The 7th Amendment Scholarship

Should the 7th Amendment be Construed Literally?

The scholarship application process is now closed and will open again on January 1st, 2025.

McCoy & Hiestand is excited to offer a $2,500 financial award to a student applying for the firm’s 7th Amendment Scholarship. This scholarship requires students to think critically about the 7th Amendment and discuss, in a 500 to 1,000-word essay, whether or not the Amendment should be construed literally.

The 7th Amendment reads as follows:

“In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.”

McCoy & Hiestand encourages applying students to approach this topic from a variety of angles and to muse on the nature of justice and the value of a jury. Students should also be prepared to submit evidence of a 3.0 or higher GPA and enrollment or acceptance into an accredited United States university or graduate school. Hopefuls from all fields of study are encouraged to apply.

Application Requirements

Undergraduate and graduate students are all invited to apply for the 7th Amendment Scholarship. Along with their scholarship essays, students are expected to submit evidence that they meet the scholarship’s criteria, including:

• Good academic standing
• Evidence of enrollment in an accredited college, university, or graduate school in the United States
• A 500 to 1,000-word essay answering the question: should the 7th Amendment be construed literally?

Students should also submit proof that they’ve agreed to the scholarship’s terms and conditions if they want to be considered for the $2,500 award.

Application Process

Students interested in applying for the 7th Amendment Scholarship are encouraged to review the eligibility requirements above before beginning to draft their essays. Upon completing their scholarship essays, students should:

• Fill out the application form on this page
• Upload a copy of your unofficial transcript
• Upload a copy of your scholarship essay
• Submit proof of enrollment/acceptance to an accredited college/ university/ graduate school (Student ID; Letter of acceptance, etc.)

Scholarship Essay Topic

Should the 7th Amendment be construed literally?

For their essay to be eligible students must include the following:

• A header where they mention their full name; the name of the scholarship; the name of the institution they are enrolled in; the mailing address from their financial aid office where they can mail the award; the e-mail address and phone number from their financial aid office; the student ID number. 
• A catchy and original title.
• A bibliography where they mention all the sources of information used (eg: books, sites; articles, magazines, reports, etc.)
• Citations

Once finished, the essay must be saved in PDF format and titled by following this example, “McCoy & Hiestand 7th Amendment Scholarship 2024 – Student Name”.

Application Deadline

Students have until July 15, 2024, to submit their scholarship essays and other applicable materials to McCoy & Hiestand. The firm will not review scholarship applications submitted after this deadline has passed.

Our scholarship selection committee will review all submissions brought forward within the applicable deadline. The winning student will then receive notification of their financial award within one to three months of the scholarship’s closing date.

For legal reasons, McCoy & Hiestand cannot accept emails, calls, or other communications addressing the 7th Amendment Scholarship. Students and family members with any questions about the scholarship can refer to this page, as well as the scholarship’s terms and conditions page, for more information about the submission process.

If McCoy & Hiestand needs more information to add to a student’s scholarship application, a firm representative will contact that student through the means provided in their application.

Terms and Conditions

All applicants to this scholarship must meet the eligibility requirements as laid out on the scholarship application page, including:

• Applicant must be enrolled at a college, university or graduate school
• Applicant must be at least 18 years old at the age of enrollment
• Applicant must have residency in the United States
• Applicant must be in good academic standing
• Applicant must submit some personal information, including name, contact information, and proof of enrollment.
• Applicant must author an original essay on the scholarship essay topic provided of between 500 and 1,000 words.

Anyone who meets the following conditions is NOT eligible to apply:

• Employees or children of employees of McCoy & Hiestand
• Past recipients of the 7th Amendment Scholarship
• Applicants who are unable/unwilling to be interviewed by a representative of McCoy & Hiestand if they were to be awarded a scholarship.
• Applicants who submit the same essay for multiple scholarships or for multiple years in a row

Selection & Award Notification Process

McCoy & Hiestand notes that age, race, religion, gender, national origin, familial status, or other protected classes have no influence on the scholarship committee’s decision to award a student the 7th Amendment Scholarship.

The firm cannot answer questions about the scholarship at this time for legal reasons. For more information about the 7th Amendment Scholarship, please refer to its terms and conditions.

Students who want McCoy & Hiestand’s scholarship selection committee to consider their application must submit all essential materials within the scholarship’s filing deadline. Neither incomplete applications nor late deadlines will be considered.

The winner of the scholarship will be notified via email. Afterward, McCoy & Hiestand representatives will make an announcement naming the winner on the firm’s website. The winner shall also be announced in a press release.

McCoy & Hiestand will mail the $2,500 scholarship award directly to the winning student’s college or university. The firm will contact the scholarship winner for instructions on how to mail the scholarship funds to the winner’s school of choice.

Privacy Statement

Your personal information will not be given, sold, or distributed to third parties.

We reserve the right to use the winners’ names and photos in any announcement or communication related to the Scholarships, on McCoy & Hiestand’s website, in marketing materials, or in social media posts.

By submitting your application, you agree to our public use of your name and image.

Previous Winners

We invite interested applicants to refer back to this page to view winners’ interviews, announcement blog posts, and press releases.

• 2023 Winner: Madilyn Abbe