A: No. Each student may be nominated in only one discipline. Schools may submit one nominee per category (Dance, Media Arts, Music [Performance or Composition], Theatre [Performance or Tech], Visual Arts).

A: If a student is highly accomplished in multiple areas, select the category that best reflects their strongest discipline. For example, students selected for All State or All Eastern may be best suited for the Music category, while students with outstanding stage presence may be stronger in Theatre.

No. Each school may submit one nominee per category. If you have more than one strong candidate, it’s up to you to decide which student to put forward. Our committee cannot weigh in on this decision.

A: In addition to the 20 Scholar-Artists selected annually, 20 Merit Award Winners are recognized. Scholar-Artists receive full published profiles in Newsday. Merit Award Winners are honored in a group Newsday ad and both are recognized individually at the spring awards ceremony.

A: Yes. You may include a note in the application explaining the absence of NYSSMA scores. This context will help the committee evaluate the nomination fairly.

A: The nominating teacher is responsible for completing and submitting the full application. Students may not submit their own applications.

A: Once you complete the student information and select a discipline, upload fields specific to that category will appear automatically in the application form.

A: For private or independent schools, signatures from the principal or other relevant administrators are acceptable in place of a superintendent.

A: Yes. You may list multiple instruments in the "Instrument" field.