Scholarship Committee Annual Report,
September, 2011:
The following Friends serve on the Scholarship Committee: Mark Beck (Clerk), Lorraine Bowman Claggett, Larny Claggett, John Hawkinson, Marsie Hawkinson, Pete Howell, Sumner Parker, Deb Danser. The Committee meets as needed, in the Common Room at 9 a.m. on the third First Day.
Since it was established almost three years ago, the Scholarship Committee has been raising funds (a total of $49,516.05 as of June 30, 2011, including $13,100.68 raised since our last annual report. At the end of June we had $44,706.95 in the Endowment and $4,809.10 in the Operating Fund. Contributions have been received from the Meeting, the Trustees, the Carriage Shed Sale, investment income and individual donors.) A total of $640 was received in memory of Monimia Barker, who served on the Scholarship Committee.
The committee allows donors to the Scholarship Fund to earmark their donations either for the Endowment and/or the Operating Fund. Donations that are not earmarked for any fund will be split 50-50 between them.
To date, ten scholarships, totalling $12,000 and including $6,500 since our last annual report, have been awarded to Laura Claggett, Mary Coady, Jamie duHoffmann, Evan Greene, Jacob Mullen, [A. P.-Z.] Emma Leibman, Chloe Wieland, Cassidy Thompson and Sarah Thompson. Jacob, Jamie and [A.] are currently receiving ongoing financial aid.
The Committee strikes a balance between informality (no standardized application form) on one hand, and obtaining enough pertinent information to evaluate each applicant fairly on the other. We interview each applicant. The standard scholarship amount is $500 per academic year for full-time students. In determining how much to award, we consider 5 factors:
- Financial need. Almost every college-bound student completes either the College Board's CSS Profile and/or the U.S. Department of Education's FAFSA. Based on those applications, both the College Board and the Department of Education calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for each student. So we needn't ask applicants and their families for a lot of financial information. All we need to do to assess financial need is to ask the student: (a) the projected cost of his or her education; and (b) his or her EFC.
- Academic credentials (grade point average, honors, advanced placement courses, etc.)
- Participation in Meeting
- Other scholarships received
- Whether the school the applicant wishes to attend is a Quaker school. The Committee will award up to twice the standard amount to a student attending a Quaker school.
- Availability of sufficient funds to award more than the standard sum in cases of extreme need.
In order to be considered, applications must be written, submitted by the applicant, and received by the posted deadlines.
If the demand for financial aid exceeds available funds, the Committee may have to: (a) tighten eligibility requirements; or (b) reduce the size of individual scholarships. Stricter eligibility requirements might include:
- Awarding scholarships only to members and their families, rather than members and attenders
- Amending the present difference between financial aid to Quaker and nonQuaker schools
- Awarding scholarships only for graduate school, or college, or secondary school, or elementary school, or some combination of the above
Should the need for financial aid exceeds available funds, the Scholarship Committee will welcome input from the Meeting on how to restore the supply-demand balance.
Third Haven has a distinguished past on which we can all look back with pride. Our scholarship recipients have more than justified our faith in them. By helping them reach their dreams, we help to ensure that our future is just as bright.