For the fourth year in a row, Sub Pop is giving out $13,000 in scholarship money to three eligible high-school seniors for its annual Loser Scholarship. Unlike many scholarships, though, Sub Pop is not going to be wowed by just a flawless report card (although that certainly couldn't hurt)—it's looking for creative kids who are involved or interested in art, music, and building communities thereof. This is Sub Pop, after all, the record label that has sold T-shirts with "LOSER" written across the front for decades.

"In the past, the people we have gravitated toward have been particularly interested in music, and the kind of music we participate in," says Sub Pop general manager Chris Jacobs (who is on the scholarship selection panel this year). "Sometimes we get the kinds of things that are very much form letters or one-size-fits-all types of things, and that doesn't go a long way."

Jacobs says the label receives somewhere around 100 entries each year, making it very hard to select only three kids. In 2008, the grand-prize winner was Matt Bade, a ballet dancer who managed to not only go to school full-time and dance 40 hours a week on top of that, but also maintain a 3.9 GPA. Last year, the $6,000 prize went to Kelton Sears, a Maple Valley student who submitted samples of his music, short films, and stories.

There are three scholarships: $3,000, $4,000, and $6,000. And to enter, all you have to do is write a short essay (no longer than one page) talking about what you're doing in the field of art or music, what you'd use the scholarship money for, and/or some of your favorite bands or artists. (Visit www.subpop.com for complete details.) Good luck, loser.

Fri April 16: Exene Cervenka at Easy Street Records Queen Anne, 6 pm, free.

Sat April 17: Minus the Bear at Sonic Boom Records Capitol Hill, 2 pm, free.

Sat April 17: Slow Skate, Proud Wonderful Me at Bop Street Records, 3 pm, free.

Sat April 17: Can the Boy Tell Time, the Edison Trait, Ugly Winner, Paper Panda at Ground Zero, 7 pm, $5.