Scholarship Program: Frequently Asked Questions
IMPORTANT FEDERAL LAW
Q. What Federal rules should I become familiar with?
A. These two web pages from the Internal Revenue Service are informative
First, for anyone receiving scholarship awards from a non-profit foundation.
Topic no. 421, Scholarships, fellowship grants, and other grants
And if your award is paid directly to you (not the school’s bursar), then you need to read “Grants to Individuals”
Grants to Individuals
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Q. What Email address should I use?
A. ANY email that’s not dadeschools.net will be fine.
Q. What do you want to see in the “Personal Financial Statement”?
A. Please describe your home life, and your family’s ability to afford college for you. Do you qualify for a federal school lunch discount? Do both parents work? Do you expect to work during college? Do you have siblings also attending college now?
Q. Is there an advantage for students who are among the first to apply?
A. No.
Q. Can I email an attachment instead of uploading it?
A. No. Really, really, really, no.
Q. I need to make a change to an application which I already submitted.
A. It’s fine. Please call the Foundation and ask for the Grants Program Team via 305-446-9670 during business hours, with the name of the scholarship and the date you submitted it. We will authenticate your identity, and then return it to DRAFT status for you. Don’t forget – you must submit it again.
Q. Do I need to be a U.S. Citizen?
A. No.
Q. Can I attend school in a foreign country or U.S. territory? Can I attend a two-year technical or trade school?
A. Contact our team immediately. The answer will depend on which scholarship fund your award was created from.
Q. My email ends with “@dadeschools.net”
A. Since you will lose access to that mailbox after June of your senior year, you should definitely use a Gmail or Yahoo, etc. instead of your school mailbox.
Q. Which Grade Point Average will you use for cutoff?
A. The Community Foundation strictly uses the Un-Weighted Grade Point Average (GPA), for example when the “cutoff” for a Scholarship fund requires a 3.0 or better.
SCHOLARSHIP AGREEMENT
Q. What’s needed to complete a Scholarship Agreement?
A. When completing your Scholarship Agreement, it’s best to WAIT until after freshman orientation and you’ve completed your course schedule. We want you to upload a single document proving four information factors: 1) Student’s full name; 2) University name; 3) Student ID Number; 4) Course Schedule. Usually this document is your course schedule or class registration document. Remember: we really don’t want screen shots!
Q. I submitted my Scholarship Agreement but it was rejected. What are common reasons it might be rejected?
A. You may have uploaded something other than a course registration document or class schedule.
We need a document that shows:
- University Name;
- Full Student Name and Student ID;
- Date;
- Course Registration.
IF you cannot register for classes during the summer please contact the Scholarship Program team at scholarships@gablesfoundation.org for special handling.
Q. Can I use a scholarship to attend school overseas?
A. We are ready to accommodate your overseas school situation.
The school must be accredited, and you must enroll full-time in a degree-seeking program.
Once you have registered at your school of choice overseas, complete the Scholarship Agreement as usual.
We can pay the school Bursar as usual – even overseas – or we can pay you directly. Direct payment to the student in Miami is often easiest.
If we pay you directly then visit https://gablesfoundation.org/ach and fill out the bank info plus a W2 form.
Be sure to consult a tax specialist about the IRS requirements, and follow guidance so that you’re not taxed on it (presuming you’re filing in the U.S.).
Q. I will attend the University of Florida. Where can I get the best course registration document?
A. If you haven’t attended your University of Florida freshman orientation yet, you won’t be able to find this PDF yet. It’s easy to retrieve after that.
Go to the one.UF.edu portal. Login and find “Courses and Registration.”
This link might work for you: https://one.uf.edu/myschedule/2258“.
From there, you’ll find “Register/View Schedule” where you can download the PDF.
You could probably get it to work on a phone, but this works best on a desktop computer. Remember: we really don’t want screen shots!
Q. What happens if I change schools in the midst of a multi-year scholarship award?
A. The Community Foundation can change future payments to your new school. You still must show your transcript documenting satisfactory grades and full-time enrollment.
DISPLACEMENT
Q. What happens if I change schools in the midst of a multi-year scholarship award?
A. The Community Foundation can change future payments to your new school. You still must show your transcript documenting satisfactory grades and full-time enrollment.
Q. My university says it will deduct the amount of the Community Foundation’s scholarship from their financial aid package.
A. When a university reduces its tuition assistance by the amount of a third-party scholarship, this practice is called “displacement.” Normally the Community Foundation pays scholarships to the school’s bursar, but in the case of displacement, the Community Foundation will pay the scholarship directly to the student. Please be aware that — in accordance with IRS policy — there may be a tax liability associated with scholarships paid directly to students. This can also happen when the scholarship award amount is greater than the university’s total cost of attendance.
The Coral Gables Community Foundation does not provide tax advice and suggests consulting a tax expert. In a nutshell:
- Keep excellent records of all your educational expenses;
- We suggest you open a separate checking account to receive the disbursements and to pay education expenses;
- Really DO talk with a tax expert;
- Read what the IRS says here: “Grants to Individuals” (IRS.gov).
EARLY GRADUATION (less than 4 years)
Q. I attended dual enrollment during high school and have obtained many college credits, which means I will be graduating earlier than the traditional 4 year schedule.
A. We can’t accelerate the four-year payout plan, even if you only attend school for one or two years, but there is some good news. After graduation, if you take post-baccalaureate classes such as a Master’s Degree or you’re attending full-time and it’s an accredited school (coding academy, culinary school, flight school, whatever), then the installments should keep coming to your account. You’ll need to upload your full transcript and course schedule for approval when you get the renewal reminder email each Spring.
We need to know your details. While we normally send disbursements in August, in these cases it’s sometimes possible to make the fourth year disbursement “early” in the Spring term of your senior year. This requires an exception which must be approved by the scholarship fund holder (donor).
Q. I’m going to graduate soon but I think I have not used all of my scholarship award.
Can I apply it to Graduate Studies/Master’s Degree?
A. Contact the Scholarships Program team. Ask and we may be able to allow your third or fourth disbursement to be applied to graduate studies as long as there’s not a long hiatus, and as long as the enrollment is full-time, degree-seeking and at an accredited institution, etc.
The answer will depend on which fund your award came from, and other factors.
RENEWAL ISSUES
Q. I submitted my transcript but it was rejected. Why can’t I use it to release the second-year disbursement?
A. Your academic transcript must contain these four facts to be considered complete: Full student name; Student ID number; Grades for all classes attempted to date; Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). Also, we don’t want screen-shot images, or the photo your snapped of a computer screen. Please download a PDF and upload that file to us.
Q. What standard is used for evaluating my transcript?
A. Scholarship renewal requires maintaining a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA and successfully completing at least 12 credit hours per semester. Scholarships from some funds have a higher standard like 3.5 GPA.
Q. When should I submit my transcript?
A. We will send you a reminder in April and your transcript should be uploaded by the end of May. We don’t want or need your “official” transcript, but it must come from the school.
Important: Screen shots of your transcript are not accepted.