- students only pick one other person, so picking their entire clique wouldn't fit as an answer. further, as good students tend to find one another, it's a good filter for finding people that should be recommended by the teacher but aren't (or vice-versa).
- if a full essay is too much, just ask them to write what they'd do with their scholarship in a few sentences (prose, poem, any form will do). since you're only looking for 2 kids, you only need a question that will highlight the top candidates. no need to properly rank the entire class.
- students only pick one other person, so picking their entire clique wouldn't fit as an answer. further, as good students tend to find one another, it's a good filter for finding people that should be recommended by the teacher but aren't (or vice-versa).
- if a full essay is too much, just ask them to write what they'd do with their scholarship in a few sentences (prose, poem, any form will do). since you're only looking for 2 kids, you only need a question that will highlight the top candidates. no need to properly rank the entire class.