OSAC Scholarship Application

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.

General Tips for Personal Statements and Essays in the Application

• You can either type in the text directly, or cut and paste from a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or Note Pad.
• Use plain text only (no formatting, such as different size fonts, boldface, italics, or underlining).
• Check the word count. In Microsoft Word, you can check the word and character count by going to Tools on your menu bar and selecting Word Count.
• Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Don’t repeat information already included in your application, such as that your greatest accomplishment is your GPA.
• Do not include URLs when citing essay sources, as it may cause an error in the application

Personal Statements

• 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. This statement is not required and will not have any negative effect on the application if left blank. 

Other Essays for Individual Scholarship Programs

• Each scholarship essay has a length requirement that differs from essay to essay. Be sure to comply with this requirement.
• Some scholarships require an extra essay about living or working in diverse environments.

The OSAC Activities Chart

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.

• 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 description of responsibilities and/or accomplishments associated with the activity (up to 115 characters including spaces)
• Be brief. Pinpoint activities where you showed leadership, decision-making, organizational skills, and areas where you received special recognition.
• Limited to 20 activities

Current High School Students

• Contact your high school's registrar's office and ask them to upload the transcript for you

Past High School Graduate

• Contact your high school's registrar's office. If the high school cannot provide a copy, ask them how you can obtain it.
• If the high school cannot help you, contact the School District Administration Office or the Educational Service District (ESD) which may have a different name outside of Oregon. 
• Or, contact the Department of Education in the state where you attended high school.
• If still you have been unsuccessful with the steps above please contact OSAC directly.

GED Transcript

• To obtain your GED transcript, vsit the GED Program Website and choose "Request Records" from the top banner. 
• Contact the Department of Education in the state where you received your GED if not in Oregon.

Homeschooled Transcript and Other Documentation

College Transcript

Contact the college or school you attended. If your records are on hold because you owe them money or some other reason, you will need to make arrangements with them to release your records. OSAC cannot do this on your behalf.

• If you attended an Oregon college that has closed, try to get the transcript from the Oregon Department of Education. The State of Oregon only maintains transcripts for colleges up to 25 years after the closure.
• If the closed college was outside of Oregon then contact the state agency overseeing the institution in the state the college was located.
• If your school offers e-transcripts, they must be sent to hecc_osacawardinfo@hecc.oregon.gov. OSAC accepts transcripts sent through Parchment.

Upload Transcript via Your High School

• Ask your high school to upload your transcript.
• If you are a current high school senior or graduate of the prior academic year, your High School Registrar or Transcript Processor may be able to upload high school transcripts through OSAC's High School Portal.
• Use the 'Request High School Upload' option in application and complete the "High School Transcript Upload Request Form" that contains instructions to the Registrar on how to access OSAC's secure web portal. You are responsible for delivering the form to your high school. After the high school has processed the transcript request, you will be able to view the uploaded transcript.

Upload Your Transcript in the Application

• Black out your Social Security Number (SSN)
• Scan the transcript as a PDF file or an image file (.jpg, .tif, or .gif).
• Select the 'Upload' option in Scholarship Application.
• Have multiple files? If you have multiple files for the same document (e.g., a file for each page), then select the PDF builder tool. 

Scanned File Won't Upload? 

• Make sure your file is a PDF file or image file (.jpg, .tif, or .gif) that is not locked.
• If you received your transcript through email, the file may have a security feature that will block OSAC from viewing your file. Print the transcript and then scan the pages into a new clean pdf document.
• Make sure your file is no larger than 4 megabytes. Make the file smaller by:
  
  • Scanning the document in grayscale (black and white, not color)
  • Reducing the resolution of the scan: don't select "best resolution" (75 dpi is good enough)
• Try another browser: Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari

If Everything You Tried Failed, use the 'Send or deliver'.

• Select the 'Send or deliver' option in Scholarship Application to indicate that you cannot upload.
• The Application will produce a cover sheet with your name, Application number, and the document description. Print and staple this cover sheet to the paper transcript.
• For security purposes, before sending transcripts, mark out your Social Security Number (SSN).
• Mail the document to OSAC's office. Transcripts sent to OSAC via email will NOT be accepted.
• Your transcript must be received at OSAC by the Early Bird or Final Deadline, respectively. 

• November - March 3: Start your OSAC scholarship application and submit from November through March 3.
• December: File your FAFSA or ORSAA.
• First-time applicants: create an OSAC account and start the OSAC Scholarship Application.
  
  • Returning applicants: refresh and update your application from last year.
  • High school juniors may start a "test application", but cannot submit until their year of graduation.
• February 18*: 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 3*: Final deadline for all materials to be submitted to OSAC.

Steps to take after you submit your application

• April - August: Track your application status and scholarship awards in the OSAC Student Portal.
  
  

* If a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it will automatically be extended to 11:59 p.m. (PT) of the following business day. All deadlines are 11:59 p.m (PT).

After I Submit

1. Track your application by logging in to your OSAC Student Account. If the status is "Corrections Required," take action to correct your application by the deadline indicated in the status message. Check back regularly until your application is accepted as valid.
2. Keep your information updated. Update your Student Profile or Scholarship Application if any of the following change:
   • Change personal contact information in your Student Profile.
   • Change college of choice in the Scholarship Application.
   • Change college major(s) in the Scholarship Application.
3. File the FAFSA or ORSAA to compete for need-based scholarships if you have not already done so.

Track your Award Status
Award announcements will begin in April. OSAC will send you an email notification if you’re awarded. Keeping your email address current is very important! Awards may be rescinded if not accepted by the award deadline.

If I'm Awarded an OSAC Scholarship

• Accept or decline your award by logging in to your OSAC account.
• Write a thank you letter to the scholarship donor or send it to HECC_OSACCAwardInfo@hecc.oregon.gov. 
• Keep your college and major updated (Section 1 of the application: "College of Choice" and "College Plans" of the application)
• Keep your contact information updated (Application Profile: "Contact Information")
• Maintain eligibility for your award by meeting the following requirements:
  
  • Make satisfactory academic progress according to your school's policies for students receiving federal Title IV aid.
  • Enroll full time as defined by your college (usually 12 credits) unless your award specified otherwise.
  • Use your award at a U.S. institution eligible to participate in Title IV federal student aid programs (U.S. military academies are not eligible).
  • Use your award only for education-related expenses as determined by your college (tuition/fees, room/board, books/supplies, transportation, and child care when specified).
• Attend for an entire academic year. If you attend less, your award may be prorated.
• Full scholarship funds may be available if you are on track to graduate before spring term, contact OSAC.
• Read and follow the scholarship specific requirements listed in your profile award link or letter.