By Griffy Vigneron (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: April 10, 2013
Every year $2500 in UFV scholarships go unclaimed because students don’t apply for them. That amount could cover one or two semesters, depending on the program.
It’s not a large amount that go unclaimed at UFV – but every unclaimed scholarship is money that nobody’s using.
Last year, six scholarships were unclaimed out of 400. These scholarships ranged in value from $250 to $1000, according to financial aid and awards advisor Lorraine Bingert.
When asked why some scholarships are not claimed, Bingert said the answer lies with the donors.
“If scholarship criteria is too specific, it often discourages students from applying,” Bingert explained.
For example, Bingert said, scholarships offered to students in a certain year of a specific program might not get picked up. Scholarships that require family member affiliations or laddering of certificate programs to degrees were other examples Bingert gave of criteria that was too specific.
In comparison, scholarships with very broad criteria can have hundreds of applicants, Bingert explained.
There are no numbers of unclaimed scholarships as of yet for this year, since awards are not given out until June.
The number of unclaimed scholarships does drop every year, according to Bingert. When donors have an unclaimed scholarship, they often reconsider their specifications for the next year.
The lesson? When applying for scholarships this year, don’t be discouraged by scholarships that seem too specific.
“We encourage students to apply for scholarships if they [only] meet most of the criteria,” Bingert says.
After all, there’s no harm in trying.
