21st Century Scholars

Who receives 21st Century Scholarship?

The 21st Century Scholarship is awarded to students that are residents of Indiana.

• Recipient Requirements
  • Enrolled in the 21st Century Scholars Program in the student's 7th or 8th grade year and meet assigned program requirements in high school. See http://scholars.in.gov/ for more info.
  • Must be an Indiana Resident.
  • Enroll in an Indiana college or university within a year of graduating from high school.
  • Must be enrolled full-time by the end of the fourth week of classes, does not include wait-listed classes.
  • Working towards your first undergraduate degree.
  • Maintain federal requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
  • Four year life time limit for the award.

College Scholar Success Program

This program is designed to create a more engaged and career prepared student and completion of this program is a requirement to renew the 21st Century Scholarship each year. Activity submissions will take place in ScholarTrack and the account must be upgraded to a full access account to do so. The list of opportunities below is not necessarily an exhaustive list.

See the College Scholar Success Program Infographic

• College Performance

  Complete all annually

  Complete 30 Credits Each Year

  You must successfully pass 30 credits each year in order to renew your 21st Century Scholarship.

  Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

  As a recipient of financial aid (federal, state, and institutional), you must make reasonable academic progress toward the completion of your degree requirements. We evaluate the standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) the end of each academic semester (fall, spring, and summer) and at the time of the awarding of any aid. The SAP policy consists of a completion requirement, a grade-point-average requirement, and a maximum-time-frame requirement.

  Learn more about SAP

  File your FAFSA

  The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed by April 15th.

  Students must resolve all red flags in their go.PFW financial aid account –prior to any aid disbursing to their Bursar account. Always verify that your aid has disbursed as expected then manage any unresolved balances with the Bursars Office. Note, email communication to your university account is the primary means of contact –check it often.

• Identify One Mentor or Champion

  Identify at least one personal or professional mentor/coach/champion who you can turn to for advice to help you through your college career and into the workforce. This individual can be campus or community based.

• College Engagement

  Complete one annually

  • New Student Orientation/Transfer Student Orientation (^) (v)
  • New Student Orientation
  • First-Year Experience/Seminar (^) (v)
  • IDIS 11000 - Freshman Success Course
  • Learning Community (*)
  • TRIO
  • Living Learning Communities
  • Endorsed: Career Ready
  • Campus Involvement (*)
  • Student Activities Board
  • Student Organizations
  • Study Abroad/Study Away (**)
  • Study Abroad
  • National Student Exchange
• College Preparation

  Complete one annually

  Informational Interview (v)

  • Career fairs / graduate school fairs
  • Major/career exploration seminars
  • Complete A Career Plan Assignment
  • Office hours with professor in field
  • Major / career exploration appointments

  Professional Resume (v)

  • College / major seminar assignment
  • LinkedIn
  • Portfolium / major portfolios
  • Resume, PFW submitted reviewed by the Career Development Center

  Internship (or Equivalent)

  • Career Development Center - Handshake

  Student-Faculty Research

+ Must be completed summer before your first year at Purdue.

^ Must be completed during your first year at Purdue. Must qualify for the program or major for these options.

* Activities may be repeated / sustained for multiple academic years.

** 21 ^st Century Scholars wishing to study abroad during fall/spring semesters should contact the ScholarCorps Member to choose the correct program for their scholarship(s).

v Activities that have a virtual option.

Maintaining 21st Century funding

Before you come to campus:

• Complete all Scholar Success Program activities in ScholarTrack by June 30.
• Make sure your high school diploma and final GPA are reported to 21st Century Scholars via ScholarTrack.
• Upgrade your ScholarTrack account by going to My Account and click "Upgrade My Account."

After you come to campus:

• Enroll and remain enrolled full-time each semester you use funding (12 credit hours minimum to be considered full time.)
• File the FAFSA each year by the State deadline. This year, the State deadline is April 15.
• Successfully complete (earn a D or higher in) 30 credits each year.
• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• Complete College Scholar Success Program activities, 3 per year.

Starting in Fall 2017, students need to complete at least 30 hours each year in order to qualify for the next academic year awards

Students can start their 21st award year in the fall or spring.

• FALL start would consists of fall-spring-summer to get 30
• SPRING start would consists of spring-summer-fall to get 30 "spring to spring"

Freshman starting in FALL 2017 and after will have the ability to "Bank" credit hours in two different ways. One from high school and one from college. These bank hours can be used in case of a year where you do not complete 30 hrs. Bank hours consist of:

• High School
  • Accepted dual-credit courses
  • Accepted AP courses
• College
  • Any completed credits in one year over 30 hours

Example of college freshman bank hours: 6 credits of dual credit and 6 credits of AP courses would equal 12 banked hours

21st Century for Summer

Purdue University Fort Wayne has banded tuition. Aid is calculated based on the total award value for the academic year, 2021 is $8730 (cost of 12-18 credits for fall and spring semesters.)

There are 2 ways a student may have funds for summer:

1. If 21st was reduced to keep within tuition and fees (T/F) charged for either fall or spring. If a student used less than $8730 between fall & spring then the remainder can be used for summer with no credit enrollment requirements (it will also be capped at T/F charges for summer.)
2. Fast Track. A student can apply for Fast Track for summer on their ScholarTrack account. To be eligible students must enroll in either 6 credits or 12 credits for the summer, session I and I are combined.

Transfer Students

Transfer students must meet all requirements above and must not have used their allotted 30 credit hours for the Academic Year at another institution.

Paying for College as a 21st Century Scholar

Your 21st Century Scholars award covers up to four years (eight semesters) of tuition at public universities in Indiana, including Purdue University Fort Wayne. Because it is tuition-only, 21st Century Scholars award does not include other costs associated with college, such as housing, meals, textbooks, and miscellaneous expenses. The award amount is based on the cost of tuition for the academic year which includes 12-18 credits per semester. Additional fees, such as course material fees, are not included.

With a little over half of the cost of college attendance remaining after 21st Century Scholars awarded is applied, it is important to look for additional sources of aid. We encourage our 21st Century Scholars to consider the following financial support systems that Purdue University Fort Wayne offers:

• Other gift aid (free money)
• Note, any other gift aid that is also restricted to only tuition may affect the amount of your 21st award, excess funds cannot be applied towards other expenses.
• Academic/department scholarships - check with your major/college to discuss opportunities for earning academic scholarships
• Federal Work Study
• Student loans

How much is a 21st Century Scholarship?

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition for a maximum of 30 credit hours per year. The amount for 2016-2017 would be 273.75 X 30 = 8212.

If you choose to take online classes the difference in tuition would not be covered by the scholarship.

Resources

• ScholarTrack

  Each 21st Century Scholar has access to a ScholarTrack account. ScholarTrack allows you to monitor your credit completion for the year and your credit bank. If you do not have a ScholarTrack account, you can create one. Once you enter college you will need to upgrade your account to see the new credit completion and credit bank features.

• Academics

  There are various resources that can help you be academically successful, listed below.

  • Learning Support Center
  • Supplemental Instruction
  • Course-Specific Tutoring and Help Labs
• Financial Aid

  Questions about financial aid? Contact the Student Success Programs Financial aid administrator or the Division of Financial Aid. These resources can help you navigate any issues or changes.

• Involvement

  Looking for community on campus? Check out Events Calendar! This website can help you find a club or organization that fits your individual interest and skills. It is a fantastic way to meet other students, learn more about your career or try something new!

Contact

Elvira Delira
21st Century Scholars Support Specialist
Ameri-Corp Scholars Corp
Kettler 102A
Phone: 260-481-6438
Email: [email protected]