Scholastic writing awards honor students in grades 7-12 who display exemplary writing in a variety of categories, among which is poetry. Graduating high school seniors can submit three to eight bodies of work to their regional offices, the locations of which are listed on their website. The deadline varies by region. Selected winners receive $10,000 scholarships.
Poetry Out Loud was started by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation in 2004. The purpose of the program is to encourage love and enthusiasm for poetry in the classroom. The scholarship competition runs at both the state and national levels, the first-place state prize is $200 and the maximum national championship prize is $20,000. See their website at poetryoutloud.org
The Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Fund was founded in 2004 in honor of Dorothy Sargent, a poet who often wrote lyrical poetry about her family. It awards young poets who show talent in lyrical poetry and who plan to further their studies of poetry in college. Prizes vary in amounts from $1,000 to $20,000 depending on the amount and quality of submissions.
Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowships was established in 1989. It is offered to young writers through a national competition run by the Poetry Foundation. The fellowship awards $15,000 to the recipient and is meant to encourage further study of poetry. Contestants are nominated by instructors and department chairs and the winning entries are selected by editors of Poetry magazine.