Preparing to Apply

You will need the following to complete your application: 

• Transcript: An academic transcript from your current high school that includes your 2nd-quarter grades. If your school uses a trimester system, your transcript may include only your first-trimester grades. College students must submit a transcript that includes fall semester grades. We HAPPILY ACCEPT unofficial transcripts.
• FAFSA Confirmation Page: Before you can apply for our scholarships, you must complete a FAFSA application. When you submit your FAFSA, you will receive a Confirmation Page by email that states your name and Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). Click here for detailed information about how to identify your EFC and upload your FAFSA Confirmation Page. 
  
  **If you have questions about this requirement or concerns about this requirement's applicability to you, please contact scholar@greaterworcester.org.** 
• Recommendation Request: Be prepared with the name and email address of a teacher, guidance counselor or advisor who will submit a brief Recommendation Form on your behalf. This is not a formal letter, but an abbreviated form that you will request your recommender compete from within your online application. 
• Written Components: All applicants will be required to respond to 3 brief (350-500 word) essay questions. 
• Additional Materials: Several scholarships require an extra statement from the applicant. If you are eligible for these scholarships and wish to be considered, you will be prompted to submit the extra statement(s). For students pursuing the visual arts who wish to be considered for the Richard W. Pierce Scholarship, you will be asked to upload a PDF of your portfolio of artwork.

Our online scholarship application opens each year in January.

Once open, an APPLY HERE tab will appear on our website. You will be required to set up an application account with an email address and password of your choosing. Having an account allows you to save your work and return to it at any time.

Plan ahead!

We recommend that you allow at least two weeks to prepare your application. You should plan for any extra time it might take your teachers or advisors to complete your Recommendation Form. 

All applicants will be notified by email and/or mail of their application status in June.

You will receive an automated email immediately after electronically submitting your application notifying you that it has been received by the Foundation's scholarship team. Our selection committees convene in April and May to select recipients. Some of our scholarships require an interview, but most do not.

If you have been awarded a scholarship, we highly encourage you to write a thank-you note to your donor. This can be sent to the Foundation at 370 Main Street, Suite 650, Worcester, MA 01608. We will forward it to your scholarship donor.