Oneonta Dollars for Scholars                     2024           Scholarship Awards Policy

 

 

1.     Oneonta Dollars for Scholars applications will be available to students in early January and close on a board designated date in March each year.  Students will apply by completing the Student Profile and the application process online via ChapterNet, accessible via our website oneonta.dollarsforscholars.org or via http://public.dollarsforscholars.org.  Any changes to these dates are at the discretion of the board of directors.

 

2.     All award selections are based exclusively on merit.

 

3.     The awards are open to Oneonta City School District residents who are graduating from Oneonta High School or an Oneonta City School District based equivalent program in the current school year and who will attend a qualified post-secondary college, university, vocational school, or trade school.

4.     The Awards Selection Committee will score all applications as directed by the Awards Selection Committee Chair, using the point system outlined by Scholarship America's Dollars for Scholars office.  All awards will be determined on an anonymous and non-discriminatory basis.

 

5.    The names of applicants remain anonymous to evaluators during the evaluation process.

 

6.     Oneonta Dollars for Scholars minimum award will be $500.  Most awards are one-time awards.

 

7.     All applicants will be notified through the on-line ChapterNet process and by letter of their award status. Recipients must accept their award online via ChapterNet. If awards are not accepted by the deadline of the award year they will revert to Oneonta Dollars for Scholars.  

 

8.     Sponsors will be notified of the name of their recipient by letter and will be invited to the annual awards ceremony, if held, where they may meet the recipient of their award. 

 

9.    Award certificates will be presented to recipients at the annual awards program or by mail.  Award checks will be mailed to the recipient's institution of higher learning in the summer of the year of award (unless deferral is approved: see 10 below) after receipt of the recipient's stamped, addressed thank you card/letter to the recipient's benefactor. 

10.    Recipients may apply to defer their awards for no more than two years. Award deferral is necessary for each deferral year and must be approved by the board of directors.  Any recipient entering the armed services may defer their award for a maximum of 5 years. For access to the deferral letter/application Click Here.

 

11.  All awards are subject to the approval by the Oneonta Dollars for Scholars Board of Directors.

 

12.  Renewable awards require the recipient to submit his/her academic year transcript showing a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and a summary of the academic year.  Renewal checks will be issued to the recipient's institution of higher learning when renewal requirements are met.  Renewals must be completed by August 31 or the scholarship will revert to Oneonta Dollars for Scholars.

 

13.  This Scholarship Awards Policy will be reviewed annually by the Awards Selection Committee prior to the start of the Oneonta Dollars for Scholars scholarship cycle.  The committee chair shall submit any changes/updates to the Oneonta Dollars for Scholars Board of Directors for approval and shall be notified within ten (10) days of any approved changes.  All changes/updates to the document, along with the vote of the Board of Directors, will be documented in Oneonta Dollars for Scholars meeting minutes.

 

Oneonta Dollars for Scholars does not discriminate on the basis of any applicable legally protected characteristic including, but not limited to, race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

 

Updated:  October 2023

P.O. Box 1083
Oneonta, New York 13820