HOW TO APPLY FOR 2023 LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS

This webpage includes the following information that students will need to apply for local scholarships:

• Local Scholarship packet, which contains a list of all available scholarships and their requirements;
• HCRHS Local Scholarship Application, which can be used to apply for most local scholarships;
• Quick Reference Sheet, to help students quickly identify scholarships by category;
• Private Applications, for those local scholarships which do not accept the HCRHS application.

Students may be eligible and apply for multiple scholarships; all students are encouraged to apply for as many scholarships as possible.

IMPORTANT DATES

• All local scholarship applications must be submitted electronically by Thursday, March 23, 2023at 3:00 PM. There will be no exceptions to this submission deadline.
• Local scholarship recipients will be notified of their award(s) starting in mid-May. All award recipients will be invited to Awards Night on Thursday, June 8, 2023.

1. Review & Get Organized

• Review the Quick Reference Sheet, which organizes scholarship by category, then review the Local Scholarship packet, for full scholarship descriptions to determine your eligibility.
• Take note of their requirements and get organized. You may need to write essays for certain scholarships – prepare extra time for this!
• Most scholarships use the HCRHS Local Scholarship Application, but take note of scholarships that use a Private Application as you may need to print and prepare those applications.

2. Complete Applications & Essays

• Review the HCRHS Local Scholarship Application prior to filling it out. You may need to gather family financial information before you fill out the application.
• Make a copy (“File” > “Make a Copy”) of the application and fill it out electronically, including the activity page at the end. Then, for each scholarship for which you plan to apply, make a copy of the completed application. (“File” > “Make a Copy”) Be sure to change the scholarship name in Section 1. (Example: applying for 10 scholarships = 10 completed scholarship applications with the appropriate scholarship name in Section 1)
• Some scholarships require an essay or personal statement. Consider revising your college essays for this purpose, but also be sure to answer the prompt if there is one. Remember, these are not admission offices reading these – they are community people who want to learn about you and why you might be most deserving of their scholarship.
• Any required essays must go after the completed application as an additional page of the scholarship PDF file.
• Once each individual application is complete, with essay if required, download it as a PDF and save it with the file name “Scholarship Name First Name Last Name”. (Example: Flemington Rotary John Smith) If the scholarship name is long, please abbreviate with the first few words. No punctuation please!
• For Private Applications, be sure to fill those out too and include any required items. Private Apps should also be saved as a PDF file in the same format with the required essay as the last page of the document. If you printed a private app and now need to make it electronic, you can use a scanner or one of the many free phone apps that will photograph documents and turn them into a PDF for you.

3. Preparing for Submission

• You must have one individual PDF file per scholarship. (Example: Applying for 10 local scholarships = 10 complete PDF files)
• Each PDF file must include the application – either the HCRHS application or the private application – followed by the essay, if required.
• Each PDF file must be named correctly: Scholarship Name First Name Last Name
  • Example: Flemington Rotary John Smith (No punctuation please!)

• We will not open or review your Local Scholarship application files once they are submitted. You are responsible for making sure that each scholarship application is correct, complete, and the essay (if required) is included with the file. Please make sure that the file is named correctly. We will send your files to the appropriate scholarship donors for review without opening them.

4. Electronic Scholarship Submission – All local scholarships are due by Thursday, March 23 at 3:00 PM..

• Start an email to scholarships@hcrhs.org to begin submitting your scholarships.
• Subject line: Local Scholarship Submission
• In the body of the email, include ONLY a list of the scholarships to which you are applying. We expect to see attachments for those scholarships.
• Attach your PDF files. (Do not attach Google docs or Word docs – please read steps 2 and 3 carefully!) Double-check file names; make sure it is obvious which scholarship you are applying for and your name is clear.
• If you have 10+ local scholarships, please start a second email.
• If you are submitting more than one email, please try to send them close together and include subject lines that read “Local Scholarship Submission 1 of 2” and “Local Scholarship Submission 2 of 2” (and a third email if needed).
• The Local Scholarships email account will respond to you confirming your submissions were received. Local scholarship recipient notification will begin in mid-May.

For questions or assistance with the Local Scholarship program, please contact your counselor or Jennifer Nuechterlein, College & Career Counselor: jnuechte@hcrhs.org.