Each student who submits the required FAFSA and all applicable CSS forms (Profile and Non-Custodial Parents Statement) with complete parental data and a Student Statement of Personal Interest is automatically considered for grants and scholarships awarded by the College. All reports of resources and the Students Statement of Personal Interest must be received by the College of Veterinary Medicine Financial Aid Office no later than April 1. It is therefore imperative that the applications be filed at the earliest possible date.
If additional essays or applications are required for any particular scholarship, a notice is posted on the board outside the Financial Aid Office. Students should check frequently to be sure to be aware of any such opportunities.
Limited funds are available, and scholarships are awarded in accordance with policies for defining financial need established by the College Committee on Scholarships and any additional selection criteria specified by donors. As most scholarships cite financial need as one of the conditions of award, scholarship applicants are ranked within each class on the basis of academic standing (50%), prior education indebtedness (25%), and current need (25%). Most evaluations and recommendations for the next year's awards are completed during the spring semester as part of the financial aid packaging process. Awards are credited to the recipients' bursar accounts in two equal installments, one each semester.
Scholarship awards are gifts made to our students through the College. Expressions of appreciation of these gifts are vital to our efforts to maintain and increase scholarship assistance. It is therefore expected that each award recipient will write a short acknowledgement letter to the donor. Failure to do so will be interpreted by the College as a lack of interest being considered for such forms of assistance in future years. Eligibility for scholarship support is also contingent upon the student's agreement to allow his or her name and the amount of the award to be released to the donor.
The PROFILE Application is used to determine eligibility for College grants and scholarships. Many scholarships at the College of Veterinary Medicine have been established with gifts from alumni, friends and other sources of private support. A number of these carries, in addition to financial need, eligibility criteria and preferences based on the donors' personal interests in animal health, the College and our students. (For example, some donors wish their scholarship awards to go to students who are interested in a particular type of veterinary medicine, such as equine medicine or feline medicine. Other scholarships carry preferences for students from particular cities, counties or geographic areas.) To allow effective matching of students eligible for scholarship assistance with these privately funded awards, completion of a Student's Statement of Personal Interests is required.
