ATTN. SAINTS: SCHOLARSHIP SEASON IS HERE

It’s the start of a new year, which means scholarship season is now open for MHCC students who will enroll during the 2019-20 school year. The MHCC Foundation will award money to over 100 students, based on certain scholarship criteria.

For new (2019-20) students, you must first apply for admission and get your school email set up before applying for scholarships. For the best chance to receive a scholarship, apply by March 29. The results will be announced at the end of May, which is close to the end of spring term 2019.

The scholarship program is independent from FAFSA, so you don’t need to complete that paperwork, though it helps. For those who are awarded a scholarship, disbursement of the funds starts in Fall Term and will continue in the following academic terms, in $1,000 increments. For those students planning to transfer to another college next year, the Mt. Hood scholarship won’t transfer if you are awarded. The funds can only be used at MHCC.   

If you need help filling out applications, there are scholarship workshops between now and March, where staff in the Learning Success Center (AC 3333) can help you out with everything from basic information, to tips for writing winning scholarship essays.

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These workshops are Jan. 22, Feb. 13, and March 7, 20, and 25. The times for these dates vary between mornings and afternoons and are posted on the MHCC website. Current students and students who plan to attend MHCC next school year are welcome at these workshops.

An important note for students who feel they don’t have enough time to apply for a bunch of scholarships: When you complete one application, the system will consider you for all MHCC scholarships, which saves you time and energy.

To those familiar with the process of applying for scholarships and financial aid, the Mt. Hood webpage has resource links to other websites with more scholarship access and information.

One listed is OSAC, which is a database with scholarship applications and information in Oregon (the Office of Student Access and Completion). The others are similar websites, such as fastweb.com. MHCC departments, including Accessible Education Services and the Diversity Resource Center, might also be able to recommend more specific scholarships for which you may qualify at Mt. Hood and beyond.

Lastly, the webpage also provides a separate page for application tips and frequently asked questions; this tells you about information needed like transcripts, references, what some scholarship essays will cover and the minimum requirements to be considered for scholarships.

To sum up: This money is out there waiting for 2019-20 students, but you need to apply to be considered to receive it.

Advocate Staff