By ADAM WILSON, staff reporter
Although the deadline for Central Washington University’s General Scholarship Application has passed, students still have many opportunities to obtain scholarships from other sources.
“We have so many different kinds,” said Sarilyn Paschen, Financial Aid Counselor of Scholarships.“Departmental scholarships, outside scholarships—quite a few students benefit from our department.”
Paschen encourages all Central students to apply for as many scholarships as they can. Students can visit Washboard.org for scholarship information.
“There is a lot of free money out there,” Paschen said.
Many students already benefit from scholarships through their majors or programs they are involved in.
“Before I got my scholarship, my dad and I made a deal where he would pay for my first two years and I would have to pay for the other two on my own,” said Gavin Eilefson, criminal justice sophomore and member of the Army ROTC. “This [scholarship] allowed me to basically pay for my own school.”
Eilefson benefits from the ROTC three-year scholarship, which he received in November 2012. The scholarship will pay for his tuition for the next three years and provide an additional stipend of $400 every month. He received the scholarship as part of a competitive contracted position with the Army.
“It’s a lot like applying for a job,” Eilefson said. “It took a lot of hard work in the program.”
Contracted positions are available every year. Eilefson said about a handful of sophomores were contracted this year.
While the full-ride scholarship Eilefson earned required a lot of dedication to obtain, other scholarships are much easier to earn. Samantha Tidd, biology junior, said her scholarship application was easy.
“Literally, I didn’t have to do anything,” Tidd said. “I just wrote down my name and sent them my transcripts. It was so easy.”
Tidd earned the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, which is open to all students pursuing a science, technology, engineering or mathematics degree. The scholarship provided her with $1,000 this year and she will receive another $5,000 for her senior year.
Having the scholarship allowed Tidd to pay for college with fewer loans, a goal she hopes other students can achieve as well.
“Nobody likes being in debt,” Tidd said.
Katie Gronberg, sophomore, received a $3,000 scholarship her freshman year, but was unable to apply for it again. Her parents help her pay for school, and she said not having the scholarship makes things harder for her.
“Having the scholarship was $3,000 we didn’t have to worry about,” Gronberg said.
Gronberg recommends all students know their limits in college in order to keep their GPA high and get more scholarships.
Central’s Scholarship Office lists several scholarships on their website at www.cwu.edu/scholarships/outside-scholarships. Awards range from $500 to $10,000, and most are available to students of any major. There are also unique scholarships offered nationally to any kind of student.
The Direct2TV Media and Technology Blogging Scholarship is a $1,000 national scholarship available to all full-time college students. The scholarship is sponsored by DirectTV. To apply, a student must maintain a blog, with one post about his or her interest in technology. The deadline to enter is June 1, with the winner being announced on July 1.
The Klingon Language Institute, dedicated to the study of Klingon linguistics and culture, is offering $500 to students studying any language. According to the website, knowledge of Klingon is not a requirement for the scholarship, though it may help.
Students who are under 21 and meet a specific height requirement—5’10” for women and 6’2” for men—qualify for the Tall Clubs International (TCI) Scholarship Award. The national scholarship requires applicants to be sponsored by a member of TCI.
The Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation offers students $250 to $2,500 for competing in monthly common knowledge tests. The tests are completed online and scored based on time and accuracy. The foundation’s website says the scholarship is designed so everyone has an equal chance to obtain the scholarship.
Jif, the peanut butter brand, offers students a yearly scholarship of $25,000 for making the most creative sandwich they can with any Jif products. The most recent winner was a chicken sandwich with lettuce, avocado and tomato, topped with a sauce made with Jif’s chocolate hazelnut spread.
Student vegetarians can apply for the Vegetarian Video Scholarship, offered by the Vegetarian Resource Group. Three awards are given out to students who can best communicate information about vegetarianism or veganism.
For more information about any of these scholarships, visit their organization websites. For more information about local scholarships, contact the Scholarship Office at 509-963-3005.
