How to Win the Google Doodle Scholarship Contest

Feb 03, 2022 |
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Win a College Bound Scholarship with the Google Doodle Contest

Who wouldn't want a chance to have their own artwork featured on the Google homepage while at the same time getting the chance to win a college scholarship and other awesome prizes? Well, since 2009, winners of the Google For Doodle Contest held in the United States and also in some other countries and regions have been given this opportunity.

What is the Doodle For Google Contest?

The Doodle For Google, also known as Doodle4Google, is an annual art contest held by Google for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. 2021 is the 13th year that this contest is being held by Google in the United States and Google also has separate contests like this in other countries like Canada and India, and regions like Latin America and Asia.

A contest theme is given annually where contestants will then create and submit an original doodle created by them on a sheet of paper. For example, the most recent theme for the 2021 contest was "I am strong because...". Contestants will then submit an original doodle based on this theme.

The contest usually opens in January and closes submissions by March.

The overall winner of the contest gets their doodle featured on the homepage of Google.com, and also receives some great prizes.

What Are the Prizes for the Doodle for Google Contest?

Aside from being featured on Google, there are a lot of prizes for the overall winner of the contest. The overall winner, or the National Winner, receives these:

  • $30,000 scholarship that can be used at a school of their choice (managed by Scholarship America).
  • A trip to the San Francisco area  with a retail value of approximately $1,500.
  • $50,000 in value towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or a technology program for the U.S. School where the contestant is enrolled, or a registered non-profit of which the winner is a participant at as indicated on the entry form. Homeschools and students of U.S. Foreign Service Person abroad are ineligible for this prize.
  • A Chromebook and an Android tablet.
  • If the National Winner is enrolled in a homeschool, the homeschool will receive a $5,000 technology package stipend, and the winner may donate $45,000 in value towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or a technology program for a public library, non-profit, or public school in their community that meets Google's criteria for awards.

Aside from the National Winner, Google also awards additional entrants to the contests including:

  • 49 State and Territory Winners who did not become National Finalists win an Android tablet. 5 National Finalists are selected from the State and Territory Winners and get a chance to become the National Winner.
  • The 4 National Finalists who do not become the National Winner win a $5,000 college scholarship to be used at the school of their choice (managed by Scholarship America), a trip to Google headquarters, a Chromebook , and an Android tablet.

How Are the Winners of the Doodle For Google Contest Picked?

The contestants of the Doodle 4 Google contest are grouped into these groups for judging and winner selection:

  • K-3 grade level.
  • 4-5 grade level.
  • 6-7 grade level.
  • 8-9 grade level.
  • 10-12 grade level.

A total of 54 are then selected as the State and Territory Winners - with 10 or more from each grade level group. From the 54 State and Territory Winners, 5 National Finalists from each grade group are selected and finally 1 National Winner will be selected as the overall contest winner. Winners are usually notified in May.

How Do I Join the Doodle For Google Contest?

You may join the Doodle 4 Google contest by following the instructions in the How To Enter page of the Google contest. To summarize, basically you need to follow these steps to join:

  • Download or print entry form for the latest Doodle For Google Contest.
  • Create a doodle using any material such as crayons, clay, etc. on the form, on a separate sheet of paper or some other material. The doodle is based on the contest theme for the current year.
  • If the doodle is on the form, it can be uploaded as a jpg or png file on the site or mailed to Google. Otherwise, if not on the form, then a high resolution photo should be taken and uploaded to the contest site. A valid email address or telephone number should be given by the entrant so that Google can contact them if they win.

One 1 doodle per student entrant will be accepted. If more than 1 doodle per student is submitted, any subsequent entries or additional doodles are disqualified. There is no fee or payment to join the contest.

The most recent detailed contest rules are found here.

Who Is Eligible for the Doodle For Google Contest?

To be eligible to join the Doodle 4 Google contest, the student must be:

  • A US citizen or permanent legal US resident (such as a green card holder)
  • Is enrolled in a private or public elementary or secondary school or a home school in the United States, a United States Territory in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C., or a student of a U.S. Service Person serving abroad.
  • In grades Kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12). 

Those joining the contest should also obtain a parent's or legal guardian's permission, which will be signed into the entry form. Parents, teachers, nonprofits and after school programs are welcome to enter artwork on behalf of the K-12 students.

Who Are the Recent Doodle 4 Google Winners?

To gain more insight into the competition, we can look at the last 2 winners and some information on how they won.

The 2021 Winner

The theme of the 2021 Doodle For Google was "I am strong because..." and students are then asked to also write about how they created the doodle and how it represents their inner strength.

The winner of the 2021 contest is Milo Golding, an 11th grader at Lexington Christian Academy in Kentucky. His doodle was titled "Finding Hope" and he wants it to inspire hope and encourage others to use that hope as a source of strength in the face of any circumstance or obstacle.

He tells of how holding on to hope even when lost his father when he was 13 years old has allowed him to overcome his grief and give support to other children under 18 in similar situations where they lost a loved one. He works with a charity called Sanguine Path, which he founded and serves these children by providing them with holiday gifts, care packages and back-to-school kits.

Here is the official page of Google announcing the 2021 United States Doodle 4 Google winner, with Milo's artwork shown at the top of the page.

The 2020 Winner

The theme of the 2020 Doodle For Google was "I show kindness by…" and this was won by 5th grader Sharon Sara from Frisco, Texas. Her doodle was titled "Together As One" and her statement that came with it reads: "I show kindness by sticking together with my friends in tough times. I drew people coming together and not thinking about the outside but being together because of their personality."

Here is the official page of Google announcing the 2020 United States Doodle 4 Google winner, with Sharon's drawing shown at the top of the page. A short interview with Sharon after her win can be found here.

Can I Get More Help with Other College Bound Student Financial Aid?

Joining the Doodle 4 Google contest will give you a chance to win a scholarship which will definitely help with your college expenses. And out of all the student financial aid, scholarships are the best since you don't incur any debt unlike loans and are not necessarily need-based or income-based like grants. You can use the free Essential Scholarship Cheat Sheet to discover tools and tips to help you win more scholarships. We can also help you find scholarships similar to the Doodle 4 Google and more with the Personalized Scholarship Search to help get as many scholarships as possible that suit you and remove the confusion with the college bound scholarship search process.

About the Author

Christen is the founder of Hive Education. She is passionate about helping families navigate the college application and admissions processes. She helps students set goals to work towards their own debt-free degrees with her personalized scholarship searches, scholarship courses, and by sharing her scholarship strategies that won her over $900,000 in for her own college education. With four years of experience in higher education, two years working with teens in inner city high schools in New Orleans, and starting her first college consulting company during a pandemic in 2020 she strives to make college accessible for everyone, especially for first generation, low income, and minority students. In her spare time she loves to share her love for books with her daughters. You can find her on Facebook.

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