How to Prepare Your Learning Challenge Application

We’re SO excited you’re interested in the GripTape Learning Challenge and eager to know what you’re passionate about and your plans for learning it!

GripTape Learning Challenge Guidelines:

• You’re completely in charge of deciding what learning you explore and how you do it.
• Your learning doesn’t depend on school, so you can do this on your own outside of class.
• You lead your learning, so no more than 1/3 of your time in the Challenge is spent in adult-led experiences like classes, camp, or study abroad programs.
• You can use your grant and complete your Challenge in 10 weeks. All learning journeys must be finished by September 1, 2019.
• You are between 15 and 19 years old.
• You live or go to school in the U.S.

What to Think About Before You Apply:

We’ll ask for some basic information in the online application, and you’ll need to answer these four questions to apply for the Challenge:

1. What topic or skills are you planning to explore throughout this Challenge? Why are you passionate about this?
2. How will this learning help you be successful, now or in the future?
3. What are your goals for your Challenge? What do you hope to learn?
4. How do you plan to accomplish your goals?

How to Submit Your Application:

Decide how you want to submit your answers to these four questions. It could be as a poem, video, song, essay, presentation, voice recording, video recording on a camera or phone, written on the online application — or something else! Past Challengers have answered the four main questions in all of these formats, but remember that your responses are where you get to tell us in detail what you want to pursue with this opportunity. Inspire us!

After the section asking for some basic information, you’ll see a question where you tell us how you want to submit answers to the four main questions listed above. Your options are:

• Written in the online application form
• Emailed to us at griptape.applications@americaachieves.org
• By including a digital link to your application materials. 
• If you live in Connecticut, you can also choose a recorded video interview with a GripTape Youth Leader.

Please note that you must complete the online application form in one session, regardless of how you choose to share the responses to the four main questions.

Thanks, and good luck!

Past applications

Here are a few examples of how past GripTape Challengers have applied.