Local Scholarship Application Distribution

1. Local Scholarship Application Distribution South High School February 2014

2. $cholar$hip$ • An extraordinary amount of money is provided by our local donors as an investment in you and your future! • Last year, approximately 100 South High graduates received over $500,000 in total gifts. • These are truly gifts—NOT entitlements!

3. Who Chooses the Winners? • Approximately 15 scholarships are chosen by South’s Scholarship Selection Committee • The majority of scholarships are chosen by outside, community donors. South High staff are not involved in the selection of any of these scholarships. So, your application and its essay/statement, must do a fine job of presenting who you are and why donors should invest in you! • You may not be eligible for all of the scholarships we will be awarding. (For example, some scholarships are for specific majors. Others may be awarded just on the rank within your class!)

4. Who Chooses the winner? • Other scholarships are only for South students who have taken traditional “mortar” classes (without ANY online/charter classes.) • Students will be eligible for scholarships chosen specifically by the South High School Selection Committee, if he/she received first semester grades from South High during his/her senior year. Preference will be given to students who have attended South High School for their entire four years of high school.

5. Who Chooses the Winner? • Other scholarships may be focused only on character! • In other words, the criteria varies greatly from one scholarship to another.

6. On the Web. . . • Access the local scholarship application at www.sheboygan.k12.wi.us/south/guidance/finaidschol.html • Only typed or computer-generated applications will be accepted—NO handwritten applications! Families without computers are encouraged to use the South High computer labs prior to the deadline date! • Completed applications are due to the Counseling Center no later than 4:00 p.m. on Thursay, February 20th—NO exceptions

7. One Side Note About Due Dates • Try to get any scholarship application that needs a signature, etc., from your counselor into the Counseling Center at least one week in advance—not the due date! We cannot guarantee we will be able to get your request taken care of in such a short notice!

8. The Application. . . • Notice the top of page 1! • Class rank and cumulative G.P.A. • ACT/SAT Scores • This information will have the various selection committees/donors

9. The Application, Con’t. . . • College/Technical School You Plan to Attend: We ask this as some scholarships may only be for a public university, a two-year technical school, etc.. • “Why Do We Ask About your Major?” Some scholarships may only be for specific majors (for example, some scholarships are only for students interested in becoming a teacher). We recommend that you put down a major—not “undecided”, as you may be limiting your scholarship opportunities.

10. The application, con’t. . . • “Why Do I Need to Provide My Elementary and Middle School Information?” Some scholarships may be for those students who attend a specific elementary or middle school.

11. The application, con’t • “Why is Family Financial Information Requested?” Some scholarships have as a criteria a family’s financial need. Also, the number of children in the family and the number of family members in college may play an important factor for recipient selection! • Unusual Expenses. . .? Has a parent become unemployed? Large medical expenses? We ask for this as it may NOT be apparent in the 2012 tax return.

12. Student Activity Profile Page • Be thorough for both high school and community involvement. • Leadership positions are especially important—make yourself stand out from other students, BUT be HONEST as we have our Activities Director review and verify extra- • Curricular involvement at South High.

13. The Essay/statement. . . • “Describe your educational and personals goals and how you plan to finance them.” • It is important that you write a thorough response reflective of who you are. Your voice and personality need to shine through. • The essay could be the item that pushes your application to the front of the line. • It may also be used in case of a tie breaker—see essay rubric. • Spelling! Spelling! Spelling!

14. How Would you Score this essay? • “My career path is in the ITT field. I believe that with todays technologies there is a great need for workers in this field. I hope to be able to work in the Itt technologies field and make a difference in improving the technologies that are available now and in the future with my employer. I like working with computers and I excel in this area which makes me very comfortable and confident in my career choice. I think choosing a career that you enjoy make a much more productive employee, when the employee truly enjoys his work.”

15. How would you score this second essay? • “Why? Everywhere I went, every phenomena I saw, and everything I felt, I always asked the question of why. The world was a strange place and I knew nothing of its workings, but I wanted to. Because of this great drive to find out why, I began taking an interest in mathematics and its applications in the sciences at a young age, taking extra math tests, participating in science fairs, and even becoming the leader of my middle school math team. This was not enough; I still did not know why things were the way they were. When I entered high school, I finally found the basis of how I could find out why. I strived to be the best I could be in high school to satisfy my thirst for this question that seems to have no answer and found that only higher education and joining a professional field which will search for the answer will come close to fulfilling my thirst.

16. Second Essay, continued… • “Entering high school, I saw all of the possibilities offered and I knew I could officially start my journey to answer my inquiry. The extra-curriculars offered by my school and outside of school were numerous and many of them were a stop on the map of my quest. Participating in many activities, I realized that the underlying determinant of why something is what it is, is mathematics. I excelled in mathematics, taking two courses simultaneously my freshman year and becoming the captain and co-founder of my school’s official math team. The sciences seemed to make more sense the farther along I went on my high school jounrey; I could see how calculus was used everywhere and why the mathematical relationships existed. Rockets for Schools and my team’s trip to Huntsville, Alabama to talk with NASA scientists were also a key part in realizing how math effectively explained everything. Even the theories of economics were closely related to mathematics, as I found out from debate, forensics, and my macroeconomics course. I came to the conclu-

17. Second Essay, continued. . . • -sion that studying mathematics was the best way to effectively explain everything. • My search for the answer to the question of why will never end. All I can do is keep trying to learn why and find out as much as I can. The knowledge I gain from my double majors in economics, amnd more importantly, mathematics will be applicable to the real world and could help society in the long run if used correctly. I hope to use mathematics and apply what I have learned to better society through its use in economics. Although my journey will be like a function approaching an asymptote—getting even closer but never meeting it—I will continue my quest into my professional life, using my knowledge practically with the hopes of bettering society.”

18. QUESTIONS? • Thanks for attending this presentation. • Feel free to see your school counselor or Mrs. Stubbein the Counseling Center if you have any questions about this scholarship application (or any other scholarship question, for that matter). • REMEMBER: The due date is Friday, February 22nd by 4:00 p.m. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! • Good luck!