Students must act fast and submit their applications by Oct. 15 for a chance to win a variety of scholarships being offered by Associated Students Inc. this semester.
The eight different scholarships all have different criteria, but according to ASI, students from all walks of life can find one that fits them.
“There’s a broad net for every student to win a scholarship,” said Katie Ayala, executive vice president of ASI. “Some of them have smaller demographics, like for the adult re-entry scholarships. That makes your odds a little better.”
Of the eight scholarships, seven of them will reward two students each with $1,000. The last scholarship, called the Free Book Rental Scholarship Program, will reward 35 students with free rented books from the Titan Shops bookstore for a semester. All told, 49 students will be rewarded.
“The one that I like to push is the free book rental one. Everyone gets excited about seeing how they could get free books for next semester, and we give away 35 of those. So they might feel better about applying, because they have better odds at it,” said Katie Barry, ASI scholarship committee chair.
Some of the more narrowly-tailored scholarships include those for graduate students, adult re-entry students, athletes and student parents.
A couple of others, like the William G. Pollock Scholarship, have wider criteria that include a minimum accumulative GPA of 2.5 and campus or community involvement.
“Our scholarships are not restricted to any particular major or field of student. Since ASI is a non-profit service organization, emphasis is placed on campus and community involvement,” said Judith Valona, executive assistant for ASI.
The funding for all these scholarships is from donations. Titan Shops, a longtime contributor, has donated $208,550 for ASI scholarships since the spring of 1999, Valona said.
“The ASI Scholarships are administered by ASI, but not funded by ASI,” she said.
Beside the bookstore, individuals choose to donate funds for ASI scholarships, Ayala said.
Once the application deadline has passed, the ASI scholarship committee begins the selection process.
Ayala said ASI has a scholarship committee comprised of 15 students. First thing they do is promotions; second part is they actually read the scholarship applications.
The scholarship committee students are trained by a professional on what to look for during the selection process, and the names and information of all the applicants are blanked out as well, Ayala said.
“The scholarships are awarded in the fall for use in the spring,” Ayala added.
According to ASI statistics, 375 students applied for the same eight scholarships last spring.
The William G. Pollock Scholarship, with its broader criteria, had 118 applicants. A few of the other scholarships have typically received fewer applicants.
“Our adult re-entry scholarship gets low numbers. It’s hard for us to find those adult re-entry students. We did take extra steps this year by going to the Veteran Students Association and adult re-entry workshops,” Ayala said.
Applications, with specific criteria for each, can be found online at ASI.Fullerton.edu/services/scholarships.asp.
All applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Oct. 15 to the ASI Executive Offices in Titan Student Union Room 207.
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