CS Scholarship Pre-Application 2023-2024

Introduction

Welcome, Chicago Scholars scholarship applicants, and thank you for your interest in our scholarship opportunities!  In order to streamline the application process, we have created a two-part application process for the following scholarships that are managed by Chicago Scholars - please stay tuned for additional scholarships to be added:
In part one, the pre-application, you will submit general information that would be relevant for any of the scholarships in which you are interested (similar to the "Common App" for college admissions).  Our goal is to simplify the process so that if you are interested in applying for more than one of the included scholarships you will only need to submit your general information one time.

Part two of the application process will be specific to individual scholarship opportunities and requirements.  Depending on the requirements of a specific scholarship, part two might include completing a scholarship-specific essay, requesting letters of recommendation, or submitting an example of your work.

Scholarship applications will only be considered complete if both components have been submitted (the CS Scholarship Pre-Application and the individual scholarship application).

As always, Chicago Scholars is here for you!  If you have any questions regarding the scholarship application process or need assistance along the way, please contact us at:  scholarships@chicagoscholars.org.


Before you begin the pre-application:


Please ensure that you have all of the following materials available to you and ready to upload, if relevant.  You will NOT be able to save and resume your work on the pre-application, so you will need to submit in one sitting.

 

  • Transcript including first-semester senior year grades (can be unofficial)
  • Your household’s gross income for 2022 (you will not be asked to submit tax documents, but you should use them as reference)
  • Your Student Aid Report from FAFSA (if applicable)
  • Financial aid award letters you have received from your preferred schools (if applicable)
  • List of activities or resume

If you submit the pre-application and would later like to revise your selections, feel free to email us at: scholarships@chicagoscholars.org

General Background Information







This may be the same as your preferred email, but should not be a high school email address.


We understand you may not have received your SAI yet. If/when financial info becomes available after you have submitted your pre-application, please let us know at scholarships@chicagoscholars.org.

Please use your parent and/or guardians' tax documents to help you, if available. The total gross income is the amount of money earned by a person in one year from all sources before taxes. Add these amounts for all individuals living within the household.



School and Program Information








Your counselor must be able to verify this information.






Scholarship Name, Amount per year, Frequency (ex: one time award, renewable annually, etc.)

Additional Documents to Upload:

Activities
We'd love to learn more about your interests and activities!  Please upload a list of activities that includes information about extracurriculars, volunteer projects, and jobs and/or internships that have been important to you during high school. 

If you have a resume, you can upload it in place of your activity list, although it is not required.  A simple list of your most significant activities is all that is needed.  For each activity, please include:
  • Organization/Employer
  • Position held
  • Dates of involvement (ie. sophomore through senior year, summer of 2021, etc.)
  • Hours per week or total hours completed
  • Briefly describe or list your responsibilities and duties and/or any awards or accomplishments you'd like to include

Academics & Score Reports


Financial Information
You are strongly encouraged to attach one or more of the following to demonstrate financial need: FAFSA Student Aid Report listing SAI (Student Aid Index) and/or Financial Aid Award letters from colleges. If you have not completed the FAFSA or it has not yet been processed, you are welcome to upload a brief note explaining the circumstances. Screenshots of your SAI and/or an estimated SAI and estimated award letters may also be uploaded.

We understand that there have been FAFSA delays this year, resulting in award letter delays as well. This form may be submitted without attaching financial information. If/when financial information becomes available after you have submitted your pre-application, we encourage you to let us know at scholarships@chicagoscholars.org and we will send you a secure link to upload the information so we can add it to your application file. Feel free to email with any questions - we're here to help!



Optional: If additional information is needed regarding an aspect of your pre-application you can upload it here. In most cases, this will not be necessary.

Signature Page



See page 1 of pre-application for links to individual scholarship applications. Please visit chicagoscholars.org/scholarships for more information.