Wyoming Women's Foundation – Edelweiss Opportunity Scholarship 2012-2013

The Wyoming Women’s Foundation is a charitable organization that supports economic self-sufficiency and access to opportunities for women and girls in Wyoming by raising funds, making grants, and providing leadership. For information visit the Wyoming Women’s Foundation Web site at www.wywf.org.

The University of Wyoming Outreach School has been awarded a $100,000 endowment from the Wyoming Women’s Foundation that includes matching funds by the Edelweiss Fund and the State of Wyoming to fund the Outreach Opportunity Scholarship, a new program which will help with living and child care expenses for adult students enrolled at UW through the Outreach School.

Awards are made to applicants who meet the scholarship program criteria and demonstrate the promise of academic excellence. A rigorous selection process will be conducted to find the students who best meet the following the criteria.

Students applying for consideration for the Wyoming Women’s Foundation – Edelweiss Opportunity Scholarship must meet the following criteria:

• be a part time or full time student;
• be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours as an undergraduate student or 4.5 as a graduate student through the Outreach School (Outreach Credit Programs or UW/CC Center);
• be classified as a junior, senior, or graduate student;
• be pursuing a University of Wyoming degree;
• be eligible for federal student financial aid through the University of Wyoming (must have current FAFSA on file with the University of Wyoming Financial Aid Office for 2012-2013);
• be a single parent (with preference given to single mothers);
• have demonstrated promise of academic excellence.

• must maintain a 2.0 overall GPA for all University of Wyoming courses taken during award semester;
• agree to participate in a year-end event to share publicly how receiving the scholarship positively affected family life and academic endeavors;
• agree to send a thank-you letter for the award to the Wyoming Women’s Foundation within 30 days of notification of selection;
• complete any other requirements as specified by the Scholarship Committee.

• Complete a scholarship application;
• Provide a complete copy of their college transcript; 
• Compose a two-page, double-spaced essay that addresses:
  • how the student meets the Wyoming Women’s Foundation – Edelweiss Opportunity Scholarship Program criteria;
  • what the student’s career goals are; and,
  • how receiving this scholarship will make a difference in the student’s life and academic endeavors.
• Submit one letter of reference which substantiates the student’s academic potential and dedication to completing a University of Wyoming degree program through the Outreach School: 
• Have a current FAFSA Student Aid Report on file with the University of Wyoming Financial Aid Office for 2012-2013.
• Finalists may be required to participate in a personal interview with the selection committee. 
• Confer with any federal/state agencies supplying recipient with living allowances to make sure funding such as this does not affect their benefits.

Submit applications, postmarked no later than Friday, March 30, 2012 including:

• The application form;
• The transcript;
• The supporting essay;
• One letter of reference;

and have a current (2012-2013) FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on file with the University of Wyoming Financial Aid Office.

All applicants will receive a letter from the associate vice president for Academic Affairs/dean of the Outreach School detailing the outcome of the selection process.

Currently this scholarship opportunity is not open for application.  Please visit this page regularly for updates on scholarship availability for the Fall 2013 semester (coming soon). You can still download the 2012 application for informational purposes and to get an understanding of what will be required in the upcoming 2013 application.