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CHEROKEE NATION HIGHER EDUCATION
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
BASIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicant must posses a Tribal Citizenship card showing citizenship in the Cherokee Nation.
Applicant must be attending or plan to attend a regionally accredited post-secondary institution. Accreditation will be verified from the 2006 Higher Education Directory; vo-tech schools are not supported by the higher education funds.
Applicant must apply for financial aid (Pell/FAFSA) at the selected institution, immediately after January 1.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
- Cherokee Nation PELL Scholarship (Amount varies)
All Cherokee Nation tribal citizens, regardless of permanent residence, who qualify for Pell grant funding, are eligible for Bureau of Indian Affairs scholarship funding. This funding is divided equally to all Pell eligible students who complete the application process.
- Cherokee Nation Pell Supplementation Scholarship (Amount varies)
Tribal citizens who are eligible to receive the Cherokee Nation Pell Scholarship and live within the Cherokee Nation service area. The following formula will be utilized to calculate supplemental funding: Cherokee Nation Pell Scholarship Award plus Federal Pell Grant, must be less than $1,000 to qualify for the supplemental funding. Students will be funded the difference based on the formula to make their total $1,000. If their total is equal to or greater than $1,000, no supplement will be awarded. Verification from the financial aid office will be required.
- Cherokee Nation Scholarship ($1000 per semester)
Open to tribal citizens who are permanent residents of the 14-county Cherokee Nation Service Area and contiguous, not qualify for Pell grant funding. Funding is not available to students living outside these areas.
- First Preference
Continuing students, students funded for current academic year by this program
- Second Preference
Classification of new applicants (Senior, Junior, Sophomore, Freshman)
- Third Preference
New applicant, academic performance and financial need of the applicant
- Academic performance: high school GPA multiplied by the ACT/SAT or College Placement Test score
- Financial need: determined by the expected family contribution (EFC) from the 2006-2007 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Student Aid Report (SAR)
- Haskell Indian Nations University Scholarship ( varies with program and student fees )
Open to all Cherokee Nation tribal members, who are not eligible for Pell grant funding may apply to attend Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence , Kansas , at any time during the year. Cherokee Nation will fund the normal fees associated with enrollment at Haskell. This is the equivalent of a full scholarship including room and board to any Cherokee who wishes to attend Haskell.
- Graduate School Scholarship ( $1000 per semester)
Open to tribal citizens who are permanent residents of the 14-county Cherokee Nation Service Area or contiguous. Funding is not available to students living outside these areas.
- First Preference
Continuing students. Students funded by the Cherokee Nation Graduate Scholarship program for current academic year.
- Second Preference
Residence. Students whose permanent residency is within the Cherokee Nation area, which is defined as those counties within and contiguous to the Cherokee Nation boundaries.
- Third Preference
Academic performance. Academic performance will be determined by the cumulative undergraduate grade point average at time of undergraduate graduation.
HOW TO GET A CHEROKEE NATION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
Call: (800) 256-0671 ext. 3948 after January 15
Website: www.cherokee.org after February 1
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE FOR THE CHEROKEE NATION SCHOLARSHIP
Date to be determined. Complete applications must be postmarked or hand delivered on or before this date.
A complete application is defined as the scholarship application and all required supporting documents received at the same time on or prior to the established deadline. Regardless if it was received prior to the deadline if not complete or received after the deadline, application will not be considered for funding.
Application and supporting documents not turned into Higher Education's office or staff will not be accepted.
APPLICANT CALENDAR
| JANUARY |
Apply for federal student aid using the most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid FAFSA- Applications are in the high school counselor's office, or college financial aid office or you may apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Check for the following:
- Cherokee Nation Tribal Citizenship card (blue)
- Social security card
Request the following:
- Official High School Transcript be mailed to you (the student)
- Most recent official transcripts with undergraduate coursework be mailed to you (the student)
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JANUARY
thru
JUNE |
Request the Cherokee Nation Scholarship application. Applications for renewal students will be mailed to students funded during the current academic year by mid-February. |
| MARCH |
Follow-up on your application for federal student aid. You should have received a student aid report (SAR) in the mail if you submitted you application via the mail. If filed electronically you need to visit the FAFSA website to print the SAR. |
APRIL
thru
Established Deadline |
Send in all required documents and application for review by the Higher Education staff. Once application is receive, expect written notification of a complete or incomplete application within ten (10) working days. |
| TBD |
Complete application and all required documents must be postmarked or hand delivered to the Higher Education office. |
| BY AUG 1st |
All award and denial notification mailed to students |
HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT TO RECEIVE scholarships may be adjusted if student passes less than full time hours (12)
PELL Eligible program, up to $1,000 per semester
PELL Ineligible (Non-Pell) program, $1,000 per semester
Haskell Indian Nations University , varies with program and student fees
Graduate School Scholarship, $1,000 per semester
HOW CAN I REACH THE HIGHER EDUCATION OFFICE
Phone: (918) 453-5000 ext 5 or (800) 256-0671 ext. 5
Email: highereducation@cherokee.org
OTHER HELPFUL WEBSITES/PHONE NUMBERS
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