By Faith Boyum
Managing Editor
Faith.Boyum5336@mb.rctc.edu
Deb Ward
On Dec. 26, the portal opens for RCTC scholarship applications. Many students may already be familiar with the process, but the portal will look quite different to returning students planning to apply for scholarships again this year.
As in the past, students will fill out a general application form online. Depending on their responses to questions on the form, the site will filter the list of scholarships to help students recognize which scholarships they qualify for.
However, one new change is that after a student completes the general application and begins applying for specific scholarships, these applications will have required fields, rendering it impossible to submit an incomplete application.
However, while the portal itself will look different, the purpose remains the same: to provide students with access to scholarship funding that could help them pay for college.
Further updates on changes to the scholarship application process will be communicated via email.
“I know that not all students check their RCTC email,” said Deb Ward, the executive director at the Foundation Office. However, she emphasized the importance of regularly checking school email accounts, which are RCTC’s means of communication with the student body and is how students will be informed if they receive any scholarships.
“Unfortunately, students don’t apply for all the scholarships they are eligible for,” said Ward.
Students should not be intimidated by the scholarship application process. Resources are available if a student needs help with a particular aspect of the application.
For example, the Learning Center and English instructors can help students if they struggle with writing and this holds them back from applying. Also, essays can be reused if a student applies for two scholarships that require an essay on career goals.
The portal closes Feb. 16, 2018, but don’t wait. Students may have good intentions, but there’s also a tendency to procrastinate until the last minute. Ward advises students to start considering career goals before the portal opens because it will help with the application process by not starting completely from scratch.
It’s also important to remember that applications can be submitted early. The deadline is the last possible day to submit, not the day to start thinking about applying.