**THE CURRENT ESSAY CONTEST**- We are now taking essay entries for the Spring 2022 Scholarship due May 15, 2022. (Please see the Current Essay Topic, below, highlighted by two asterisks** on each side, dealing with Student Loan dischargeability).

The cost of obtaining a college and/or graduate school education has grown rapidly over the past few decades, making it more and more difficult for many people to realize their educational goals. As an attorney, Ronald D. Weiss understands the value of higher education, as well as the tremendous investment of time and money involved in obtaining a higher education. In an effort to help a new generation of college and/or graduate school students meet their educational costs, Mr. Weiss is pleased to offer incoming and existing college and/or graduate school students an opportunity to win a $2,500. (1st prize), $1,000. (2nd prize) and $500. (3rd prize) higher education scholarship. The scholarship is offered twice a year, in the fall and the spring of each year. The biannual scholarship and selection for the three (3) scholarship awards is based on an essay contest where the contestants take a position on a relevant topic that is assigned (see below) dealing with specific legal issues pertaining to debt relief. The biannual essay assigned topics change ever six (6) months and may deal with any of the following:bankruptcy law, foreclosure defense, debt negotiation, mortgage modification, tenant defense, debtor-creditor law and all forms of legal debt relief. Every six months, in the fall and spring, there will be a new contest and the essay topic will change. Details on eligibility and the application process can be found below.

• Eligibility
• The Application Process – “The Essay Submission”
• The Deadline For The Current, Spring 2022 Essay Contest
• This Current, Spring 2022 Essay Topic
• A Message for All Contestants
• Deciding on This Year’s Winning Essay
• Requirements for the Winners
• About Ronald D. Weiss and Ronald D. Weiss, P.C.
• Winners for Previous Fall 2021 Scholarship contest
• Picture Gallery of Past Scholarship Winners…We Are Proud of You!!

Eligibility

In order to be eligible to apply for the scholarship, applicants must fit the following criteria:

• Academic Enrollment – Be currently enrolled as a registered student in a college or university or planning to enroll as a freshman for the next academic year.
• Good Standing – Be in good academic standing with your current educational institution.
• Age – If under 18, have the permission of your parent or guardian to apply.
• Recognized Academic Institution – The academic institution to where the applicant is currently enrolled and/or enrolled next year, needs to a recognized educational institution currently offering an academic educational curriculum to a body of students. However, the educational institution can be outside of the United States, and the student can be taking courses on line or part-time. To qualify the program in which the student is enrolled needs to be at least six (6) months in length and result in a certificate or degree.

The Application Process – “The Essay” Submission

Submissions of the essay for the Scholarship essay contest should be in Microsoft Word and should be under 2,000. words and emailed to weiss@ny-bankruptcy.com. Essays need to be in English and in a standard emailed format. The essay needs to be an attachment to a cover letter email. The emailed cover letter should contain the following:

1. Name and Contact Information – The legal name and contact information of the contestant. The contact information on the cover page should include email and phone information so we may be able to contact you if you are one of the three (3) winners of each of the biannual contests.
2. Academic Institution – Please state the name and location of the academic institution where you are currently enrolled or the institution to which you have been accepted for academic study next year. Please give proof of enrollment or future acceptance.

The essay must deal with the Current Essay Topic for the most current contest which appears below. The Scholarship Essay should contain the following:

1. Essay Topic – The essay must only deal with Current Essay Topic given below. General essays submitted to colleges and institutions about the contestant’s life, experiences and/or challenges are not what we are looking for in this contest. We are focused on our own unique topic, the Current Essay Topic, below, which is of concern to us in terms of laws and policies dealing with debt relief. Please do not send use an essay topic from past contest or a topic of your own.
2. References – Please back up facts in the essay with references.
3. Arguments – Please take a position on the Current Essay Topic and develop it with arguments to support that position.
4. Originality – Essays need to be original writing that the contestant composed specifically for this contest. We are interested in your ideas. Do not be afraid to think outside the box and to be be creative as long as you can support your arguments with facts, references and arguments that make sense.

The Deadline For The Current Spring 2022 Essay Contest

The date of the submission entry will be considered the date we actually received the essay by email.

The deadline for submissions for the current Spring, 2022 Essay Scholarship Contest is: May 15, 2022.

We are aware that there is a current Covid-19 pandemic that is affecting the entire way of life in our country. Therefore if you have been affected by a Covid Hardship that delayed your submission, we would consider moving the deadline by 1-2 weeks for persons showing proof of a Covid-19 hardship.

**The Current Essay Topic for the Spring 2022 Scholarship**

This Current Spring 2022 Essay Contest Topic: Contest Open Until May 15, 2022

**Current Essay Topic**:

Bankruptcy Law and Policy as to Discharging Student Loan Debt

Before 1976, many debtors in bankruptcy proceedings could discharge student loan debt, whether public or private.  In 1976, Congress amended the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include Section 439A, which makes student loans non-dischargeable in bankruptcy unless (a) more than five (5) years have passed since the repayment plan was entered into, or (b) not discharging the loans would cause the debtor and their dependents an undue hardship.  In 1978, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Reform Act, commonly referred to as the Bankruptcy Code, which has been periodically amended to further limit a debtor’s ability to discharge student loan debt.  The most recent changes to the code were passed in 2005 when Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”).  Under BAPCPA, Congress excepted certain student loans from discharge, namely, (i) if they were made, insured or guaranteed by the government, (ii) made under any loan program funded in whole or in part by the government or nonprofit institution, or (iii) private loans which are considered “qualified education loans”.               

Currently, the majority of Bankruptcy Courts apply the three-pronged “Brunner Test”, established in Brunner v. New York State Higher Education Services Corp. (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 14, 1987) to discharge a student loan based upon an “undue hardship”.  To establish an undue hardship under Brunner, a debtor must show (1) based upon debtor’s current income and expenses, they cannot maintain a normal standard of living for themselves or their dependents if forced to repay the loans, (2) the state of affairs is likely to persists for a significant portion of the repayment period, and (3) the debtor has made good-faith efforts to repay the loans.  A minority of circuits apply the “totality of the circumstances test” which does not require the third-prong in Brunner.

According to the Education Data Initiative, approximately $43.2 million American student borrowers are in debt by an average of $39,351 each.^[1] Currently, student loan debt in the United States totals $1.75 trillion and grows six (6) times faster than the nation’s economy.  Id.               

Please Discuss:

(1) both the history and current bankruptcy court policies regarding the dischargeability of student loan debt;

(2) how this policy could be changed to balance the competing interests of alleviating the burden imposed on student borrowers versus preventing abuse by borrowers; and

(3) to what extent should bankruptcy law and the bankruptcy courts be used to resolve the student loan dilemma, and how can bankruptcy policy be part of larger national policy approach to remedy the crisis in funding higher education.               

The essay should not exceed 2,000 words and should use facts and references to support an argument for a position 

A Message for All Contestants

Thank you for participating in this biannual essay writing contest. We are honored and humbled by the many promising students who have participated in the Essay Writing Scholarship Contest offered by our law office since we started it in 2014 and the many excellent essays that these talented students have submitted. If you do not win the current essay contest, please do not be discouraged and please try again in six months since the the contest is offered biannually, every Spring and Fall. But if you are the Winner, a BIG kudos to you and a sincere Thank You for your winning submission which will be proudly displayed on this website in tribute to the promise, energy and intelligence of current and future scholars.

Deciding on This Current Contest’s Winning Essays

The following factors will be considering in determining the the three (3) winners of every biannual essay writing contest:

• Demonstrated understanding of the issues raised;
• Originality;
• Quality of writing; and
• The applicant’s demonstrated the potential for success in a field related to law.

Three (3) winners for each biannual essay writing contest are chosen with the 1st prize being $2,500., the 2nd prize being $1,000. and the 3rd prize being $500. The prizes are sent to the three winners of each contest approximately one to two months after the end of a contest. We ask that winners send us a picture of themselves with a large “presentation check” that we will mail together with the actual award check and allow us to post their photo with their winning essay to encourage future students to participate.

All decisions are final and are subject to the discretion of the staff of the Law Office of Ronald D. Weiss, P.C. where our attorneys are the judges and read every essay.

Requirements for the Winners

Winners must respond to the emails and/or calls of our office and acknowledge that they are the applicant. They must give us their current address for us to send the display check and the real award check. The winners must take a picture of themselves with the display check and send the picture to our office via email. Winners need to agree to allow us to post on our website the picture of themselves with the display check. This is needed to encourage future applicants to the scholarship. Winners also must agree to allow us to display their winning essay on our website. Again, the purpose of this posting of the essay is to encourage further participation in the scholarship by students applying for future scholarships that our office would offer.

About Ronald D. Weiss and Ronald D. Weiss, P.C.

Long Island attorney Ronald D. Weiss practices bankruptcy and consumer protection law throughout Long Island and the greater New York City area. His law firm Ronald D. Weiss, P.C. was formed in 1993 and concentrates in bankruptcy law, foreclosure defense, debt negotiation, mortgage modification, tenant defense and all forms of debt relief. Mr. Weiss graduated New York University School of Law in 1988 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1989. He has always valued education and still has faith that in the hands of good, caring people, the legal system can make life better for hard working, ordinary people.

Winners for Previous Fall 2021 Scholarship contest

Topic of the Previous Fall 2021 Scholarship Essay Contest – (See Winning Essays Below)

During the last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and interruptions to our economy, many states and the federal government imposed foreclosure and eviction moratoriums that protected non-paying mortgage borrowers and tenants. While this protection in many cases was needed to protect persons in financial hardship stay in their homes during a pandemic, it at the same time caused hardship for mortgage holders and landlords who could not enforce payment obligations. Please discuss whether and under what circumstances such foreclosure and eviction moratoriums can and should be imposed by the federal and/or state/local governments and whether and under what circumstances such moratoriums should continue. Please cite specific laws and references in developing your arguments.

2021 Spring Winners

Picture Gallery of Past Scholarship Winners…We Are Proud of You!!

Previous Winners: