What Are Golden School Awards?
AACS presents the second annual Golden School Awards. Do you have the finest facilities, the best school culture, or does your school create a positive impact on the community? Are you “school of the year” material? We have three school size tiers for each of the nine categories to give every size school an opportunity. We know you are amazing, so go ahead and apply – you can’t win unless you enter!
AACS is excited to receive entries that showcase your successes. Here’s a tip; videos and lots of images are highly encouraged! We want to highlight all your hard work and achievements, because we know our schools go above and beyond and deserve to be recognized. All entries will be judged fairly by beauty and wellness professionals who are independent from AACS.
You have the opportunity to submit your school for one or all nine categories. This is how it works – you pay a base fee for a single submission and for any additional entries you pay the additional cost based on your school tier. The best part about this years’ Golden School Awards, is it will be bigger than last year! Impact your school’s reputation and celebrate all your hard work!
WINNERS will be announced at AACS Annual Convention – October 13-16 in New Orleans!
Benefits of participating:
- A trophy to display on campus and boost your school’s reputation
- A digital badge to add to your website and social media
- Publication in The Wink
- A feature on the AACS website and social media pages
- Acknowledgement and recognition
Categories
Community Involvement
Why is community involvement important to you and your campus?
Tell us why your school deserves this award.
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Facilities
What do you think makes a great school facility?
Tell us why your school deserves this award.
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Marketing Innovation
Tell us why your school deserves this award. Include marketing examples and results, if possible.
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Legacy Alumni
What do you think makes up a good alumni program?
Tell us why your school deserves this award. Share any stories.
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Placement
Recognizes schools who do an exceptional job at making sure their students get jobs out of school to build their careers.
Tell us why your school deserves this award. Share any stories!
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
School Culture
What do you think makes an excellent school culture and why is it important?
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Advocacy
Why is advocacy important to you and your school?
Please share with us any examples of your efforts in advocacy.
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
School of the Year
What do you think makes up the best hair and beauty school in the country?
Why is your school deserving of this award?
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Student Salon & Spa
What do you think makes an impactful experience for the students, clients and spa?
What do you think makes the best student salon -spa in the country?
Why is your school deserving of this award?
Upload any videos or photos to help show us why your school is deserving of this award.
Guidelines and Planning
REGISTRATION CLOSED
Before formally submitting your application, we have put together a planning document for all applicants to download to help formulate your responses. Our questions are open ended because we want to hear directly from you why you believe your campus is the best in the category you are applying for.
There is no one that knows your campus better than yourself. Our questions are short because only you can truly describe what makes your campus better than the rest. Feel free to make your submissions as long or as short as you need to fully paint the picture of why your campus deserves to win. While submitting pictures and videos with your entry is not required, it is encouraged.
Once you register your school, you will pay a base fee for a single submission. Additional fees apply per location and per category.
It is important to note that our applications do not have the option to save and return, so please take advantage of planning your answers before submitting!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be an AACS member to submit an application?
The Golden School Awards are only open to current AACS member schools. If you would like to learn more about AACS membership, please reach out to the AACS National Office at info@beautyschools.org.
What makes a successful entry?
No one knows your campus like you. The judges will be looking for responses that come from the heart and truly embody the award that you are applying for.
Can I submit one entry for all my campuses?
While one brand may have multiple campuses, each campus has a different culture! Therefore, all applications are campus specific by school size based on annual enrollment.
When are entries due?
All submissions must be submitted through the online portal by August 19, 2022.
Is there a cost to enter?
The entry fee varies per school size (annual enrollment). If you have multiple campus you can apply additional campus for the fee align with your school size. You can submit for as many categories for one campus as you would like, and pay an additional fee after the initial entry fee.
When will the winners be announced?
Winners will be announced at the AACS Annual Convention. You do not have to be present to win, but should to not miss out on photo ops by not attending for marketing material.
What kind of supporting documents can I upload?
Applicants can submit any type of supporting documents! The follow file types are all accepted by the application: .jpg, .png, .pdf, .mp4, .mov. If you are unsure, reach out to the AACS National Office at, info@beautyschools.org.
Is there a size limit for uploading my supporting documents?
Individual files can be a maximum of 1GB. There is no limit on how many files you can upload.
What is the best way to use my award?
Display your trophy on campus! Add the digital badge to your email signatures and on the home page of your website. There are no restrictions on where you can share your achievement!