Online scholarship sites mark successful first year

After a hugely successful first year, Scholarships@UW-Madison is looking forward to more success in helping students in the 2010-11 academic year.

Last year, the University of Wisconsin–Madison used cutting-edge technology to make it much easier for undergraduate students to learn about and apply for scholarships. The Web site Scholarships@UW-Madison, http://scholarships.wisc.edu/Scholarships/, launched last fall. The site offers a central resource where current and prospective students and their parents can explore the available undergraduate scholarships.

Each year, UW–Madison schools and colleges award millions of dollars in undergraduate scholarships. These awards are in addition to standard packages of grants and loans made available to students who have financial need based on the information provided on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Most UW–Madison scholarships are offered by a specific campus school or college within the university, such as the College of Letters & Science or the School of Nursing. Additional campuswide scholarships are open to any admitted or enrolled student. Each school and college maintains its own scholarships and awards them to students according to various criteria.

In the past, current students, prospective students and parents were responsible for doing all of the legwork by visiting Web sites and contacting individual schools, colleges and departments on campus. Each school or college had its own application, selection process and deadlines. Scholarships@UW-Madison has ended the need for that effort, compiling information in one central place.

In conjunction with Scholarships@UW-Madison site is a second Web site that includes an electronic application for admission applicants or current students to apply online for scholarships for which they may be eligible. This online student application uses a secure Web interface that is accessible through the My UW portal. This application makes it easy for admission applicants and currently enrolled undergraduate students to apply for scholarships by completing an online form.

“We’re very pleased with the usage of the online application,” says Jim Buske, scholarship administrator in the Office of Student Financial Aid. “In the first year, over 5,000 students used the electronic application to apply for scholarships. We hope to double that figure in the current academic year.”

The online student application site uses a Web service to access a student’s UW–Madison information, such as major or year in school, so as to specify exactly which scholarships the student should apply for based on the school or college criteria.

The student application was rolled out in phases, starting first with undergraduate students in the College of Letters & Science last fall. For the 2010-11 academic year, all schools and colleges on campus plan to use the online application.

For more information, call 608-263-1364 or e-mail james.buske@finaid.wisc.edu.