Application Tips

Strengthen Your Scholarship Application

Explore these tips to learn how to strengthen your scholarship application.

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Complete the Application in 3 Steps

Once you set-up your profile in our application system, you will have to complete 5 steps BEFORE you can submit your scholarship application for consideration by the College Fund:

· Scholarship Application

· Extracurricular Activities

· Honors and Distinctions

In the first step, Scholarship Application, you will provide academic information such as your grade point average (GPA), school, major, and more. This is the section where you will answer the reflection questions, which are important for your overall application score.

While you work on the Scholarship Application step, you can save your work as a “draft.” When you have completed the Scholarship Application step and proof-read all your responses, you will click “mark as complete,” and then return to the application dashboard to complete the remaining steps.

In the remaining steps, you will add information about yourself, such as activities you participate in and any awards or distinctions you have received.

In the Extracurricular Activities and Honors & Distinctions steps, you will click on the green “+New Item” button to add a new entry. Under these sections, add as many new items as you like. You must add at least one item in each step. You can save individual entries as “draft.” Please note that the application will not let you submit if you have any entries saved as “drafts” when you go to submit. If you make a mistake, entries can be deleted using the “delete” button. When you are done with all your entries in either step, click the white “close” button at the top right, and that will take you back to your application dashboard.

The last section, Resume, is optional – but we encourage you to complete it if you are interested in internships or career development opportunities.

Once you complete each of these steps and have reviewed all of your responses, you can return to the application dashboard and click the green “Submit Application” button. The green submit button will only be highlighted and clickable if you have completed all the application steps. You must click on the green “Submit Application” button to have your application reviewed by the College Fund and to be considered for scholarships.

*** Warning – you will not be able to change your application once it has been submitted! ***

We are here to support your success. Please email us at scholarships@collegefund.org, or give us a call at 1-800-987-3863 from 8am to 4:30pm (MST), Monday through Friday, if you need assistance with your application.

Reflection Questions

The Scholarship application has three reflection questions that resemble mini essays.
These questions give you a chance to share your story. The reflection questions prompt you to discuss three subjects: an obstacle that you have overcome to get to where you are now; your educational goals and how this scholarship will help you achieve them; and how your education will help the Native community.

We recommend that you type out your responses to the reflection questions in a Word document or similar text editor. This way you can edit freely and utilize spellcheck or grammar check functions.

To enhance your responses, start by creating an outline of your thoughts and initial answers to each question. The outline does not need to be exhaustive, but it will allow you to start organizing your thoughts about the questions. You will need to choose your words carefully, as there is a limit of 300 words per question. It is very important that you think deeply about the questions and provide a thorough responses. As always, don’t forget to check your grammar and spelling!

For scoring, the reflection questions count heavily compared to other sections of the application. A high scoring essay will be clear, complete, and compelling. Thoroughly answer each question with the details of your unique story in a way that will engage reviewers. Pay attention to the help text below each question text box for additional guidance.

Formatting & Editing

These tips for formatting, editing, and proofreading make sure your application is PREPPED for excellence. You can apply these tips throughout your application.

Start with the basics:

  • Creating descriptive and appropriate responses
  • Writing in complete sentences
  • Ensuring that answers flow cohesively
  • Using correct grammar

In your Reflection Questions, Extracurricular Activity entries, and Honors & Distinction entries, use full sentences that allow your personality and passions to come forward. For example, if your educational goal is to complete a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and teach on your reservation, it is recommended that you respond with a full sentence like the one below:

It is my dream to complete my bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in order to teach the next generation of leaders on my reservation. I believe that foundational life skills can be taught at a young age, and I want to be a part of empowering these learners through my degree.

Do not answer the reflection questions with bullet points or fragments. It is not recommended to format your answer like this:

  • Educational Goals: B.A. in early childhood education, plan to teach on the reservation.

If you need help editing, just remember PREPPED.

PREPPED stands for Prepare, Readability, Every Question, Punctuation and Grammar, Passion, Examples, and Double Take. Here’s how to be PREPPED on your application:

  • Prepare: Gather necessary information prior to starting the application. Prepare your response by thinking critically about the questions and creating outlines when appropriate.
  • Readability: Do your answers flow? Are the sentences and thoughts laid out in a cohesive way that leads the reader through your answer from start to finish? Are there any parts that sound awkward or out-of-place?
  • Every Question: Did your answer completely address a every part of the question?
  • Punctuation and Grammar: Is your grammar correct? Did you place commas in the correct spots? Do your possessive nouns include the apostrophe properly? Have you used the correct form of commonly misused words, such as they, they’re, their, and affect or effect?
  • Passion: Read over your words and ask yourself if your passions are evident in your writing. Are you writing something because you think it is what the readers want to hear or are you genuinely passionate about your goals and dreams?
  • Examples: Did you provide specific examples to better explain your statements? Are these examples relevant to the question and the point you are trying to make?
  • Double Take: Once you have gone through the finer details of editing and proofreading, ask a friend, instructor, tutor, or family member to read through your responses. Ask them to use the PREPPED checklist. After they have read them over and provided feedback, edit your answers once more to reflect any changes. Then go through this checklist one last time.

Congratulations! You are now PREPPED and your application responses are ready for submission!

    Application Photos

    The American Indian College Fund may use your application photo in donor reports, direct mail appeals, and marketing opportunities. Students will need to upload a photograph in their application each year.

    Try to focus on the following things when selecting a photo for your application:

    • Your photo or headshot should feature you above all else
    • Your face should be clearly visible (avoid ball caps, sunglasses, or heavily pixilated or dark images)
    • Headshots are preferred but full-length photographs are acceptable
    • Traditional regalia is encouraged but not required
    • Please have someone else take the photo and avoid selfies
    • Consider the lighting. It is better to have light in front of you than behind you
    • Don’t forget to SMILE!

    Proving Descent

    For students who are not enrolled tribal members themselves but are able to prove that their parents or grandparents have tribal enrollment, the following is very important.

    The graphic below illustrates an excellent example of how to prove descent through a paper trail:

    Examples of tribal documents may include:
    – Official letter from the tribe stating the enrollment status of the parent and/or grandparent;
    – A copy of the Tribal ID card;
    – CIB (Certificate of Indian Blood)

    Enrolling in Your Tribe

    Each tribe has their own unique requirements and process for becoming an enrolled member. The best first step is to reach out to your tribal government to learn more. If you need help contacting your tribe, visit the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) website at https://www.doi.gov/tribes/enrollment to learn more.

    As each process is unique, and tribes of differing sizes and administration have varying capacities to handle enrollment requests, you shouldn’t assume that your request will be processed quickly. Many smaller tribes with limited staff are completely unavailable to complete this work due to seasonal subsistence activities and other cultural practices.

    Extracurricular Activities

    Extracurriculars are any activities that you do outside of your required schoolwork. This includes, but is not limited to, traditional and cultural activities, clubs, sports, volunteering, work/employment, faith-based activities, community-based activities, and hobbies.

    Extracurricular activities set you apart from other applicants and increase your chances of receiving a scholarship. For these reasons, we encourage you to add a complete history of your extracurricular involvement.

    Don’t be discouraged if you do not have time for sports or a dozen bake sales. The American Indian College Fund encourages you to think outside the box when it comes to your time spent away from school work. Many of our students are nontraditional students, returning to school later in life when they have full-time jobs and families. For this reason, employment and family duties can be Extracurricular Activity entries on your scholarship application. More entry types are:

    • Volunteer and/or service-related activities
    • Athletics
    • Student Government
    • Academic and Professional Organizations
    • Multicultural Activities
    • Employment
    • Work Study
    • Family-related activities

    Updating Your Profile & Application

    Applicants can view their profile and scholarship application whenever they wish. Students will be able to update their profile as needed. However, the scholarship application cannot be edited once it is submitted.

    Profile – It’s important to keep your profile information up to date in our system. If your contact information changes, it is your responsibility to update your email and phone number with us. This is important, as we will notify students of awards, opportunities, and next steps via email.

    Full Circle Scoring Insights

    What happens to my application when I submit it? How will my application be scored?

    When you click “submit,” your application is stored securely in the online application system until scoring begins. Students who submit their application between February 1 and May 31 will have their application scored by the end of July.

    Applications are scored by independent reviewers who have experience in Native higher education. Each application submitted between February 1 and May 31 will receive three scores by three separate reviewers. We then take the average of those three scores to assign the application its final score. American Indian College Fund staff members do not score the applications.

    For scoring consistency across the applications, all readers use a rubric system to determine how many points to allocate for various portions of the scholarship application. Higher scores are more likely to receive a scholarship. As a merit-based scholarship program, the rubric scores applications based on thoughtful responses and a student’s ability to demonstrate merit. The reflection questions are the highest scoring portion of the application. There is also a preference for students attending tribal colleges and alumni of tribal colleges.

    Typically, scholarship awards are determined by the end of July. You can log in to your online application profile at any time to see if you have received an award. If the word “pending” appears beside the application, that means your application is still under review, so keep checking back!

    We hope this has been helpful in outlining how scholarship applications are scored. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us by email or at 800-987-3863.

    If you have additional questions about applying for scholarships, be sure to read through our Frequently Asked Questions.

    News & Events

    American Indian College Fund Invites Indigenous Academics and Administrators to Participate in Higher Education Listening Sessions April 16 and 22

    American Indian College Fund Invites Indigenous Academics and Administrators to Participate in Higher Education Listening Sessions April 16 and 22

    Results to help guide Native higher education policy.

    March 27, 2024, Denver, Colo.— The American Indian College Fund invites Native Americans working in academia to participate in Indigenous higher education policy listening sessions.

    Who should join: Indigenous faculty, student service personnel, and academic administrators whose research influences policy development or could be used for policy.

    Why: The College Fund is joining with Indigenous faculty, student service personnel, academic administrators, and higher education policy organizations to examine the state of Native Higher Education Policy and to offer recommendations to improve policy development and implementation.

    Purpose: Facilitators will engage participants in a recorded discussion that gathers information about scholars’ work, their interests in strengthening policy engagement, and insights into research and policy links experienced.

    How we will use the information: A team of scholars engaged by the College Fund will summarize the conversation and share participants’ remarks at an invitation-only equity convening in June and include them in a report on Native Higher Education Policy that will be published by the American Indian College Fund in October 2024.

    Interested Native scholars can register for one of the listening sessions below.

    Tuesday, April 16, 9-11 a.m. MDT https://collegefund.org/scholar-session-1

    Monday, April 22, 1:30-3:30 p.m. MDT https://collegefund.org/scholar-session-2

    About the American Indian College Fund The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 34 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $17.4 million in scholarships and other direct student support to American Indian students in 2022-23. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $319 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

    JournalistsThe American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.

    Northwest Indian College Adult Basic Education Program: A Legacy Through My Eyes

    By Robert DeCoteau, NWIC Director of Workforce Education

     

    An Early Encounter

    My first encounter with Northwest Indian College’s (NWIC) Adult Basic Education (ABE) program was in the fall of 1989. I was 15 years old, a new student at Ferndale High School and a repeat resident of the Lummi Reservation. To say we moved around a lot while I was growing up would be an understatement. At that point I had lived in 11 different houses, shacks, or trailers usually on the rez. I didn’t know it then, but I would move another seven times before my expected graduation date.

    Old day school building, where GED classes were formerly held.

    Home was not a place I longed to be. As soon as I got off the bus and out of my school clothes, I was out and away until twilight. Many of the youth in our neighborhood would converge on the college to plan our after-school adventures. We called it “the college” even then, though none of us really knew what went on there. The campus at the time was a gravel parking lot, the old day school, and a couple of stick-built structures with no discernible purpose.

    John Frey was the pioneer of the GED and credit retrieval programs, serving as the grant writer, administrator, and lead instructor. His classroom in the old day school building he shared with our dismal effort at a community library was beyond established in the way that brings to mind a collector’s ability to find a place for each new acquisition, a jumble of items that seem not to be organized while each having its place. A blown-up poster of Einstein stands out in my memory, his hair unruly like a pasture of thistles, his tongue protruding, a taunting call to action for every science-minded person with the gumption to pick up where he had left off. Einstein was part of the theme, but the Three Stooges in their black and white glory were featured prominently around the room as well.

    Although I had been meeting up with my friends at the college after school for a couple of years, my motives on this particular day were not that of the boy I had been. I didn’t have hopes of fishing for nothing in our empty little pond, racing the trails to the big swing, or negotiating the terms of an imagined military conflict where something as simple as stealing a flag would determine a clear victor. I had fallen behind in my history and math classes, and I was told that this is where I could get help. There were only a few short weeks until the end of the term, and I was failing.

    During the day, the classroom was dedicated to adult learners studying for the GED, but evenings were for high school kids. John Frey had negotiated terms with Ferndale High for a credit retrieval program to help Lummi youth. This allowed him to create an after-school program to help students complete credits to get on a track that would lead to graduation. John Frey, with the help of John Brommet and John Greene, worked to fill in the inequities of circumstance still evident in the public school system in the eighties and nineties.

    As had been the habit that had led to my current predicament, I had left my textbooks in my locker at school that day. I was allowed to borrow classroom copies of my missing textbooks. John had anticipated this being an issue and had copies of all the common texts used at the high school. World History and Pre-Algebra were the classes I was at risk of failing.

    Each class had packets of work to go with each chapter, and at the end of each chapter was a test that would be proctored by one of the faculty. I managed to earn back enough of the points I had lost from missing homework and failed tests. By the end of that term, I did well enough on the final exams to pass both classes.

    Getting My GED

    My second experience with the program wasn’t until 1998. Despite my work with the ABE program early on in high school, I dropped out my senior year and never returned. Though my older brother had graduated and moved out at 18, he was the only one out of us five siblings to do so, making him the exception rather than the norm.

    There was no pressure in our immediate or extended family to succeed in school. Though I have been unable to track down data, I would estimate fewer than 30% of my Indigenous peers graduated in 1993. The grandmas and grandpas still carried the trauma associated with residential schools and our fathers and uncles found salmon fishing to be lucrative through the seventies and eighties with little or no formal education.

    Come 1998, I was a displaced worker after the closing of the Lummi Casino, and grant funding was available for my retraining. By that point, a GED was the minimum qualification of most employment opportunities. Once again, I found myself working with John Frey to get my life back on track. His classroom had moved, but many of the familiar black and white images of the Stooges and Einstein graced the walls of the new space. It only took a couple of weeks of prep for me to pass the tests and get my GED, but I used the GED classroom as a homebase throughout the summer while I took computer classes at NWIC and waited for my Autobody Technology program to start at Bellingham Technical College. I informally volunteered some of my time to help other students coming through the GED process.

    At that time, Kathy Humphreys was a part-time instructional technician for the program. She earned an associate degree at NWIC and had transferred to Western Washington University, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree and then a Master’s of Education in 2000. She became a full-time faculty member of the ABE program soon after, working with John and eventually taking over when it came time for him to retire.

    Full Circle

    My third experience with the ABE program at NWIC started in 2016. I had been a blue-collar worker for most of my adult life and was displaced once again in 2008 after the housing market crash and ensuing recession. I returned to college, eventually earning a bachelor’s in business and a master’s in management and leadership. I applied for employment in the Workforce Education Department and quickly rose to the director position.

    Adult Basic Education had become a workforce program at NWIC. The program was struggling. The credit retrieval partnership with the local high school had been discontinued and a shift in GED testing in 2012 made the four tests more difficult and time intensive. Many of our adult learners faced frustration with few being able to focus enough time and energy to meet the new requirements.

    We had to move our classroom again. The tutoring department wanted to expand, and our ABE program had so few participants that we couldn’t make a case to keep the space. The third and current ABE classroom doesn’t have the Einstein or Stooges posters; I assume they went with John when he retired. It does, however, have the same feel as the space that I first stepped into back when I was fifteen. It is lived in and comfortable. It belongs to the students and the students belong.

    In 2017, we established a partnership with Bellingham Technical College to offer competency-based high school completion in a program called High School+. Participants’ high school transcripts are evaluated, the number of missing credits are recorded, and an individual education plan is established. Students work through online classes and independent projects to fulfill the requirements and are eventually awarded an adult diploma. While we still offer GED and work with a handful of students that have chosen that path, we have achieved a high level of success working with our competency-based program. One of our first graduates was my oldest brother, finally earning his diploma at 50 years old. The number of students we work with that earn a diploma has steadily increased each year.

    Current NWIC GED building, right.

    The graduation rate of American Indians/Alaska Natives in our area has been steadily rising in the last decade, reaching 71% last year. Our community is finally showing signs of valuing education at a level that leads to positive outcomes. There is still work to be done, and it is our hope and goal that we can increase our program graduates each year to the point that they offset, and eventually eclipse, the number that fail out of the public school system.

    Adult Basic Education is still commonly referred to as the GED program in our community though it has never been just that. It is the longest continuously running program at Northwest Indian College, more than 40 years old now. The program has enjoyed a remarkable amount of stability with John putting in more than 25 years after it was established and now Kathy surpassing 25 and still going.

    Every now and again I’ll see the neighborhood kids meeting up after school on the old campus, gathering together before riding their bikes off on that day’s adventure. I’m hopeful that none of them will need our program, that each of them will have the wherewithal to stay in school and push through to commencement. Perhaps they will come to us for a degree to go with their diploma. One of them might even have my position one day and have to make that bittersweet decision to close the ABE program because there is just so little need for our services in the community.

    American Indian College Fund Student-Designed Pendleton Blanket “Drum Keepers” Available for Purchase

    American Indian College Fund Student-Designed Pendleton Blanket “Drum Keepers” Available for Purchase

    Winning Design Created by Little Priest Tribal College Student, Trey Blackhawk

    Denver, Colo., March 26, 2024 — The 2023 winning Tribal College Blanket Design, Drum Keepers, is now available for purchase. The blanket is the latest addition to Pendleton Woolen Mills’ American Indian College Fund collection. The acclaimed lifestyle brand from Portland, Oregon has created wool blankets in partnership with the College Fund for more than 20 years. A portion of the blanket line’s sales provide approximately $50,000 in annual Native student scholarships. Pendleton also contributes to a scholarship endowment that, combined with the total of scholarships disbursed, exceeds $2.5 million.

    Trey Blackhawk with his award-winning Pendleton Blanket Design.

    Trey Blackhawk (Winnebago) is a graduate of Little Priest Tribal College with a degree in liberal arts who is currently working on an applied sciences degree. His design, Drum Keepers, was selected from 59 submissions. As the winning designer, Blackhawk will receive a $5,000 scholarship, $2,000 for books and incidentals, and six blankets for his design portfolio. Troy Tso (Navajo) and Cydnee Shangreaux (Oglala Sioux) placed second and third in the contest respectively. Tso’s Directions Home blanket earned him a $2,500 scholarship and $500 cash prize. Shangreaux’s Morning Storm crib blanket design won her a $1,500 scholarship and $250 cash prize.

    Blackhawk said, “I want to keep the songs alive that have been sung for many generations in our tribe. There are not many of us that sing, and I wanted to be a part of that percentage that carries on the knowledge of these songs we sing. I tell the younger generation to start learning how to sing and know these songs, as these songs make us who we are.” Traditional songs were the inspiration for Blackhawk’s design Drum Keepers, which he said holds meaning for all tribes, as each uses the drum in some way. He wondered how the traditional songs of each community had been preserved and passed down, and wanted to create a piece that reflected the importance of the drum that gives life to the traditional songs that are sung.

    The design includes 12 tipis for the 12 clans of the Winnebago. The color of the design shows both day and night to signify those who hold knowledge keep the memory of them forever. The Ho-chunk applique on the outside of the tipis, which is a popular applique for dancers’ regalia, signifies the women of the tribe. Blackhawk said the women are important knowledge-keepers of certain songs, and the memory of singing Winnebago songs with his grandmother one last time before she stopped due to cancer was on his mind when working on this design.

    Trey Blackhawk with his award-winning Pendleton Blanket Design.

    Trey Blackhawk with his award-winning Pendleton Blanket Design.

    “This design holds valuable meaning to every tribe but more importantly to me,” Blackhawk explained. His lived experiences and culture are certainly clear throughout. Among the other elements tied to his identity are the drumsticks, which he designed based on an image of a drumstick he owns.

    The Tribal College Blanket Design Contest is open to all Native TCU students. Applications open every November on the College Fund’s website at https://collegefund.org/pendletoncontest. The contest seeks to create greater recognition for promising Native student artists’ work, to provide valuable design experience working with an internationally known brand, and to give students scholarships and cash awards to assist with college costs. The program also helps the College Fund and Pendleton honor the richness of Native arts, cultures, and stories by sharing original Native student designs with the public.

    About Pendleton Woolen Mills
    Pendleton Woolen Mills is a heritage lifestyle brand and the leader in wool blankets, apparel and accessories. Weaving in Oregon since 1863 and located in Portland, Oregon, Pendleton weaves iconic designs in two of America’s remaining woolen mills located in Pendleton, Oregon and Washougal, Washington. With six generations of family ownership, Pendleton is focused on their “Warranted to Be a Pendleton” legacy, creating quality lifestyle products with timeless classic styling. Inspiring individuals from the Pacific Northwest and beyond for 160 years, Pendleton products are available at Pendleton stores across the US, select retailers worldwide, and on pendleton-usa.com.

    About the American Indian College Fund The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 34 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $17.4 million in scholarships and other direct student support to American Indian students in 2022-23. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $319 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

    For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.

    Reporters: The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.