Is Elder and Leemaur Publishers' scholarship legit?

Question

Is it reliable?

Answer 1

So far as I know, yes. I actually applied, and I just found out today that I'm a finalist, yippee!!! So I'm getting published, and I have a chance at the scholarship part, but even if I don't get it, I'm still super excited. Every thing I've seen so far leads me to believe it's legit, the website and everything looks honest.

Answer 2

I say it's half and half.  The scholarship is legitimate, but the "publishing" is not.  Yeah, you get your essay put into a thin book, but the book is only sold to those who are published in it, so no one else will be reading it besides the "top 3%".  

I read elsewhere from someone that actually bought the book that it was cheap looking and had shoddy essays that made it seem as if the picking process wasn't as rigorous as it seems to be.  It's much like the National Honor Roll.  You DO get your name put into this large book, but they charge you money for it.

I got the letter, too.  I'll say yes to the publication, but I am not buying a book.  For $5, maybe, but not $20.

Answer 3

I got the same letter and notice that I'm being "published" and can buy the book for $20... I was looking for information on  Elder & Leemaur Publishers and can't seem to find much on them besides the scholarship. It sort of looks like the scholarship thing is the only business that they are in, which is odd since you would think that a publisher would be publishing some professional works somewhere...

Answer 4

It's unlikely to be an out-and-out scam seeing as there's no fee. I have to wonder if it's a little bit of a ploy to get students who apply to buy their book (sort of like Who's Who).

I have little doubt there are some scholarships given out, but the chances seem slim. Apparently there were 4100 entries for the last contest, and only around 10 awards were given out.

Either way, there's nothing to be lost by applying, so go for it if you have the time to spare.

As a side note, to Emily and any others who have received a letter recently regarding their entry: Please email me so we can compare our letters to get a better idea of what they mean.

Edit: Now that you have appended the Additional Information in your question, I'm afraid I may have mislead you. I put two parts of information together.

I have received the same letter which said there were 4100 entries. There is also a FAQ section that says they distribute roughly 10 awards per year. No, they did not use the same number of 4100 for two contests in a row (as far as I know).