USM’s Financial Aid website will have a list of general scholarship and grant packages available in mid-January. Approximately 35 scholarships and grants will be posted on the website. Funds awarded by different scholarships range from $100 to $2500. The average scholarship award is about $500. Applications for the general scholarship packages can be found in the financial aid offices, campus centers, dean’s offices and elsewhere on campus.
Lawrence Bliss, Director of Career Services and Professional Life Development, is encouraging all students to apply. “Every year we only get about 125 students who apply. Ideally we should have 300 applicants,” he said. Bliss encourages students to apply even if they are not sure of their eligibility: “Apply! You never know. [The application process] is good practice and you might surprise yourself,” said Bliss.
Many, but not all scholarships require a minimum 3.0 GPA. According to Bliss, committees, which are comprised of faculty, staff, and students select the winning candidates based on a list of considerations. The application requires a student to provide a one-page resume, an essay of no more than two pages about him or herself, campus and community involvement and plans for after college. A letter of recommendation is also required.
The only students who are not eligible to apply are first semester freshman, first semester transfer students and graduating seniors who are not continuing their education at USM. First semester students are not eligible because a student begins USM with no GPA. It is not until after the first semester that a student has established a GPA with which to be considered in the application process. Graduating seniors not continuing their education at USM are not eligible because the scholarship money awarded is deposited into the student’s USM account.
Jacob Shebel, a junior, Political Science major, is an out of state student who received a Vermont State Scholarship, which awards him $500 a year for four years. While he admits the process of applying for a scholarship was easy, he explained, “no matter how easy it is students simply aren’t aware of the choices they have. It may be easy to find the applications, but discerning which scholarships you are eligible to apply for can be troublesome.” Bliss said the application allows students consideration for any scholarship applicable to them.
Shebel has concerns about the availability of scholarships for out of state students. “I think that although there are scholarships available for both in and out of state students, the gap between their respective tuition is so large that there should be more opportunities for out of state students to receive scholarships.”
General scholarships should not be confused with merit scholarships. Merit scholarships are awarded to students for excellence in a specific field and students are recommended by faculty or staff to apply.
For more information, check USM’s financial aid website at http://www.usm.maine.edu/fin/
Erin Violette can be reached at [email protected]