In 2013-2014, about $500,000 awarded by ACCD Foundation.
By Cynthia M. Herrera
cherrera151@student.alamo.edu
Students who don’t want to miss an opportunity to earn scholarships from $250 to $1,500 a semester may apply to the Alamo Colleges Foundation Scholarship by the early deadline of April 5.
In 2013-14 about $1.5 million was awarded to students in all Alamo Colleges, said Jim Eskin, executive director of Alamo Colleges Foundation.
In an email, Eskin wrote about 1,700 students from all Alamo Colleges received a foundation scholarship.
About 500 students at this college received approximately $500,000 in scholarships during the 2013-14 academic year.
Students must complete a one-time application online for 2015-16.
The application consists of questions including “Are you or have you been an amateur boxer between the ages of 8 through 32 years of age? Are you an employee or immediate family member of a McDonald’s restaurant/owner? Do you regularly attend SAC Gay and Lesbian Association meetings?”
The questions allow the foundation to consider applicants for a variety of foundation scholarships, according to its website. That is why the application only needs to be filled out once every academic year.
There are also three 250-word essays. The topics describe the background and life experiences that prompted the applicant to pursue a higher education. The application asks about educational, career and life goals as well as the plan for achieving them.
Applicants also must explain why they chose a degree or major and why receiving a scholarship will help achieve their goals.
Foundation scholarships are open to students graduating from high school, currently enrolled students, returning students and first-time-in-college students.
The judges consist of staff, faculty and community representatives.
Applications are scored based on criteria, such as activities, number of hours earned, grades, grammar and spelling.
Irene Fuentes, this college’s scholarship coordinator, said judges look forward to the application process and they are amazed at how it works.
“It’s a very fair and very unbiased process,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes explained when judges review an application, they see everything but the student’s name.
The application process is not on a first-come, first-served basis. Instead applicants with higher scores are awarded.
Students can compete for more than one scholarship.
“There is no rigid limit on how many scholarships a student can receive,” Fuentes said in an email. “The goal would be to ‘spread the wealth,’ so to speak … and strive to award to as many applicants as possible.”
Once a student is qualified and ranked, Fuentes checks if students are enrolled and in good academic standing.
Visit www.alamo.edu/foundation/scholarships/.