The Stuck at Prom® Contest is a scholarship competition that doesn't require students to have high GPAs, fill out tedious applications or participate in a laundry list of extracurricular activities (besides making their duct tape promwear).
In this competition, we encourage both parents and teachers to get involved with the outfits – by helping rip tape, assisting with problem-solving, providing creative ideas and supporting the student throughout the process of designing, creating and competing.
Competing and winning in the Stuck at Prom Contest can earn students valuable scholarship money for college:
- First place: $3,000 to each student in the couple and $3,000 to the school that hosted the prom
- Second place: $2,000 to each student in the couple and $2,000 to the school that hosted the prom
- Third place: $1,000 to each student in the couple and $1,000 to the school that hosted the prom
- In honor of the 10th anniversary of Stuck at Prom, the remaining seven couples in the Top 10 will each receive $500 per student and $500 for the school that hosted the prom
Participating in the contest will allow students to exhibit their imagination and creativity, as well as help them learn time management and problem-solving skills (there are deadlines in this contest).
Teachers: Duct tape promwear makes a fabulous student project, which is a great way to encourage participation, and in some cases, allow students to put into practice skills they've learned in class (for example, Home Economics, Art, Design).
Guidance counselors: It's a scholarship, which means money for college. But, students need to be aware of the work, creativity and effort required to make duct tape formalwear. More than $80,000 has been awarded to students and high schools over the past nine years of the contest.
Key dates for the contest – to help students meet the deadlines:
- Contest begins: March 1, 2010
- Contest ends (and entries must be received by): June 7, 2010
- Online voting (top 10): June 18 - July 26, 2010
- Winners announced around July 28, 2010
Help students ensure their submissions are entered complete – click here for the submission checklist
A panel of judges narrows all entries down to the top 10, which enter into an online voting competition to determine scholarship awards. Here's how the judges decide:
- Workmanship (30%): the quality, neatness and attention to detail given in creating the outfits and accessories.
- Originality (25%): the uniqueness, inventiveness, creativity and original thought of the outfits and accessories.
- Use of Color (15%): the combination, integration and harmony of colors used to create the outfits and accessories.
- Accessories (10%): the creativity and use of accessories in accentuating and completing the outfits.
- Quantity of Duct Tape Used (10%): the use of duct tape to construct the pieces of the outfits and accessories.
This contest tests students' creativity and originality. Therefore, any entry deemed infringing upon a copyright, trademark or patent belonging to a third party will be subject to disqualification at the discretion of our Stuck at Prom and legal teams.
A little healthy competition is fun, which is why it's exciting to see more than one couple from a school compete in the contest. Some schools have even made duct tape formalwear a class project!
If your student does make it to the top 10, it's up to them to earn votes to win scholarship dollars. Here are a few tips:
- Parents: reach out to your local organizations, businesses, your co-workers, church, etc.
- Teachers: help your student earn votes (and your school some money) by asking for help from the PTA, Board of Education, other classrooms and more.
- Students should be creative in earning votes. In the past, students have used social networking sites, put up flyers at area businesses, attended parades and festivals dressed in their duct tape duds, posted signs in their front yard, and even wore t-shirts with their entry number to the mall.
- Anyone with a valid email address can vote once per day, so encourage everyone to come back daily!
- And, don't forget – this year, the voting has changed. Students will need to earn top vote tallies weekly to avoid being eliminated. Two couples will be eliminated each week!
Finally, when your student considers dressing up in duct tape, give them your support. Duct tape comes in a variety of colors, besides gray, so they can make elaborate outfits that are of professional caliber. In the past, student participants and winners have told us they had a great time at prom and had the support of their peers – it's a fantastic way for students to show their true personalities.