Are you a student, resides in Washington State and want to get a scholarship to pay your college? The College Success Foundation (CSF) is now accepting an application for its Washington State Governors’ Scholarship for Foster Youth. The program is open to high school senior who are planning to graduate from high school during the academic year. The program helps young men and women, who are currently in an open dependency court order in Washington State, or an open dependency tribal court order, continue their education and earn a college degree. Winners will receive scholarship award amounts range from $2,000 to $4,000.
The College Success Foundation (CSF) was established in the spring of 2000 by Bob Craves and Ann Ramsay-Jenkins, but CSF was originally founded as the Washington Education Foundation, but changed its name in 2006 to better align with its mission “to provide college scholarships and mentoring to low-income, high-potential students”.
Eligibility:
To be considered for the Washington State Governors’ Scholarship students must:
- Be enrolled in a Washington state high school senior and on track to graduate from high school during the 2016-2017 academic year
- Have a cumulative high school grade point average of 2.0 or greater
- Plan to enroll in college on a full-time basis, beginning the fall term of 2017, and complete a program of study at an eligible, nonprofit accredited public or independent college or university in the state of Washington
- Have resided in Washington State for at least three academic years prior to high school graduation
- Complete and submit the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) https://fafsa.ed.gov/ or Washington application for state financial aid (WASFA) http://readysetgrad.org/wasfa
- If under 18, students must currently have an open dependency court order that resulted from intervention by Washington State on their behalf and they have been placed in any of the following living situations:
- Foster Care
- Family Foster Care, with non-relative adults
- Kinship Care, with relatives
- Residential/Group Care
- Dependency Guardianship (with either relatives or non-relatives)
- Guardianship (with either relatives or non-relatives)
- If over 18, students must have lived in a court-ordered foster care, dependency guardianship or guardianship until emancipation, (age 18)
OR
- The applicant is currently, or was until age 18, in federally recognized care. The applicant has been classified by the United States government as an unaccompanied minor refugee, is a legal permanent resident and is in legal care, (or was in care until emancipation) of a private non-profit agency in Washington State
OR
- The applicant is currently, or was until age 18, under a dependency tribal court order that placed the student outside the home
How to Apply:
In order to apply, interested candidate can log-in to start application by the given link:
https://www.collegesuccessfoundation.org/wa/scholarships/governors/application
Supporting Documents:
- Transcript: You must submit an official transcript from your high school, so be sure to request one from your school in advance.
- Letter of Recommendation: provide this form to your recommender to complete and submit with your letter of recommendation. http://www.collegesuccessfoundation.org/file/application-documents/governors/Governors-Recommender-Form-2016-17.pdf
- A copy of Dependency Court Order: provide a copy of the official court document reflecting the current placement situation. Copies can be obtained from a social worker.
Submitting Details:
Candidate can mail their transcript, letter of recommendation and court documents to College Success Foundation Governors’ Scholarship for Foster Youth 1605 NW Sammamish Road, Suite 200 Issaquah, WA 98027
Financial Aid and Award Money:
- Proceeds from the Governors’ Cup – an annual golf tournament – provide funding for approximately 40 new scholars each year. Scholarship award amounts range from $2,000 to $4,000 depending on the college of attendance.
- Selected students can access the annual scholarship for up to five years to complete their undergraduate study. Students must be enrolled full-time and maintain satisfactory academic progress in order to renew the scholarship each year.
Application Deadline:
The 2017-2018 Governors’ Scholarship application will be closed on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at 5 p.m. PST.
Link for more Information:
http://www.collegesuccessfoundation.org/wa/scholarships/governors
Contact Information:
If you have questions about deadlines and application, contact Scholarship Services at 1.877.655.4097 or scholarshipservices-at-collegesuccessfoundation.org.
