HOW DO I DO THAT?
How do students apply for the Imagine America scholarship?
It's a new year and our 2009 Imagine America program has started! With that, students want to know, "Just what is the Imagine America scholarship and how do I apply?"
First, the Imagine America scholarship is a program that allows each high school to nominate up to three students to receive $1,000 toward their tuition when they enroll at a participating career college. Applying is easy and the application is available online. Please note that before a student can apply, the high school must register with us if it is not already registered. Registering is free and easy. To register or confirm that the contact information is up-to-date, contact Danica Benson at danicab@imagine-america.org or 202.336.6724.
Once the high school is registered, students can apply on our web site, www.imagine-america.org. The application can be found by clicking the "Scholarship and Awards Program" option on our homepage, and then selecting "High School Students" on the left navigation menu. The "Apply" option will appear as a hyperlink at the bottom of the page and will direct the student to the application.
There are three simple steps to the application: choosing the career college, choosing the high school and providing the applicant's contact information.
Step One – Selecting the desired college from our list of participating career colleges.
- Students can search alphabetically for the name of the school they are interested in attending by clicking on the hyperlinked first letter of the school’s name. A list of all participating colleges beginning with that letter will appear.
Or
Students can also retrieve a list of all participating schools in a particular state using the “Select a State” search field. To use this search option, students should select the state from the menu box, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Search.” A list of all participating colleges in that state will appear. - Next, students should select the career college they are enrolling in. This will redirect them to the next portion of the online application.
Step Two – Select the high school the applicant will graduate from.
- To find the high school, students will select the state where their high school is located from the first dropdown menu.
- Next, they will select the city where the high school is located from the second dropdown menu; the page may take a moment to refresh.
- Then they will select the high school from the third dropdown menu.
- Finally, they will click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the webpage.
The application is almost complete! Here is the final step!
Step Three – Providing applicant’s contact information and confirming consent.
- It is necessary that all fields with an asterisk (*) be completed. Be sure that all information is complete and accurate. The email address entered cannot be the email address of the high school contact, the college representative or another applicant.
- Confirm eligibility by choosing "Yes" to "Does your graduation date fall between January 1st, 2009, and December 31st, 2009?”
- Be sure to click the "I Agree" checkbox under the Usage Agreement at the bottom of the page.
- Click the "Send Your Application" button.
And that’s it! The application has been submitted!
Here’s what happens next:
- Students will see a confirmation page. That page will display a confirmation number, called an “Application ID,” which can be used to check the application status on our web site.
- A confirmation email including this Application ID is automatically sent to the email provided on the application.
- An email notice is immediately sent to the high school contact on record for confirmation of the student’s eligibility. Guidelines for confirming the student are included.
- Once we receive the high school contact’s approval, the application is forwarded to the applicant’s college for final confirmation of the student’s eligibility.
- After the college confirms the application, the applicant is notified of the final status, and if approved for the award, a confirmation letter and certificate will be mailed to them.
To confirm that your school is registered, update your school’s contact information, or request a how-to-apply poster that explains this process for your students, please contact Scholarship Services Coordinator Danica Benson at danicab@imagine-america.org or 202.336.6724.