Make high school graduates smile by awarding them scholarships.
Setting up a scholarship program for high school students can be a rewarding but challenging experience. Distributing scholarships to deserving high school students can support their academic and career aspirations. However, running a scholarship program requires a significant time commitment, as you have to sift through applications to determine who you will award the scholarship to, year after year. The more specific you make your scholarship requirements, the easier your decision will be.
Instructions
1. Secure funding for your scholarship. Whether you are funding the scholarship out of your own pocket, collecting donations from private individuals or raising money through events, you need to know how much money you have to spend on the scholarship. Determine whether you want your funds to go toward one scholarship or multiple scholarships. Also, determine whether you will issue a one-time award to students or renew the scholarship once a year for up to four years for an undergraduate education.
2. Establish a mission statement for the scholarship organization. Your mission statement should help you definite your goals and the type of high school students you want to support. For example, you can aim to serve students from a specific city or county or reserve the scholarship for high school students who will pursue a specific major, like education or engineering. Based on these qualifications, create a mission statement that explains the scholarship's purpose.
3. Set academic and financial standards for your scholarship. These standards will help you evaluate high school students who apply for the scholarship. Establish a minimum grade point average or standardized test score that students must earn to qualify. Decide whether they need to take certain courses as well. If you want to help a student who has a financial need, you can require that students submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid with their scholarship application so that you can determine their level of need.
4. Create a scholarship application. The more detailed you make the application, the more information you will collect about about applicants. Include a section for basic contact information, like name, address, high school and year of graduation. Create short answer or essay questions to give you insight into the applicant's personality and goals. List other documents students need to submit with their application, like high school transcripts, standardized test scores or letters of recommendation.
5. Form a scholarship review committee. If your scholarship committee has a board of directors, ask for their assistance in reviewing the applications. Working with a team to review the applications makes your decision as unbiased and objective as possible. Educate the committee about the requirements for the scholarship.
6. Publicize your scholarship. If your scholarship appeals to a certain area, post fliers on community bulletin boards or a call for applications in local school newsletters. Consider building a website, where you can provide full details about the scholarship requirements. You can even have students submit their applications online using the website.
Tags: high school, your scholarship, high school students, school students, mission statement