"STEM Star" $2500 Scholarships

You may have seen this flyer around campus. (It has been posted in many classrooms and some of the display cases around the Science and Math building.) You probably did not realize that it was announcing the availability of $2500 scholarships for current TCC students planning to major in science, technology (specifically including computer science), engineering, or math for the 2007-2008 school year with an application deadline of June 1 July 30.

(Click on the image to see a jpeg rendering of the M$ doc file the faculty got via e-mail.)

The long version of the story is that TCC was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to fund scholarships and additional support (mentoring, internships and placement assistance, study groups - probably within MESA) to students starting college at TCC this fall. Entering students (with demonstrated financial need and a 3.0+ GPA) would get a $2500 per year scholarship for their first two years at TCC. Probably because this is a new program this year, they have not gotten enough applications from high school students, who must apply by May 1. As a result, the program has been opened up to current TCC students who are planning to attend both the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters.

Updated details:
I learned more at our Monday (4/23) faculty meeting. This scholarship can be used in conjunction with other awards (such as a Bright Futures scholarship), limited only by your financial need as determined from your FAFSA form. [See application details below.] You can work with a financial aid advisor to optimize your use of these funds.

Students must be US Citizens, enrolled full time, have a 3.0 GPA, submit an on-line TCC scholarship application, two letters of recommendation, an essay, and a resume, and demonstrate financial need through a FAFSA application. Contact Wilbert Butler, butlerw@tcc.fl.edu, in office SM223 for more information.

Side comment:
Students who have had me for the physics lab might look at this announcement and begin to realize why I emphasize putting the most important information at the top. The headline of the flyer does not mention that it is for a scholarship, the amount is in fine print, and the application deadline is not mentioned anywhere on the flyer. Worse, the clever use of a "stem" of a rose surrounded by "stars" reflects the name of the program but not its intent. How many of you saw this in a classroom and figured someone was selling roses?