**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.
The essay must deal with the Current Essay Topic for the most current contest which appears below. The Scholarship Essay should contain the following:
The date of the submission entry will be considered the date we actually received the essay by email.
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.
This Current Spring 2022 Essay Contest Topic: Contest Open Until May 15, 2022
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
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.
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.
Topic of the Previous Fall 2021 Scholarship Essay Contest – (See Winning Essays Below)
Congratulations to our Previous Fall 2021 scholarship first winner, Stephanie Adams!
Congratulations to our Previous Fall 2021 scholarship second winner, Kyle Mann!
Congratulations to our Previous Fall 2021 scholarship third winner, Matthew Larkby!
Congratulations to the 2015 Scholarship Winner, Rebecca Chang!