a real sweepstakes is free and decided by chance, and that a skills contest can ask you to pay to play. Canada's Competition Bureau says a purchase requirement should be prominently disclosed. Those rules govern entry to a sweepstakes or promotion, and whether paying for votes in a contest is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. No order is taken for a sweepstakes or other chance draw, for a political ballot, or for a contest whose rules bar outside votes.
The part of an order that never reaches the contest's own count is refunded once the organiser's voting has closed. America's Favorite Pet calls its dates approximate and lets its operator extend deadlines, so that moment is the organiser's to set. A result, a disqualification and a voided vote are never refunded. At IODC, public votes and engagement do not by themselves decide the winners, and no refund changes how a contest weighs them.