The OSAC Scholarship Application provides current and future Oregon students one easy application to apply for multiple scholarships at one time. OSAC (Office of Student Access & Completion) awards more than $10 million in scholarships annually through more than 600 scholarships. The scholarship application includes student contact and background questions, college plans, transcripts, activities chart, and personal statements. Most scholarships can be used at 2-year or 4-year universities around the US.
February 15: Early Bird deadline. Complete applications (including transcripts) submitted by this date will be entered into a drawing for one of several $1,000 Early Bird scholarship awards.
March 1: Typically the final deadline for all materials to be submitted to OSAC.
If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it will automatically be extended to the following business day.
OSAC scholarships may only be used at U.S. institutions that are eligible to participate in Title IV federal student aid programs (U.S. military academies are not eligible).
Unless otherwise specified in the individual scholarship descriptions, you must:
Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen in the United States for other than a temporary purpose, and intend to become a permanent resident of the United States.
Be an Oregon resident. Residency is established when:
An independent student or the parents of a dependent student have continuously resided in Oregon for 12 months.
A student is continuously enrolled (completes an academic year within any 12-month period) at an Oregon high school or postsecondary institution.
An independent student or the parent(s) of a dependent student serving on active duty in the US Armed Forces has Oregon listed as their "home of record."
The definition of "resident of Oregon" includes students who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes of Oregon, or who are enrolled members of federally recognized Native American tribes which had traditional and customary tribal boundaries that included parts of the state of Oregon or which had ceded or reserved lands within the state of Oregon, regardless of their state of residence. For complete information on the tribes that are eligible for resident classification, visit our website.
Be a graduating high school student during the current academic year, or a GED® or home-schooled graduate, or a first-time college freshman, undergraduate, or graduate student.
Not owe a refund on an educational grant or be in default on any education loans.
Lincoln will automatically send your high school transcript to OSAC. In the transcript section of the application, make sure to select the option that says your high school will submit your transciprt. There are no additional steps you need to take.
Four personal statement questions in the application
Let your Personal Statements tell your story. Donors are looking for reasons why they should choose you for their scholarship award. Focus on something unique about yourself!
Word Limit: 1900 characters including spaces for each personal statement. Statements exceeding this limit will be truncated.
Personal Statement Questions
What are your specific educational plans and career goals and why? What motivates you to achieve them?
What have you done for your family, school, or community that you care about the most and why?
Describe a personal accomplishment, impactful change or experience that has occurred in your life. What skills and strengths were needed to respond, and what did you learn about yourself?
Is there any additional information you would like the selection committee members to know? This could include financial situations not reflected on the FAFSA or ORSAA or other information not covered in the application.
Some scholarships require an extra essay as part of their application. Essay topics include, your interest in particular career or educational paths, your experience regarding a specific topic, living or working in diverse environments, etc.
Each essay for individual scholarships has a length requirement that differs from essay to essay. Be sure to comply with this requirement.
The OSAC Activities Chart is a place to show the diversity of your experience and activities you've been involved with throughout high school.
Limited to 20 activities total
Be brief. Pinpoint activities where you showed leadership, decision-making, organizational skills, and areas where you received special recognition.
Each activity must include:
Category: School, Volunteer Service (Community/Family), or Paid Work History
A short title for the activity
Frequency: One-time, seasonal, or ongoing
Start and End Dates: month and year of when you first began and ended the activity; use "present"' if you are still engaged in the activity.
Weekly & total hours: number of hours per week, number or weeks, and then total hours. Give your best estimate
A brief description of responsibilities and/or accomplishments associated with the activity (up to 115 characters including spaces)
Recommended: have at least three activities from each category. If you do NOT have any activities for one of the categories, certify that you have no activities for that category.
Use the OSAC Scholarship Catalog to see hundreds of scholarships available by varying criteria - high school attended, county of residence, college major, GPA, need-based, and more! Get an idea of what scholarships are available, what you are eligible for, what their requirements are, and to create a list of scholarships that are a good fit for you!
First Generation Students
Immigrants
Education Majors
Nursing Majors
Journalism Majors
Music Majors
Health Care/Medicine