Slide 1 SUSAN T. BUFFETT FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP Slide 2 Maximum Awards by School (Per Semester or Quarter) full time (12+hours) threequarter time (9-11 hours) half time (6-8 hours) quarter time (3-5 hours) MCC and SCC $1,200.00 $900.00 $600.00 $300.00 all other community colleges $1,800.00 $1,350.00 $900.00 $450.00 Nebraska State Colleges $3,700.00 $2,775.00 $1,850.00 $925.00 University of Nebraska $4,250.00 $3,187.50 $2,125.00 $1,062.50 NCTA $2,750.00 $2,062.50 $1,375.00 $687.50 Slide 3 IMPORTANT DETAILS Scholarship funds can be applied to any part of a student s cost of attendance (COA) through the student account on the school s billing statement. This includes: tuition, fees, books, room and board, personal expenses and transportation. Any unused portion of this award does not accrue and may not be applied to subsequent terms. You must maintain at least 9 credits per term, maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA at the end of all terms, and you must earn at least 18 credit hours or 27 quarter hours in each calendar year. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a probationary period. Two consecutive or three total terms of probation will result in the loss of your scholarship.
Slide 4 IMPORTANT DETAILS Students are eligible to receive scholarship funds at a secondary institution unless they are enrolled full-time at their primary institution. A request for funding at a secondary institution is due two weeks prior to classes beginning. The scholarship will automatically renew for up to five calendar years at a four year university, up to three years at a two year college OR until the student graduates or obtains a bachelor s degree, whichever comes first. Students may transfer to any Nebraska state public college, university or community college as long as they notify the Foundation of their plans to do so. The scholarship is for undergraduate studies only. Slide 5 LEARNING COMMUNITIES AT UNK, UNL, AND UNO Common courses Advising Staff Upper-class Peer Mentors Co-curricular programming Community Slide 6 DEADLINES The following are due February 1 Application students must click submit by this date, or the application will be locked 2 Recommendations High School Transcript Essay Student Aid Report or College Funding Estimator is due March 15 The SAR is typically available 3-5 days after submitting the FAFSA, but can take longer
Slide 7 FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY Students with an EFC below $15,000 are encouraged to apply for the scholarship College Funding Estimator http://www.educationquest.org/college-fundingestimator/ Slide 8 LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION Students enter recommender information A link is sent to the recommender 4 specific questions and a place for additional comments Please 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. How have you seen this student be active in the community and/or giving back to others? Slide 9 ESSAY Please compose an essay describing your reasons for wanting to attend college. It is important that your essay addresses all of the questions below throughout the essay. What are your goals and how will you reach them? Describe some of your strengths and weaknesses. How have you developed/learned from these? Describe how you have been a leader and/or were a role model to others in your life (community, school, job, etc.). Tell us about an obstacle or challenge you have faced. Tell us about a time you worked hard to achieve something. We expect your essay to run about 500-700 words, but you are welcome to write more if need be.
Slide 10 IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE APPLICATION You are not eligible if you select certain student status Release of Information (parent/guardian present) Email is the primary source of communication The Status Page is the key to knowing what is complete Slide 11 EMAIL COMMUNICATION Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - Application Creation When students create account Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - Application Submission When the application is submitted and the student is still missing Recommendations or SAR/College Funding Slide 12 EMAIL COMMUNICATION Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - Application Complete When the application is submitted, the student has submitted all required documents, and recommendations have been received Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - Recommendation Request Sent to recommender when student enters a reference in the application area Also when student requests to resend request in application area
Slide 13 EMAIL COMMUNICATION Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - Recommendation Submitted Sent to student and recommender when a recommendation is submitted Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - Recommendation Reminder Sent to student if they are missing one or more recommendations: sent twice Sent to Recommender if they have not yet submitted: sent twice Slide 14 EMAIL COMMUNICATION Subject: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation - DEADLINE REMINDER Sent to anyone who has not yet submitted For first deadline: 5 reminders sent in January For second deadline: 1 reminder sent in February 4 reminders sent in March Slide 15 A LOOK AT THE APPLICATION
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Slide 19 Slide 20 GETTING STUDENTS TO APPLY Ways to spread the word in your school and community Info sessions Former students who are Buffett Scholars Identifying eligible students Help completing applications Contests Pizza parties EducationQuest Slide 21 LESSONS LEARNED Check the Status Page Look for emails saying information is complete/submitted/received Follow-up with Recommenders Submit an essay that responds to the question/prompts Submit the FAFSA at least a couple weeks before the deadline Make sure the information in FAFSA is accurate double check Additional Feedback?
Slide 22 QUESTIONS?