Scholarship FAQs

The scolarship application opens in December. The deadline to submit an application is March 01

Click on the Apply For Scholarships tab and follow the link to our online portal. You will be asked to create an account using a personal email address that you will check regularly and a password you will remember. Once you have a login, you may open your application to work on it, or stop and save your application at any time. When you are satisfied with it, be sure to “submit” the application by the deadline.

We offer scholarships for traditional and nontraditional students:

• Traditional students graduate from high school in the spring of their senior year and enter college the fall semester after high school graduation (sometimes called the "current year"). As long as you go directly to college and stay in college, you are a traditional student.
• Nontraditional students often do not go to college directly from high school. These students typically take a year or more off between high school and college, or start college and then stop for health, family, or financial reasons. If you delay college or if you return to college after a break, you are considered a nontraditional student.

Yes, some of the Community Foundation Scholarships may be used to attend industry-recognized training programs or vocational programs. If your program accepts Pell Grants, you may use Community Foundation career scholarships to attend.

Ask references at least three or four weeks before your deadline. Explain why you need a recommendation and ask if he or she is willing to serve as a reference. Ask references if they know you well enough and feel comfortable writing a positive recommendation for you. Ask references if the timing is okay. Remember, your reference may be writing recommendations for several other students, too, and may not have time to write a reference for all who ask.

Scholarship applications are reviewed by the Foundation’s scholarship committee and upon the committee recommendations, are given final approval by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The scholarship committee is made up of volunteers who live in Wabash County. Community Foundation staff do not approve or deny scholarship applications.

Scholarships awarded by the Community Foundation are announced in May. Awards are typically handed out at your school’s scholarship award event.

To claim your scholarship, you must return to your scholarship account that you created through our online portal. Once you are logged into your account in the portal:

1. Complete a form called “Contact and Billing Information.” Click the Start button to access the form. Remember, you personally will not receive a check for the scholarship. All scholarships will be sent directly to the school in which you will be enrolled in the current school year. The Contact and Billing Information form tells us how to get in touch with you and where to send the scholarship check.
2. As soon as you receive an official bill from your school, or as soon as an electronic bill is posted to your college online account, send us a copy by going back to your scholarship account and uploading the bill in PDF format. Only official bills will be considered. Do not upload an estimated statement. Be sure the bill shows all charges (tuition, room, board, fees) and all credits (all financial aid, scholarships, loans). Your scholarship can only be used for tuition and education fees. If there is no outstanding balance on your statement for the fall semester, the scholarship will be held by the Community Foundation for a future semester.
3. Scholarships not claimed by December 31st in the current calendar year will be forfeited.