Former recipients of SFTS State Scholarships are not eligible to win this scholarship again. No SFTS officers, directors, employees, or contractors involved in promoting the SFTS scholarship program nor their immediate family may receive this scholarship.
If you are under the age of 18, your parent(s) or guardian(s) must agree to you applying. A checkbox will be in section 4, Disclaimers and Signatures, on the application to check yes or no. If it is checked no, you will not be eligible to receive the scholarship. There will also be a media release checkbox. A description of how we might use your information will be shown with a checkbox for yes or no. If no is checked, you will still be eligible to receive the scholarship, but SFTS will not use your photo or information in any SFTS media releases.
Please fill out the scholarship application on your own. We are looking for your insights and experiences. We suggest you have personal information, educational information, and graduation dates available as you work on your scholarship submission. If you are attending a high school and have an email provided by the school, we may not be able to contact you via that email, as most school emails are protected from outside sources for security reasons. We ask that you use a personal email. If you do not have a personal email, ask your parents if you may use theirs or allow you to set up one for scholarship purposes. You will also be required to submit two references, (no relatives please). Please have their names, phone numbers, emails, and position titles ready. It is appropriate to inform your references that you will be using them in your scholarship submission. We do contact references if you are a finalist for one of our scholarships. Each state offering scholarships must receive at least three (3) completed applications that have met all the application requirements for any scholarship session from each individual state. If there are not 3 valid applications from any state, there will be no scholarship awarded for that state. By submitting your application, you agree to all SFTS State Scholarship Official rules and the decisions of SFTS are final and binding.
There will be two Interview Questions. Your answers will have a 250-word maximum limit. Your form will not be saved for you to return to complete. Please gather your information and be ready to complete the form in one sitting.
The Scholarship application for the spring session begins on March 1st and ends on March 31st and the fall session begins on October 1st and ends on October 31st. All entries must be received by the end date of whichever session is currently open or whenever we reach our limit of 50 applicants. We urge all applicants to get their applications completed and submitted as soon as possible, as we reach our limit of 50 applications quickly.
Once all applications and interview questions have been received and verified, the questions and answers will be sent to the scoring committee. The committee works diligently to score the questions in a timely fashion. If there are no unforeseen complications, it may take two to three weeks to return their scores. If you are selected as a finalist, and there is a tie, you may be contacted for a final interview by our selection committee. Once all winners have been selected and references have replied, the winners will be contacted by the scholarship staff of SFTS via email.
If the winner cannot be contacted within three (3) business days after the first attempted contact, SFTS may select an alternate winner in their place based on the scholarship selection criteria. The scholarship money must be used within one (1) year from the date of being selected a scholarship winner. Due to variable timing of application submissions, scoring, contacting references and waiting for their replies, the timing of the scholarship payment cannot be guaranteed for the current semester. A scholarship team member will contact you if it is not possible to process your request in the time frame you have requested.
All recipients of State Scholarships must be a current resident of a participating state: (1) a high school senior who will be graduating and is, or will be enrolled, in a college or university in the United States (2) an undergraduate or graduate student at a college or university who is pursuing studies or conducting research to meet the requirements for an academic or professional degree in the United States; or (3) a student – whether full-time or part time – at an educational institution that provides an educational program acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s or higher degree, or offers a training program to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, such as a vocational or technical school and is authorized under federal or state law to provide such a program and is accredited by a national recognized accreditation agency in the United States. All scholarship awards must be used for tuition and related expenses at an educational institution. No funds will be paid directly to the scholarship winner. The name and contact information of the educational institution must be provided.
The Application which includes education information and references, and Interview Questions must be fully completed for consideration to receive a scholarship. Applications and Interview Questions received after the deadline will not be accepted.
All decisions made by the scholarship selection committee are final.
