Scholarship Application Instructions

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Student Eligibility:  Support for Talented Students (STS) scholarships are awarded only to children who meet the following criteria:

• Parents or guardians must demonstrate financial need.

• Applicants must currently be in grades 3 through 11.

• Applicants must be identified as gifted or talented according to the Rule of the State of Ohio.

• Applicants must have a Sponsor from their school.  (See Frequently Asked Questions – What is “The Required Student Sponsor?”)

For more information about eligible Enrichment Programs, see Frequently Asked Questions, at the bottom of the "Welcome to Support for Talented Students!" tab list at the left side of the first page of this website.

Demonstrated Financial Need

The student applicant and family must meet one or more of the following financial need criteria:

• Receive financial assistance from federal, state, or county governments.

• The family income is at or below the amount shown in the income guideline table below.

No. of Household Members/Annual Income

1 $29,160

2 $39,440

3 $49,720

4 $60,000

5 $70,280

6 $80,560

7 $90,840

8 $101,120

+ each additional  person $10,280

• If the family does not meet at least one of the above requirements, the family must describe the “extra-ordinary” circumstance within the recent 12-months that prevents them from fully or partially paying for the enrichment program.  This space allows the applicant to describe situations, such as emergency medical expenses, those mandated by court decisions, unemployment, or other real life situations that do not fit well into computer forms answer spaces.

If none of the above apply to this family, an STS Scholarship will likely NOT be awarded.  In that case, the family should check directly with the desired program to see if it provides financial assistance.

PREPARING TO COMPLETE THE ON-LINE APPLICATION

Sponsor Recommendation for Student Applicant

Each student must be sponsored and referred to STS by a public or private school gifted coordinator, classroom teacher, school psychologist, guidance counselor or other qualified educator from the child's current school who can certify that the child has been identified as gifted or talented according to the Rule of the State of Ohio Revised Code 3324-01-07. The parent should work with the student to identify this person and request that the person complete a "Sponsor Recommendation" on-line at the STS Scholarship website; see the third tab at the upper left of this screen. The Sponsor may use that link to access the form to recommend the student. Click here for the Sponsor form.  

STUDENTS:  

With your parent, prepare the following for your parent to be ready to begin the process of the on-line STS Scholarship Application:

1. With your parent, obtain your school’s Gifted or Talented Sponsor's Name, Title, Phone Contact and Email information if you do not have it in available school information such as a school directory.

2. With your parent, ask your Gifted or Talented Sponsor to complete the "Sponsor Recommendation" form on the STS website. 

3. Prepare your Student Statement:  Using a word or text processing app on your computer, laptop or smartphone type a paragraph describing what you hope to learn in this program that is new and different for you.  (We already know you will do fun things and make new friends, so please share the other things you hope to gain form the program.)  Please provide access to this statement to your parent/guardian who is preparing your application; that person must copy and paste your statement into the Scholarship Application.

PARENTS: 

Please have the following information available at the time you begin the on-line STS Scholarship Application process.

Application to the desired Enrichment Program is a separate process.  Before an STS STS Scholarship is confirmed, you must apply to the Program and be accepted. HINT: think of STS as a bank to help pay for the program. Getting admitted to the program is your separate responsibility. 

For the STS Scholarship Application, you will need to know:   ·      

1. Program and Session name     

2. Start and end dates of the program (STS usually awards a one or two week scholarship)     

3. Website address for the program    

4. Program total Cost     

5. Amount of the Program cost that you, as the parent or guardian, will pay     

6. Balance requested from STS (the Scholarship amount). 

7. After your child has typed their Student Statement, please copy and paste it into the space provided in the Scholarship Application form. 

8. Your Income Verification is the annual income information provided on your current or prior year 1040 tax form or any other government form (federal. state, local) that shows your "Adjusted Gross Income". If you are not required to file taxes, provide an annual income or amount in a time period for which "annual" can be calculated such as, monthly or weekly amounts. A copy of the income source(s) will need to be sent to Support for Talented Students as soon as the Scholarship Application is completed.

9. Your child's Gifted or Talented Sponsor's Name, Title, Phone Contact and Email information 

If the desired Program's application process is available only on-line and it requires a partial or full pre-payment (often by credit card) to complete the registration process, contact the Program Director or its main office to request advice on how to complete the application process without the payment amount.  Explain that an application for an STS Scholarship is pending.  Many Programs work with STS to facilitate Program registration without parent's full or partial payment when a scholarship may be pending. If a Scholarship is not awarded, the Program may release the hold on the reservation unless the Program has an alternate scholarship it can offer the family or the parent pays the full fee.

After completing the online information:

1. Scan or photograph the income verification form(s) and email them to STSinfo@supportfortalentedstudents.org   OR 

Mail the income verification forms to:

Support for Talented Students, Inc.

Scholarship Committee

626 Summerwind Lane 

Lewis Center, OH 43035 

 STS Scholarship Terms and Condition with the Parent/Guardian

If the child is awarded a scholarship, the scholarship money will be held by STS until the parent confirms with STS that the Program has received that child’s completed Program application form(s) and has enrolled the child in a session. STS will then send the program the amount of the award for the child.

If the child is awarded a scholarship but decides not to attend the program, STS will retain the scholarship or get the amount refunded to it by the Program.

A child who is accepted into a program and for whom an STS Scholarship is sent to cover the balance of the Program Cost is expected to attend that Program. If the child does not attend the scheduled Program, STS will receive the refund and return it into the STS general scholarship fund to be available to help another student.

Occasionally, for reasons over which STS has no control, some popular programs close their enrollments before STS scholarship candidates get the chance to apply for them. If your child should be closed out of a program, and if you have properly submitted your application to the program according to our instructions, STS will work with you and the program administrators to try to place your child in another program or session of similar interest and approximately equal cost.

Questions about the STS Application: If you have any questions about the application process OR if you need assistance, you may contact STS by email at STSinfo@supportfortalentedstudents.org.

Click here for on-line: STS Application Form