Thursday, March 31, 2011

Desert Health Care District Scholarship

The Desert Health Care District Scholarship is now available online. The application Deadline is April 22. Remember, this scholarship is an automatic two year scholarship for anyone selected. Requirements are listed below. If a student has already applied to the Pathways To Success Scholarship, all they have to do is log on to the Desert health care scholarship and hit submit. If students missed the PTS scholarship deadline, this is a great opportunity for them to get in the running of another scholarship. If you would like us to come and give presentations to any of your classes, please let us know. Alex and I will be happy to pay you a visit.

Website to apply: https://dhcd.cvscholars.com/

• Student must be a resident of the Desert Healthcare District (You can view boundaries on the application website, but basically, anything West of Cook St.)
• You or your parents must have been permanent residents of the Coachella Valley over the past 3 years.
• You must be a California high school graduate.
• You must apply for federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ .
• You must demonstrate financial need (as identified by FAFSA or as defined by the academic institution).
• You must be applying as an undergraduate at an accredited college, university, or academic institution in the U.S.
• You must have a high school GPA of 2.0 or above, and meet college/university academic requirements for admissions and continued enrollment.
• You must be enrolled full-time and maintain full-time enrollment status (as defined by academic institutions).
• Preference will be given to students completing career academy programs in healthcare in the Desert Healthcare District high schools or healthcare majors at COD and CSUSB Palm Desert.
• You will be given preference if you have had previous involvement in college preparation program(s), demonstrate community leadership, have been involved in a career pathway program(s), and are first generation or first in family to attend college.

Free Travel

Travel Award Program seeks applicants --
Deadline is April 29
HACU and Southwest Airlines offer the Dándole Alas a Tu Éxito/Giving Flight to Your Success™ ¡Lánzate! Travel Award Program for eligible students. The program provides students who travel away from home to pursue a higher education the opportunity to apply for a chance to receive a travel award.
Award recipients may be awarded 1-4 roundtrip tickets for the student and/or parent to use when traveling to/from the college/university. The complimentary airline ticket(s) can be used for travel to any of the Southwest Airlines destinations.
Eligibility Criteria:
• Student must be enrolled in a college or university away from their designated home.
• Student must be in good academic standing with a minimum 2.5 GPA and show financial need.
HACU will verify academic standing and financial need with the respective universities after the selection committee makes their final recommendations, prior to final selection and distribution of the travel award to the student.
• Applicants must be 18 years old or older and a legal U.S. resident.
All federal government regulations related to air travel and Transportation Security Administration rules must be adhered to, including but not limited to producing a valid government issued photo ID for air travel.
• One application per student must be submitted by the specified deadline (April 29).
• Needed travel must be to/from Southwest Airlines destinations.
• Student should specify extent of financial need or constraints.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Lindsey's Hope Nursing Scholarship

Awards vary from $1,000 to $2,500. Awards are made at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee based on the availibility of funds.

Applicant Qualifications:
1. Must be either:
a. Enrolled in a certified nursing program (preference will be given to
students attending College of the Desert's nursing program); or
b. A certified nurse seeking continuing education credits in the field of
oncology (preference will be given to nurses at one of the Coachella Valley hospitals).
2. Must hold a minimum 3.0 GPA for all completed courses.
3. Must demonstrate a personal and active faith in Christ.
4. Must display a history of life activity that reflects love and compassion for others through their service for those in need.


DEADLINE: May 1st for fall semester awards
October 15th for spring semester awards

The American Opportunity Award

With tax time just around the corner, you need to become familiar with this fairly recent tax credit.The American Opportunity Award was enacted for 2009 and 2010 tax years and replaced the existing Hope Scholarship tax credit. If you are eligible, it puts $2,500 back in your pocket.

Here's how AOTC works:
1. The first $2,000 in qualified expenses (tuition, fees, textbooks, and course materials) for 2010 receives a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. In other words, if you spend $2,000 on qualified expenses in 2010, you will owe $2,000 less in federal taxes.
2. The next $2,000 you spend on qualified expenses receives a 25 percent credit. In other words, if you spend an additional $2,000, you will receive a $500 tax credit ($2,000 X 25 percent).
3. If you owe absolutely no taxes, meaning that even everything taken out of your paycheck for federal taxes was refunded to you, the AOTC might also be refundable at a rate of 40 percent. For example, if you earned the entire $2,500 credit and had no taxes to use the credit against, the IRS would send you 40 percent of the credit, or $1,000 ($2,500 x 40 percent).

Friday, March 25, 2011

Desert Outreach Foundation Scholarship

Applications for the 2011 Desert Outreach Foundation annual scholarship program are available to download online at the Foundation's website:

www.desertoutreachfoundation.org

Eligibility:
All persons residing in Coachella Valley
Students enrolled in any post-secondary educational program or to be enrolled in the fall of 2011

Amount: $1,500 per person.
Deadline: April 30, 2011
Finalists will be interviewed on May 21, 2011
Recipients will be notified on May 23, 2011.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Career & Job Fair Yesterday

A bucket of thanks to all of you who helped out yesterday!! Absolutely couldn't have done it without--you are fabulous!! We saw about 450 students and the employers seemed happy with the turnout. When I get the evaluations, I will let you know how many students were hired.

MESA Scholarship

The deadline for the MESA scholarship is April 01, 2011. Please check the following eligibility requirements. If you qualify, get that application completed and submitted.
1. Eligible for MESA, but don't have to be member.
2. GPA 2.7 (Math and Science classes) 2.5 overall
3. Completion or current registration in MATH 040
4. Two letters of recommendation--one form current mathematics instructor and a second must be from current science instructor , if possible.
5. 300 word essay describing motivation for pursuing a degree and a summary of career goals.

First Year--$3,000
Second & additional years at COD before transfer--$4,000
Transfer year--$5,000

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Career and Job Fair TODAY

Be sure to attend the Career & Job Fair today. If you are searching for a job, please be sure to dress appropriately and have a resume with you. Have questions ready for the interviewer.

If you help out, you will get a letter verifying Community Service. If you visit, please be sure to have at least three business cards from employers you have met and you will be given a verification of attendance for extra credit.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

COD Scholarship

Although the big "kick off" for the COD Scholarship is yet to happen, you now have access to the application by going into the COD website and clicking financial aid. Check it out--it isn't a difficult one to complete.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Scholarship Club Fundraiser

Tomorrow, March 20, 2011, at the Pollock Theatre on the College of the Desert campus, J. Scott Beaty will be performing a piano concert. Scott is a very accomplished pianist who has played at the Ritz Carlton and McCallum Theatre for many years. In addition to playing in many European countries, he has been invited to play at the White House twice--one of those times for the Presidential Inauguration of President Clinton.

His solo performances are too long to list, but most were with well know celebrities such as Placido Domingo, Johnny Mathis, Liberace, Jane Wyman, Loretta Young, Governor Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver and President and Mrs. Ford. In spite of the incredible talent, Scott is a delightful and very humble musician.

In 2002 Scott was a student in my Introduction to Scholarships class and went on to win about $129,000 in scholarship awards. He now has a Master's Degree in Voice and Music Therapy and, to my good fortune, has become a mentor to my present scholarship students. The proceeds of the perfomance will benefit the College of the Desert Scholarship Club. Our hope is to start giving small scholarships in the fall of 2011.

The tickets for the Piano Concert of favorite tunes are embarassingly inexpensive for a pianist of this caliber--$10.00 for students and $12.00 for non-students. Please join us for an hour of songs that touch the heart.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Tylenol Scholarship

Deadline: May 27


• Must be a resident of the 50 United States, Puerto Rico or the District of Columbia
• Must have completed at least one year of undergraduate or graduate course of study by the Spring of 2011 at an accredited two or four year college, university or vocational/technical school
• Must be able to provide proof of enrollment to a public health/health education, med school, nursing and/or pharmacy degree program
• Must have one or more years of school remaining


• 10 - $10,000 non-renewable Awards
• 30 - $5,000 non-renewable Awards
• Students may reapply each year as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria and are not past winners.
• The scholarships will be applied to tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for course load.
• Institutions must be accredited, nonprofit two or four-year colleges/universities in the United States.
• A student may transfer from one institution to another and retain the award.


http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subptyschol.inc


https://aim.applyists.net/Form/LoadFaq/1581

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Pathways to Success Deadline TODAY!

I do hope that you haven't missed the deadline for the Pathways Scholarship. If your portfolio is in order, you still have time to get your application submitted. The deadline is 12:00 midnight. Come on. What are you waiting for?

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

ABWA Scholarship

Palm Desert Trendsetter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association (ABWA) is funding 3 $1,000 Scholarships.Eligibility requirements are:
1. Must be woman
2. U.S. Citizen
3. Local resident
4. College first or second year level in Aug, 2011
5. Accepted or attending COD
6. GPA 2.5 or better

Please email cookieharvey@att.net

Cookie Harvey will give you access to the application.
Applications must be completed by May 15, 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Thank You/Scholarship Awards

By now, some of you may have received a scholarship award. Please be sure to get your thank you letters off immediately. Very critical to express your gratitude as quickly as possible. It is not only the courteous thing to do, but it might mean future awards.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Three Days Left

I do hope that most of you have already applied for the Pathways to
Success scholarship which is due this Thursday, March 17th. Please be sure to make a copy of your application before you submit it. You'll need to have it in your portfolio when I check for your final grade,but, more importantly, you'll need it when you will apply again next year.

This is an excellent opportunity so don't let this scholarship slip away. Remember you are only competing with students in Coachella Valley and they are giving away more than a $1,000,000.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Current Scholarships

Several scholarships have deadlines coming up. Be sure to check out the Pathways to Success; Desert Outreach Foundation; COD Scholarship. These are really excellent scholarships which most of our students have been awarded.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Desert Outreach Foundation Scholarship

The application was posted yesterday. Go to Google and type in the above title to access the application.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

1st Paragraph Personal Statement

Remember that the first paragraph needs to be powerful. You want to hook the reader in--engage him/her. One important thing to remember is to speak from the heart. So many students write a series of facts which don't really allow the reader to know how you think or feel. I know it's a bit scary to allow yourself to be a bit vulnerable, but this is the most important document in your application packet. Write with enthusiasm and feeling.