The past two years have seen significant rises in UC tuition and Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget cut of $500 million for UC’s 2011-2012 annual budget, further reveals that there are no promising solutions to California’s fiscal problems in the near future. While the hits keep being delivered to the UC, there are many ways in which students can lessen the sting of the blow, at least on an individual scale. Applying for scholarships is one tactic.
UCI makes applying for scholarships convenient and fast. The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS) provides extensive information on available scholarships and financial aid opportunities and all of it can be found on their website: www.ofas.uci.edu. Once at their homepage it’ll be easy to navigate and sift through the numerous options available to you. The website categorizes scholarships and financial aid by undergraduate, graduate, and transfer students. The opportunities available to undergrads alone are extensive. To name just a few:
- The Howard B. Lawson Endowed Memorial Scholarship, worth $750, targets Humanities students in their junior year at UCI.
- The Dr. John R. Miltner Annual Scholarship gives out multiple awards of $5,000 and is available to any undergrad but focuses on members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
- The UCI Alumni Association Distinguished Anteater Award gives seven students awards of $1,500 based on their commitment and contributions to the UCI through involvement in UCI programs and projects.
These examples are all merit-based scholarships but the OFAS website lists numerous need-based scholarships as well. There is one common online application, available to undergraduates, that applies to many UCI merit-based scholarships, and it can be accessed by simply logging on to your My Aid account, conveniently linked on the OFAS homepage. My Aid automatically sorts the scholarships for you and lists the ones that you meet the minimum criteria for. It’s simple and saves you the hassle of going through every single scholarship to see which ones apply to you. Also be sure to check with your school department to see if there are any school or major specific scholarships available to you.
If you need some tips on how to write your personal statement or want some information on what scholarship reviewers are looking for in an applicant, the OFAS provides Scholarship Application Workshops. The next workshop will take place on February 2 from 12-1:30PM, check the OFAS website for a full schedule. All workshops are held in 107 Aldrich Hall. OFAS drop-in hours to ask questions and receive information are also available on Tuesdays from 2-4PM and Fridays from 10AM-12PM in 102 Aldrich Hall.
These services and opportunities are here to make the scholarship application process as painless as possible, but of course excuses to not apply will always surface. The good ole’ saying ‘you’ll never know if you don’t try’ is particularly relevant to applying for scholarships. It’s easy to believe that even if you do apply there’s no chance you’ll get it because of the large pool of applicants, but if you put in a little time and effort you may be pleasantly surprised. When it comes down to it it’s a win-win situation; you could end up being one of the deserving recipients of the scholarship, or even if it doesn’t work out you have the satisfaction of knowing you made a conscious effort to lighten the financial burden. The money is out there but it’s up to you to show that you deserve it. Good luck!