This is the second part in a two-part series about resources for high school seniors to pay for college. This installment focuses on scholarships.
Another way for Cheney and Medical Lake high school students to pay for college is by scholarships.
Students are awarded scholarships for many reasons, such as having a high grade point average or achieving notoriety in a sport or performance art.
Nicole Starkey, Cheney High School career and college specialist, said there are numerous scholarships for more than just high GPAs and athletics.
Starkey and Lori Wilbanks, Medical Lake High School counselor, explained there are also scholarships for students based on their social economic background, demographics and a student’s major.
Wilbanks advised that once a student is accepted at a university, community college or trade school, they should seek out which scholarships are available for them through the institution.
For example, Eastern Washington University awards over $2.8 million to more than 1,500 students each year. These scholarships range from new freshmen and first-generation students to students with specific majors.
Wilbanks also advises students to reach out to clubs they are a part of and their parents’ companies for scholarship opportunities. They should also look at local organizations.
Medical Lake’s Dollars for Scholars chapter helps raise money for scholarships and awards them to local high school seniors. The organization provides an opportunity for many other local groups to maximize their scholarship donations, as well as providing its own scholarships.
In an email, Lisa Spilker, vice president and scholarship chair, said the organization has awarded $478,330 in scholarships since 2004. In 2016, it awarded 54 scholarships totaling $32,650.
Spilker explained that their organization uses the ChapterNet Portal on their website for the application process. Students can use the portal to apply for not only local scholarships, but national ones as well.
“We encourage students to create their profile in ChapterNet early in their senior year,” Spilker said. “Medical Lake Dollars for Scholars will open local applications on Dec. 1. However, students should check their dashboard often as application due dates for scholarships across the United States vary.”
There is also the Cheney Scholarship Association, which awards Cheney High School seniors numerous scholarships. The association stemmed from the previous Cheney Dollars for Scholars.
President Mitch Swenson explained there are numerous scholarships from local businesses and organizations, as well as CHS alumni and longtime residents. Swenson established a scholarship in memory of his brother, Nels Swenson.
He added that businesses and residents can create a scholarship at any time.
“It’s a neat way to honor a loved one and a simple way to give back to your alma mater if that was Cheney High School,” Swenson said. “It’s also a great way to make an impact.”
To apply for scholarships through the CSA, students must fill out an application and submit all of the forms in a timely manner to the career and college center. Students must also attend the Time to Honor ceremony in June, as well as write a thank you letter to the scholarship donor and the association.
Cheney students will receive their scholarships during the annual Time to Honor ceremony.
After searching locally, Wilbanks suggests students visit The Washboard, a website that connects Washington state students with scholarship providers in the state.
Another resource for students is the state College Bound Scholarship.
The scholarship is a two-part process. Wilbanks explained that students whose families are income-eligible, fill out an application in seventh- or eighth-grade. When they are seniors in high school, they re-apply for the scholarship by filling out their free application for Federal Student Aid or Washington State Financial Aid.
“It coincides with the state need grant,” Wilbanks said. “It will cover what federal aid does not.”
Scholarships can affect the amount of financial aid a student receives. Students should alert their college that they have been awarded a scholarship so that the institution’s financial aid office can subtract the amount from their cost of attendance.
Like federal aid, colleges have different scholarship deadlines. Eastern Washington’s priority scholarship deadline is Feb. 1. Washington State University’s deadlines are Jan. 31. The priority deadline for Whitworth University is Dec. 1.
“Apply for a scholarship, even if you don’t think you’ll get it,” Starkey said. “The worst thing they will say is ‘no.’”
MORE INFO
For more information on the Cheney Scholarship Association, contact Mitch Swenson at [email protected].
For Medical Lake Dollars for Scholars, visit medicallake.dollarsforscholars.org.
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].
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