SCHOLARSHIP CORNER
Let’s Get Started
Whether you're a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, there are scholarships out there to help you fund your college education. Being prepared early on is the key to your success.
Step 1: Complete the I AM OLYMPIC Profile Form.
Step 2: Complete a Letter of Recommendation Request. Save a copy on your drive. Complete the information about yourself and make multiple copies of the completed form. Identify and ask your counselor, teachers, coaches, or employers if they would be willing to give you a Letter of Recommendation for college. Provide at least two (2) those individuals a completed form.
Step 3: Book and appointment with Mrs. Bach or Mrs. Bartleson in the Career Center (CTE). CTE will help you with keeping your High School & Beyond profile updated with the most current awards/achievements and resume.
Step 4: Consider writing a 300-500-word Biography. Some colleges require an essay and often in the form of a biography. You have already started this process by completing your letter of recommendation form. Use that information to put in the form of an essay and keep it handy. Remember to save all of your essays.
Step 5: Surf the information below. There are many ways to discover scholarships. The Scholarship Bulletin will list the currently available local scholarships. Other resources and search sites are available to help you locate scholarship monies.
Seniors, remember to use your personal email address on FAFSA/WAFSA scholarship and admission forms.
Start applying!
*Links to all the documents mentioned can be found below*
RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED
OREGON & WASHINGTON STATE INSTITUTIONS
Although some colleges and universities made the decision to suspend SAT and ACT testing requirements through 2024, some may require scores to participate in specific programs or attend altogether. Always check with your institution when completing your college applications to ensure you have met all the necessary requirements.
PORTLAND NACAC COLLEGE FAIR
The Portland NACAC College Fair is back in Portland this fall. Students and families are invited to attend the fair on October 8 from noon to 4 pm or October 9 from 9 am to noon at the Portland Convention Center. Click HERE for details and registration information.
OTHER SOURCES TO CONSIDER
Looking for scholarships? theWashBoard.org makes it simple.
We connect Washington students of all types with Washington scholarship providers….for FREE.
Whether you’ll be attending in state or out, you save time by entering your profile once and letting us find the scholarship opportunities that fit.
Scholarship-Catalog.pdf
OLYMPIC COLLEGE
Serving the Kitsap Peninsula and surrounding counties, Olympic College’s multiple campuses and programs offer students many choices to further their education and career paths.
Military Programs Email welcome@olympic.edu
High School Completion Phone 360-475-7279
Degree Programs Location Bldg. 4, Rm. 105
The high cost of college forces many students to give up on their dreams. That’s why OC has partnered with donors to create the OC Promise, a scholarship program that covers the gap between financial aid and the first year of tuition and fees at Olympic College. The program also provides support services to help Promise scholars succeed.
COLLEGE BOUND SCHOLARSHIP
In 2007 the Washington State Legislature established the College Bound Scholarship. This program was created to provide state financial aid to low-income students who may not consider college a possibility due to the cost. The scholarship covers tuition (at comparable public college rates), some fees, and a small book allowance.
Eligibility for the scholarship is a two-part process. Students in 7th or 8th grade whose family meets the income requirements must submit and complete an application by June 30 of the student’s 8th grade year. Then students must meet the College Bound Pledge requirements and income-eligibility as determined by the student’s financial aid application (FAFSA or WASFA) in their senior year of high school.
Foster youth in grades 7–12 (up to age 21) who have not graduated from high school are automatically enrolled. They are considered to have a complete application for the College Bound Scholarship via a data exchange between the Washington Student Achievement Council and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
College Bound - Ready, Set, Grad
Get information, sign the pledge & apply for your scholarship here
FINANCIAL AID
OHS FAFSA OUTREACH TEAM
Olympic High School has teamed with Olympic College to provide students and families personal assistance with filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) applications. Appointments are available througout the day on Mondays and Wednesdays. Meet the team and book your appointments below.
Dear Education Partner,
Big changes are coming to financial aid applications this year. The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) would like to team up with you to help students and families navigate these changes.
Firstly, the 2024-25 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) will not be available until December 2023. The WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid) will also be delayed until the FAFSA opens. Applications usually open October 1 of a student’s senior year, so this is a major shift in the college planning process.
The good news is that this delay is due to positive changes in the financial aid application process:
The FAFSA form will be shorter and less complex.
More students will be eligible for federal Pell Grants, and the average Pell award will be larger.
We are asking for your help over the next several months in communicating to your community. School counselors and other advocates should adjust financial aid outreach messaging and timelines to address the changes. WSAC will offer training for your staff. We have helpful resources and outreach materials for you to share.
The U.S. Department of Education has not yet announced the exact date applications will open. We will make sure to let you know as soon as that information is available. Until then, we recommend delaying any financial aid filing events held by your school or organization—although there will be other ways to prepare students during the fall. We’ll be in touch with suggestions on that front.
Please stay tuned! We will update you as we learn more, and frankly, we will likely overcommunicate. Thank you for your partnership and for your expertise in helping families through this transition. And thank you most of all for the important work you do every day supporting students and families.
All Our Best,
The WSAC Team
FAFSA Completion Portal How To Video
What to do after filling out the FAFSA Video
*Remember to use your personal email address when completing forms.
Graduate Strong & Washington College Access Network (WCAN)
INTERNSHIPS, SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES
& SUMMER PROGRAMS
10th or 11th Graders
Various dates
beginning in
spring 2023
Systems Thinkers in STEM Ambassadorship (STiSA): All applicants who complete a full application will be accepted into STiSA. Participants will first be invited to attend a 2-hour, virtual workshop: "Systems are Everywhere." Students will learn about systems modeling & how systems thinking is used in research & careers. After attending this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to attend new virtual micro-courses on special topics such as systems medicine, environmental stewardship & community action projects. Students will also be invited to join a Slack channel to collaborate & learn about future opportunities.
High School Internship Opportunities with SEE
The Systems Education Experiences (SEE) program at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle will be offering three distinct opportunities during the current and upcoming academic year and the summer of 2023. In all experiences, high school students will learn about systems biology and apply their learning to a research project. Students will learn lab and computer-based skills. Students will also learn about various professional paths, develop a web page that describes their experiences, learn STEM leadership skills, and may assist in the optimization of labs for high school classrooms.
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Essay Contest
The 2023/24 Elizabeth Ellington chapter is participating in the national DAR Patriots of the American Revolution High School Essay Contest open to high school students grades 9-12. The Elizabeth Ellington Chapter represents the whole Kitsap Peninsula down to Mason County, and we would love to have students from your high school participate in this contest.
See below for attachments that explain all the rules about the contest. Essays are due back to this e-mail no later than December 4th, 2023. The chapter winner will win a $50 cash prize, medal, and certificate. The essay will then be submitted to our society's state chair to be judged against other chapter winning essays and potentially win another cash prize. Please see the attached poster and form for more information about the essay contest. Please forward these forms to your American History and English teachers and post them on your scholarship boards.
DAR Essay Contest Info
UW Admission Update
We know students and their families are eager to get their University of Washington admission decisions. We’re busy reviewing applications, and are on track to release decisions during the freshman admission notification period, March 1–15.
Students will find their UW admission status in their MyUW portal. They must have their UW NetID to log in. If they haven’t done so already, we encourage students to set up their UW NetID as soon as possible. Please note that it may take 24 hours after setting up a UW NetID to gain access to the MyUW portal, and we are unable to provide admission decisions over the phone or via email.
For those students who are admitted, financial aid awards will be available in the MyUW portal at the end of March or early April. Students will receive an email from the Office of Student Financial Aid when their award is available for review.
We’ll be in touch soon!
TESTING
Note: In May 2020, many colleges and universities made the decision to suspend SAT and ACT testing requirements through 2024 and some eliminated them altogether. However, test-optional can mean different things at different schools. Check with your institution when completing your college applications to ensure you have met all the necessary requirements.