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LeeONeil

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  • Hi from Fayette County, Jodi! We try to group applicants who apply for similar scholarship programs. For instance, we have several similar Nursing/Healthcare scholarship programs. Chances are the applicants have applied to ALL of the programs. Grouping them really reduces the work load for the evaluators. Lee O'Neil,…
  • We don't have staff on our selection committees, but as Scholarship Coordinator, I sit in on all the meetings. Even though I don't read the applications, it's helpful to have me in the room if any questions arise and to help keep them organized.
  • Several of our programs use unique essay/personal statement prompts, but this is the general instruction we give to all applicants: Things to think about when you create your essay or personal statement: You will want to put your best self forward, so be sure your essay is well-organized and your spelling and grammar are…
  • As part of our financial need determinations, we needed a more accurate answer from applicants about their school choice, also. As a result, we eliminated the Undecided answer option, and we pushed our application deadline to April 30, with the idea that most schools require a decision and/or deposit by May 1, and almost…
  • Transcripts from our local high schools only provide weighted GPA information. The complication is that not all high schools provide the same AP class or "College in the Classroom" opportunities, so when we look at student GPAs across school districts, it's hard to compare apples to apples. After our 2022 cycle, our…
  • I am interested in this, also. I feel as if the questions in my Universe branch for "non-traditionals" need improvement. I'm also thinking that we should use language more akin to "Adults wishing to further their education", since the term "non-traditional" is kind of a foundation industry term that other people don't…
  • Our last grant cycle was named "Building a Stronger Fayette", and we'll be using that language far into the future!
  • Michelle, We do not coach the applicants, but we offer a bit of advice as an instruction in the Personal Statement section: Things to think about when you create your essay or personal statement: You will want to put your best self forward, so be sure your essay is well-organized and your spelling and grammar are correct.…
  • Like @JackieLaw, I would prefer to see the fund name field available to use in the text above the list of honorary or memorial donations. When it's repeated over and over for multiple donors in the "for each donation" section, the letter feels awkward.
  • Happy to share our 2021 Universe application! It's our first, and I'm sure we'll be tweaking next year. I've already made a few tweaks to clear up certain Instruction-type questions.
  • @BettieStammerjohn About #4: I think she means to add the student name and the scholarship program in the memo line or check stub, not in the payment line. That way each check is clearly identified.