Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation Scholarship Updated post-webinar by S. Koester on

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Elisabeth Reeves
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Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation Scholarship Updated post-webinar by S. Koester on 11.19.15 Due date: Feb.1st 11:59PM at the VERY latest with ALL application materials due at that time.

1 Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation Scholarship Updated post-webinar by S. Koester on Due date: Feb.1st 11:59PM at the VERY latest with ALL application materials due at that time. Required information includes: Application - make sure you click submit, answer final survey questions, and sign consent to release by this date, or your application will be locked. TWO recommendations (There is an on-line template) Choose your recommenders well. This is a crucial part of your application and they need to know you well, be committed to writing a strong recommendation and to meeting the deadline! High School Transcript-If I recall correctly, I will need to create a digital copy of your transcript that I can send to you via and you can upload into the application. This is an easy piece so let s get it done sooner than later. Essay - must be responsive to prompt questions and this is THE MOST important piece of your application. Pay close attention to the instructions below regarding the essay. March 15th at 11:59 PM is the due date for your Student Aid Report (SAR) or College Funding Estimator. The SAR comes from your FAFSA. Do not procrastinate on completing your FAFSA. If your SAR seems incorrect, you want time to complete your corrections. If you have questions about completing your FAFSA, do NOT ask the Susan Buffett Foundation. Refer any of those questions to EducationQuest. ADDRESSES, YOURS, MINE (skoester@esu1.org) AND YOUR RECOMMENDERS, ARE CRITICAL. THE STB FOUNDATION COMMUNICATES WITH YOU VIA (and also texts if you give them your phone number!)

2 BE SURE THAT YOU RECEIVE AN THAT EVERYTHING IS SUBMITTED BEFORE THE FEB. 1ST DEADLINE! RECOMMENDATIONS: Your recommenders MUST use the on-line tool. They will receive a link to the form via . Other important recommendation info.: Recommenders can save and come back to complete the recommendation A PDF copy of the recommendation with be ed to recommenders when they submit reminders and confirmations will be sent to both students and recommenders regarding the status of recommendations Recommendation includes FOUR specific questions and a place for additional comments. Recommenders should speak to the student s work ethic and leadership skills. discuss the student s understanding of him/herself and how you have seen this play a role in his/her life. discuss the student s motivation, goals and any challenges they have overcome. include how you have seen this student be active in the community and/or give back to others. Here are the statistics regarding the Susan Buffett applications from : 6,000 applications were filled out 3,000 did not provide all the requirements (letter or rec., etc) and thus were eliminated from consideration 600 had everything required but did not click the final step "submit" (even with up to four reminders from the Buffet committee) 2400 applications were fully eligible by submitting all the required papers 1105 STB Scholarships were awarded last year. Students have a almost a 50/50 chance of getting the scholarship if they meet the qualifications and fill everything out that is required. For the 2015 scholarship year, 3,200 applied and 1,209 received the award. The committee over awards for the available money. They assume some of the students will elect to go to a college out of state or a private college. Thus there is no second chance to get it. You are either awarded a Susan Thompson Buffett Scholarship or you are not. PLEASE, LET MRS. K. KNOW THAT YOU ARE APPLYING FOR THE SUSAN BUFFET SCHOLARSHIP SO SHE CAN BE SURE THAT YOUR NAME SHOWS UP ON THE LIST SHE IS GIVEN OF CROFTON APPLICANTS. Key eligibility requirements: (Make sure you can check each one of these boxes before going to all this work!) Nebraska resident and Nebraska high school graduate or earned a Nebraska GED Have a GPA of 80% or better or at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA Be a first-time freshman when entering college Students who have earned dual enrollment credits in high school are still eligibile Must attend a Nebraska PUBLIC community college, state college or university-private colleges are exempt from eligibility

Be in need of financial assistance Students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) below $15,000 are encourage to apply Calculate your family s likely EFC at College Funding Estimator The

3 Be in need of financial assistance Students with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) below $15,000 are encourage to apply Calculate your family s likely EFC at College Funding Estimator The application is now mobile friendly so students and recommenders can use mobile devices to complete the application requirements. There are also video tutorials to assist with the application process. All complete applications from eligible students are reviewed and scored (by at least two individuals and they cannot see the other s scores) with the following criteria: Financial need Academic merit (GPA, academic rigor - how hard were the courses you have taken and etc.) Personal essay (1,5000 word limit and you must type in the text box or copy/paste) You MUST answer all of the questions or don t even bother to write the essay you won t be a strong candidate. Compose a single essay that addresses each of the six questions but DO NOT focus a paragraph on each. They want a single essay that weaves all of the themes together. When you are done, go back and make sure you have answered each individual question in your single essay. Make your essay very personal. They need to feel as if they know you (and hopefully like you and want to know you better!) when they are done reading it. Use examples, or as John Baylor would say, show them, don t tell them. These examples and your quality of writing need to distinguish you from the applicant pool. You may find the tips

4 Mrs. K. shared on the school website for writing scholarship essays helpful: College and Scholarship Essay Writing Tips Don t forget that leadership doesn t have to be an elected position. Think broadly and even look for leadership outside of school. You may be able to go over the word count by a few words but not much if at all. Strength of recommendations Applicants will get advanced notice of questions that will be included in the recommendation template. Choose your recommenders based upon who will be able to answer these questions about you well. Recommenders will receive a link to the online recommendation tool. They MUST use the online form and MUST follow the recommendation template. Be sure that they know that. They should be able to do some copy/pasting from already existing letters of recommendation. Recommendations must be completed and submitted by the Feb. 1st deadline. After recommendations are submitted, a.pdf copy will be ed to the recommender. The student and counselor will get an that the recommendation has been submitted. When you get this, cross it off your list! DECISIONS WILL BE ED BY MAY 1ST. EVERY APPLICANT WITH A COMPLETED APPLICATION WILL RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ARE AWARDED THE SCHOLARSHIP OR NOT. AVOID THESE COMMON ERRORS: Essay prompts are not addressed Student gives general essay responses, without sharing personal experiences/stories Incorrect documents uploaded [Mrs. K. tip: Double check all of your uploads to be sure they are the correct document!] [Mrs. K. tip: Keep tracking your progress and the progress of your recommenders as well as my progress. Keep at it until you receive your final notice that everything is submitted correctly and your application is complete.] Eligibility requirements not met (student does not have a 2.5 or 83% GPA on the Crofton scale) Students have all application materials complete, but do not officially accept & submit after the consent to release information Students ask recommenders who do not know them well enough to answer the questions Procrastination (students as well as recommenders) Forgetting to check the status page Final notes: The final questions are not a part of the selection process but they do help the scholarship committee better understand the applicant pool. As soon as you submit your application, the review process will begin for you so MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO SUBMIT AND THE APPLICATION IS JUST LIKE YOU WANT IT before you submit! Until you are ready to submit, keep hitting SAVE. DON T FORGET: The most important part of the application is the ESSAY! It is their best way to get to know you!!!!!

ADDITIONAL TIPS FROM THE 2015-16 SB SCHOLARSHIP WEBINAR: Four financial questions at the end ARE NOT used to determine who is awarded the scholarship. DO NOT CREATE A SECOND ACCOUNT!

5 ADDITIONAL TIPS FROM THE SB SCHOLARSHIP WEBINAR: Four financial questions at the end ARE NOT used to determine who is awarded the scholarship. DO NOT CREATE A SECOND ACCOUNT! If you forgot every piece of how you signed up (password and ID), call them. Aps read twice by two different reviewers. If significant discrepancies then it is reviewed a third time. All reviews are blind. Take advantage of the VERY user friendly embedded essay tips video. Your essay word count will update and will be allowed to double check your.pdf of your essay. DOUBLE CHECK it and make sure this is your Dinal copy BEFORE you hit submit! 1,500 word window for the essay. (There may be a VERY small possibility to go over a few words. You can try and see if it will accept your essay over the limit slightly.) Give them your phone number and you will get SB reminder texts. All will get reminder s. Watch your !!! Recommenders will be ed a link to submit your recommendation. You can resend request if you get really worried but your recommenders will get three reminders beginning January 15 th. Don t over send reminders to them. Ask early and then consider reminding them once every other week and then more often if needed closer to the deadline.

6 Common errors: General essay or one that doesn t answer the questions. Don t make lists! Allow them to get to know you! Give your essay to someone who doesn t know you very well and see if they feel like they know you after reading it. Double check what you upload! You will be ineligible if you upload the wrong docs! YOU MUST PHYSICALLY HIT SUBMIT FOR YOUR AP TO BE VALID! Choose your recommenders wisely. Make sure they know you and can answer ALL questions. (They are listed in the application.) DON T PROCRASTINATE! If you wait too long, you might have tech issues. Recommenders must meet the deadline too and not procrastinate! Check the STATUS page regularly to be sure it becomes Complete. Now a mobile- friendly application. Enter your school from the drop- down menu. If you have attended other high schools, there should be a star beside your most recent high school Crofton. READ the ap as you go through. Good info. and HELPFUL! THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TAKE SHORT- CUTS. ASK YOUR RECOMMENDERS WELL IN ADVANCE THUS ASAP!!!

GETTING SOME GREEN! How to write a winning scholarship application

GETTING SOME GREEN! How to write a winning scholarship application 2 How to eat an elephant? Search for scholarships Find ones that match your: Interests or abilities Location Demographics Other qualifications