I hope you can find an opportunity in your classes to remind students of the April 1 deadline to apply for Alamo Colleges Foundation fall 2013 scholarships.
Our data show that more students are applying each year for scholarships. This academic year, 980 NVC students applied for internal scholarships and thus far 313 students have been awarded. That number is up from 263 the previous year. With 40 percent of our students in need of financial aid, scholarships help students avoid taking on second jobs to pay for school and may allow them to enroll in more hours per semester.
We continue working to identify new donors, and are always on the lookout for grants to provide more scholarship funds; so of course we want to simultaneously encourage students to apply for the available scholarships. By the way, I would like to thank our NVC faculty and staff members who have individually or collectively endowed several student scholarships. Just think what a difference that is going to make over the years.
Here are some common myths that may keep students from applying for scholarships:
- Myth – Most scholarships require students to be enrolled full time or 12 credit hours.
Actually, there are quite a few scholarships that only require a minimum of 6 credit hours. Also, developmental courses are considered a part of the enrolled hours. - Myth – Scholarships require a GPA of 2.5 or more likely 3.0.
Actually, there are some scholarships that only require that a student maintain a 2.0 GPA. - Myth – All scholarships require verification of financial need.
In truth, requirements for scholarships vary, and many do not require students to express a financial need; they may instead be related to a major or to academic performance. - Myth – Scholarships are available only to students who are already enrolled.
Certainly, we want to encourage current students to apply, but former students who want to re-enroll and first-time-in-college students may also pursue the available scholarships; it is, however, a bit more challenging to get the word out to individuals who are not yet our students.
Students who are seeking internal Alamo Colleges scholarships should apply via the Web at this link, but there are many external scholarships also listed on the NVC website at this link.
A little known fact is that internal scholarships only account for $177,000 of funds awarded in the 2012-13 academic year, while external funds account for $400,000 thus far; so it’s highly recommended students pursue both possibilities.
As you may be aware, scholarship award amounts vary, with some scholarships offering just a few hundred dollars and others, such as the Math Intensive Majors (MIM) scholarship, offering up to $3,466 per semester. So get those students on that website applying!