What to Do Once You've Awarded Your Scholarships
The money is raised and the recipient are selected. Now what do we do?
All Dollars for Scholars chapters handle the disbursement of scholarship checks in a variety of ways. Below are a few things to remember that will help you, the student and the college get what you all need. Sample letters and forms can be obtained by contacting Northwest Dollars for Scholars. They may also be located on the CD that accompanies your Chapter Guidebook (2005 Edition) under the Awards folder.
- Send a congratulations letter and acknowledgement form out to the student and give them a deadline to return the form so you have the information you need to process their scholarship check as quickly as possible. We recommend that your chapter use the Sample Acknowledgement Form (Word • PDF) to help you obtain the most information from the student.
- Use your current edition of the Collegiate Partner Directory and sample Collegiate Partner letters to help get the student's scholarship check to the college they're attending.
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Once the student has returned their acknowledgement form, mail the scholarship check and the appropriate Collegiate Partner letter to the financial aid office of the institution the student has specified they will be attending. Most colleges prefer to have the check written out to them with the student's name in the memo line. This helps them quickly deposit the check into the student's account in the event that the student is studying abroad or forgets to come in to endorse the check. |
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For students who select to attend a matching Collegiate Partner school, be sure to mail their scholarship check along with the current year's Matching Award Request Form as soon as possible. If the student is undecided, but has indicated a matching school as one of their choices, send the form to the financial aid office. Or, if your chapter prefers to hold the check until the student has completed one quarter, send the form to the matching school as soon as you have chosen the recipient so they may still have a chance at receiving matching money from the college. |
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c. |
Always be sure to include in your letter to the college, how you wish the funds to be used. For example: applied to tuition only, applied to tuition, books and other expenses. Include a sentence also about what the college should do in the event that the funds do not get used by the student so that unused monies are returned to your chapter. |
- Keep the student information handy when it comes time to complete and return your annual Recipient List form to Northwest Dollars for Scholars by October 1st.