PURPOSE

The purpose of the Blacks In Government (BIG) Benjamin Banneker Chapter (BBC) Scholarship Award Program is to assist a qualified individual in pursuing his/her educational or vocational goals in a degree or certificate program at an accredited college, university, or technical school.

ELIGIBILITY

1. The applicant must be a graduating high school senior or have a General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

2. The applicant must provide a current photo of himself/herself.

3. The applicant must be attending, or planning to attend, on a full time, or part-time basis, a school accredited by a regional or professional accrediting association as recorded in the Higher Education Directory published by the Department of Education.

4. Applicant must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.50, at the time of application, to be eligible for scholarship award.  Extenuating circumstances may be taken into consideration.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Scholarships will be awarded based on the applicant's academic achievement, essay, extracurricular activities, community/public service, SAT scores and statement of educational/career goals.  It is preferable that the statement is typed, but it may be legibly handwritten. 

Essay:  Apply the teaching of Benjamin Banneker to today’s life issues. 

LIMITATIONS AND CONDITIONS

1. The applicant must have received a high school diploma or GED prior to end of school year for which he/she is applying.  The school year is defined as starting in the month of August and running through the month of June.

2. Applicants entering college or vocational school must submit a current, official high school transcript, letter of acceptance from the college or vocational school he/she plans to attend, current SAT scores and a statement of educational/career goals with his/her application and essay.  Acceptance letter or proof of acceptance must be supplied before receipt of funds. 

3. THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 30, 2010.  APPLICATIONS can be submitted without acceptance letter, but all other documents must be submitted with application for consideration.  APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE APPLICATION DEADLINE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.  Acceptance letter or proof of acceptance must be submitted before presentation of award.  The scholarship recipient will be presented with the award letter.

4. The scholarship is awarded for the entire school year and payments will be made payable to the recipient.

5. The Blacks In Government (BIG) Benjamin Banneker Chapter (BBC) reserves the right to increase, decrease, or withdraw any and/or all scholarship awards.

6.  Return the completed application and all requested documentation to:

Blacks In Government (BIG) Benjamin Banneker Chapter (BBC) Scholarship Awards Committee

P. O. BOX 15652

Arlington, VA  22215-5652

PRIVACY ACT

Information contained in this application is subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 and is to be used solely for the determination of scholarship awards.  No information contained in this application will be released to any third party without the expressed written consent of the applicant.  The Blacks In Government (BIG) Benjamin Banneker Chapter (BBC) Scholarship Awards Committee will retain all qualified applications.