Traditional Scholarships
We have more than 115 scholarship funds from which we annually award over $600,000 to students. With only a few exceptions, the vast majority of our scholarship funds require residency in Kosciusko County, Indiana, or attendance at a high school serving Kosciusko County in order to be eligible. Scholarships can be used for tuition, books and academic fees, but not for room and board. Scholarship payments made for room and board are taxable to the recipient according to the IRS.
Who is Eligible to Apply?
Residency
The vast majority of our scholarship opportunities require applicants to be a resident of Kosciusko County, Indiana, or a graduate of a high school serving Kosciusko County. Exceptions include, but are not limited to, the Max and Kathryn Beigh Educational Endowment Fund, the DePuy Memorial Scholarship Fund, and the Zimmer Biomet Scholarship Fund.
If you have found our site through a scholarship-finding website or service, and you do not live in or near Kosciusko County, Indiana, please call us at 574-267-1901 to ask whether or not you are eligible to apply before you begin an application.
Seeking Higher Education
Eligible applicants can be a current high school senior, a high school or home-school program graduate, or a recipient of a GED or TASC certificate. Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll in education or training beyond the high school level for the upcoming academic year. This includes vocational or technical training.
Financial Need
The majority of our scholarship opportunities require applicants to demonstrate financial need. This requirement is made by the donor at the time they established the scholarship fund.
The Community Foundation may consider two factors when determining financial need: 1) Your Student Aid Index, which is issued to you on your FAFSA Submission Summary after you file FAFSA, and 2) your response to a question about need on your application. We will not allow you to receive Community Foundation scholarships in excess of your tuition costs, since our scholarships do not cover food and housing.
A new FAFSA form was released in 2023. Applicants that want to be considered for scholarship opportunities where financial need is a factor will need to file FAFSA and provide their FAFSA Submission Summary as part of their application. You will not be able to submit your application without this. We recommend applicants complete their FAFSA as soon as possible to fulfill this scholarship requirement.
If you have additional questions, please contact our program staff at scholarships@kcfoundation.org or 574-267-1901.
For-Profit Colleges
The Community Foundation may not be able to award a scholarship to a student attending a for-profit college, university or trade school.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, visit our Scholarship Portal and complete the Traditional Scholarship Application. This is a two-step application:
Step 1: Complete and submit the common application. Scholarship opportunities will then be recommended to you based on your answers to questions within the Common Application.
Step 2: Complete and submit supplemental information pages for any scholarship opportunities that require additional essays or recommendations.
Please note that the Community Foundation launched a new Scholarship Portal on July 10, 2023. If you have not applied for a scholarship since that date, you will need to create an account the first time you visit the Scholarship Portal.
Application opens: December 1.
Recommended Deadline for Common Application: February 15.
Application deadline: March 1 at 5:00 p.m.
*The Common Application, all supplemental application pages, and all required recommendations must be submitted by the application deadline.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
- Your most recent high school or college transcript that includes grades from the fall semester or a GED/TASC certificate.
- A copy of your SAT or ACT score report if you choose to include these test scores on your application.
- A copy of your FAFSA Submission Summary that includes your name and Student Aid Index (SAI). This document is required if you wish to be considered for need-based scholarships.
- A high quality photo. This photo may be published on our website if you receive a scholarship. The photo should not have anyone else included.
- A copy of your birth certificate or proof of citizenship/legal residency (required for a few but not all scholarships).
Frequently Asked Questions
- Login to the Scholarship Portal and click on the Apply button at the top of your dashboard.
- Find the Traditional Scholarship Application and click Apply.
- Follow the instructions to complete the application.
It’s important to note that the Traditional Scholarship Application is a two-step application process. In step one, you will complete and submit the common application. In step two, you will provide supplemental information for each scholarship opportunity that requires an additional essay or recommendation. Your common application, all supplemental information pages, and recommendations must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on March 1. Because of this, we recommend submitting your common application by February 15.
Yes! We use a two-step application process for Traditional Scholarships. In step one, you will complete and submit the common application. We recommend submitting your common application by February 15. This will give you plenty of time to complete step two before the March 1 deadline.
In step two, you will complete and submit supplemental information pages for each scholarship opportunity that requires an additional essay or recommendation. You want to be sure you give your references enough time to complete their recommendations by the deadline.
Your common application, all supplemental information pages, and recommendations must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on March 1.
Yes. The first time you use our Scholarship Portal, you will need to create an account by clicking on the Create New Account button. Be sure to use an active and valid email address that you check frequently to setup your account. We do not recommend using your high school email address as it will expire after graduation.
The email address tied to your account is how the Community Foundation will communicate with you regarding your application and scholarship awards. Please check your email regularly.
Please note that the Community Foundation launched a new Scholarship Portal on July 10, 2023. Students that have not applied for a scholarship since July 10, 2023 will need to create a new account.
The Community Foundation does not accept letters of recommendation. Your references will need to complete an online recommendation form tied to your application.
To request a recommendation from your reference, you will be asked to provide their email address and given the opportunity to send them an email. They will receive a separate email from us with a link to the recommendation form. We strongly suggest talking to your reference before providing their email address for a few reasons: 1) to ask their permission and verify their email address, 2) to let them know they will be receiving an email with a link to the online recommendation form, and 3) make sure they understand that their recommendation form must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on March 1 or you will not be eligible for the scholarship.
All applications must include a recommendation from a teacher/professor and a secondary reference that can speak about how you’ve spent your time outside of class. You will request these recommendations on your Common Application. Some scholarship opportunities require supplemental recommendations from a specific individual like a coach, employer, pastor/church youth leader, community service leader, or peer. You will request these recommendations on the Supplemental Information Pages for those scholarships.
Yes! Students are eligible to apply each year that they remain enrolled in school. You may use the same login information to access our scholarship portal and re-apply year after year.
Helpful Links
If you would like more detailed information on the application process, please read the Applicant Tutorial included below:
A FAFSA—Free Application for Federal Student Aid—form is required for most scholarship applications. If you haven’t yet filled one out, you can do so below.
Additional scholarships are available through other foundations and organizations for which you may qualify. The Questa Foundation has provided a scholarship database that provides a list of those resources at the link below.
Application & Deadlines
Non-Traditional Scholarships: Open Deadline.
Traditional Scholarships: Deadline: March 1 @ 5:00 p.m. Applications open December 1.
Lilly Endowment Community Scholars: Deadline: September 15 @ 4:30 p.m. Applications open August 1.