Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Students who complete the course will be able to:

1. Identify personal experiences, skills, accomplishments, and life experiences important to presenting a positive picture of themselves in a scholarship application.

2. Learn to quickly and effectively research a large variety of pertinent scholarships, focusing on the Internet.

3. Develop a personal scholarship portfolio, using time effectively to produce scholarship applications.

4. Create a long-term plan for annual scholarship applications, including working consistently to improve each aspect of the three main criteria (academic performance, out-of-school involvement, personal essays) necessary for successful scholarships.

5. Identify and apply for at least three scholarships.

6. Gain the confidence to create successful scholarship applications, and the determination to continue applying each year that they are in school.

7. Understand how the general rules and techniques of creating a high-quality scholarship application can also apply to other aspects of life, including finding, and successfully interviewing for, future employment; as well as preparing quality application for transferring to four-year schools.

8. Appreciate the importance of a “volunteerism” or “community service” personal ethic.

Course will mix lecture, internet research, and in-class activities. Linked Writing course will enable students to create scholarship essays which will also be utilized for discussion in this course.

Students will demonstrate the learning outcomes by the following tasks conducted individually and in cooperation with other students:

1. Apply for scholarships through the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) by the due date for scholarship submission.
2. Apply for at least one other scholarship during the period of the course.
3. Demonstrate research skills by reporting on scholarships for which they are eligible, accessed via internet searches.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of a high-quality scholarship essay by producing, and sharing, a minimum of two scholarship essays.
5. Discuss with other students, and the instructor, strengths and weaknesses as they apply to academic, personal (i.e. volunteering), and life experience (essay) aspects of scholarship applications.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of volunteering by finding a volunteer opportunity and participating during the term.

The following list indicates the skills students will develop by completing assignments and participating in class:

1. Personal assessment skills (academic, life experience, extra-curricular activities), including strengths and weaknesses.
2. Designing methodologies for correcting/improving defined “weak” areas.
3. Writing skills (through this course and the linked Writing course), particularly with a focused, persuasive, short essay.
4. Use of feedback with respect to essay-writing and creating a useful “matrix” of strengths applicable to scholarship applications.
5. Problem-solving and making decisions about personal topics to focus on in preparing essays.
6. Accessing information about volunteer opportunities, and problem-solving which opportunities are most appropriate.