Commonly Asked Questions


When will I find out whether or not I received a scholarship?

All applicants, whether receiving a scholarship or not, will be notified in writing around May 1.

What types of awards and honors should I include in the applicant profile?

Include everything that you have received in the last four years! Don't sell yourself or your accomplishments short by leaving something out because you don't think it is important enough. An award is something given to you in recognition of merit or achievement. Maybe you had perfect attendance, won a science fair, were named the school's scholar athlete or employee of the month, were nominated to participate in a leadership camp, played first chair in the band, or a state legislator recognized you for an honor. All of these - and more - are the types of special recognitions that applicants should include in the awards and honors section.

What should I list under school activities? Community service/volunteer activities? Other activities?

For school activities, include any extracurricular activity or school-sponsored group or event (i.e., Debate Club, sports teams, National Honor Society, intramural sports, SADD, etc.) that you have participated in during the last four years.

To describe your community service/volunteer activities, list where and how you have volunteered your time in an effort to make the community a better place. Have you ever worked in a soup kitchen, tutored children, cleaned up a highway or served on a community board? These are just a few examples of community service or volunteer activities.

Are you involved with other activities not associated with school? For example, are you a member of the Girl Scouts, a traveling hockey or other sports team, a church youth group, a professional trade association, or an Eagle Scout, etc.? If so, be sure to list these involvements under other activities.

It will cost $10 and take two weeks for my official college transcript to be processed. Is a student copy ok?

Yes, a student copy of a current college transcript is acceptable. A report card is not acceptable! If you submit a transcript printed off the web, you may be asked to supply an official transcript if awarded a scholarship.

I am a high school senior, but the only transcripts that are currently available to me are  from the end of my 11th grade.  Are these acceptable?

Because of the deadline date of February 1st, we realize not all schools will have their 7th semester (1st semester of your senior year) transcripts available.  Give us what you have available and we will contact your high school counseling office for the 7th semester transcipts. 

I am only applying for scholarships that are not based on financial need. Do I still have to complete the Financial Assistance Questionnaire?

No. If the scholarships you are applying for do not consider financial need in any way, you do not need to complete the Financial Assistance Questionnaire. However, if you are applying for any need-based scholarships and you have not completed this form, your application will not be considered. To determine if a particular scholarship evaluates financial need, refer to the detailed scholarship listings, paying special attention to the evaluation criteria.

No financial information will ever be shared with anyone other than the SCF staff member that enters the information into our database.  This information is always kept confidential.  Also, not including this information will disqualify you for any financial need based scholarships, including those that only consider financial need for a very small percentage of the total score.  Some of our scholarships only consider financial need as 5 of 100 points.

The Financial Assistance Forms ask for my parents (or my) current year W2's.  They (I) have not yet received them.  What can we do?

Because of our application deadline date, not everyone will have the current year W2's.  If they are not yet available, provide us with last year's W2's until you receive the current year W2's.  When the current year is available, send us a copy and we will replace what is currently in the application.

So many things have gone wrong today and I just can't get my application to you. Is there any way the deadline can be extended?

Unfortunately, we CANNOT extend our application deadline. We have heard many, many different reasons why applications were submitted late and while we sympathize with those who find themselves in difficult situations, we simply cannot extend our deadline. This is perhaps the best reason for not waiting until the last minute to complete your application. If you do, anything that can go wrong probably will go wrong.

I haven't been in school for many years, so I have nothing to list under school activities. What should I do?

Applicants who have been out of school for several years for any variety of reasons (i.e., wasn't ready to go to college after high school, busy raising a family) are generally called "nontraditional" students. The "traditional" student is one who, upon completion of high school, enrolls immediately in college.

As a nontraditional student, you may not have information to include under school activities, but don't sell yourself short! You bring different strengths to the application process. Consider your life experiences and mention them elsewhere in the application. What have you been doing? Raising a family? Volunteering with a community organization, PTA, school, church, etc.? Taking care of a sick relative? All of these can (and should!) be noted in the appropriate sections of the application form. Please call our office if you would like additional guidance.

How many credit hours are required for part-time and full-time enrollment?

A minimum of 6 credit hours is required for part-time enrollment for undergraduate school or 3 credit hours for graduate school. To be considered a full-time student, you must enroll a minimum of 12 credit hours for undergraduate school or 9 credit hours for graduate school.