The Student Government Association held an event from Feb. 14 -15 in the cafeteria in order to show students how to easily apply for scholarships using Bucks’ online matching feature.
Students were shown that they could find the perfect match of scholarship with a few clicks of a button. The staff and students helping to run hoped that the event would get more students to apply, once they knew what to do.
Currently, there are is a wide variety of scholarships that can be found for Bucks Community College, with new ones now available this semester.
Of the scholarships currently available, mothers might be interested in the Salute to Mothers scholarship, while those interested in starting up a business or entrepreneurial dealings might want to try the Emerging Entrepreneurs scholarship.
The scholarships aimed at single parents is found to be a common choice among students applying for scholarships.
There are also scholarships based upon outstanding academics such as the Charles W. Beem Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship, or for disabled students, like the Neuber Endowment for the Advancement of Physically Disabled Bucks County Residents. Some scholarships are also based upon how many credits a person has completed during their time at Bucks.
Jennifer Salisbury, a public relations staff member the Newtown Campus, has indicated that there is a total of $250,000 awarded each year to students who apply.
Previously in the 2016 fall semester, there were 268 students that had received scholarships.
At the event, Salisbury stated, “I think that it is a vote of confidence for them,” in regards to students getting the scholarships.
Although every semester at Bucks, there are chances for students to try for different scholarships, not all potentials students are taking the chance to get scholarships.
However, Salisbury presumes that the one important factor is because students have doubts, especially regarding the essays.
She encourages students to try their best regardless, as there are many resources can help with the writing portion of the process, such as the Newtown campus library.
Besides doubt, another reason for students not applying for scholarships could be the lack of awareness.
With this event, Salisbury hopes that the event will reach out to students who might not be fully aware of these resources that are available to them, should they be struggling with finances.
Other colleges in the area, such as Montgomery County Community College, have different systems in distributing scholarships.
When asked about other college’s methods of giving scholarships, Salisbury was confident that Bucks had a good system.
Students may try for spring semester scholarships until April 1. For more information, students should visit www.bucks.edu/scholarships. From there, they are able to use the match feature to help them find a scholarship for their demographic.