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Our Scholarship Program

Our Scholarship Application Process

CollegeReady offers financial assistance to high school graduates in pursuit of an undergraduate degree. Students must attend a fully-accredited 2-year/technical college, traditional college or university in the United States and carry full-time student status with a course load of 12 credits or more per semester. All of our scholarships and Partner Scholarships are applicable to a student’s first year in college, and some awards may be renewable.

Scroll down on this page to learn about our eligibility, application process, and helpful FAQ’s & tutorials.

You can find more detail about the specific scholarships we award on our Scholarship Opportunities page.

Interested applicants can use this guide to learn if their intended college/university is eligible for our funding.

Students complete JUST ONE online application to be considered for a number of scholarship opportunities.

Applicants who are headed for a 2-year/technical college or a 4-year college/university complete the same application.

2024 scholarship recipients: email your Thank You Letter(s) to Jenny at jtice@collegereadywi.org

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM DETAILS

Click the tabs below to learn about our scholarship program.

ELIGIBILITY

For Graduating High School Seniors

CollegeReady offers financial assistance to graduating high school seniors who are pursuing an undergraduate degree from a fully-accredited 2-year/technical college or 4-year/traditional college/university in the United States. Students must attend college on a full-time basis (enrolled in 12 credits or more per semester).

All of our scholarships are applicable to a student’s first year in college, and some awards may be renewable.

Review this document to find out if your intended college/university is approved for our funding.

Eligible high schools:

Brown County High Schools: Ashwaubenon, Bay Port, Denmark, De Pere, Green Bay East, Green Bay Preble, Green Bay Southwest, Green Bay West, N.E.W. Lutheran, Notre Dame Academy, Pulaski, West De Pere, and Wrightstown.

Door County High Schools: Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island.

We have some Partner scholarships that serve students in other schools throughout the New North region, too. Learn about these opportunities in the Partner Scholarships section of our Scholarship Opportunities page.

Recipients are selected on the basis of:

Financial need as established by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Academic achievement based on GPA and course rigor, as reported by applicant and school counselor.
Extracurricular activities, volunteer service, paid work, honors/awards, and leadership experience, as detailed by a resumé.
Demonstrated academic motivation, personal growth, initiative and perseverance.
Responses to two creative essays. There is also an optional essay question, which may allow students to be considered for other awards (check the FAQ’s below to download our essay prompts!)
Quality of character as described by one school-related reference.

Renewal Awards for Current College Students

Many of our scholarships can be renewed for a student’s second, third or fourth year in college.

Students learn if they are eligible for a renewal award when they receive their initial scholarship award letter and award Terms & Conditions. Those who can reapply must continue to meet all eligibility criteria for their award(s) and submit a Renewal Application.

Candidates for a renewal award will receive an email reminder in mid-May to signal the opening of our Renewal Application process, which opens on May 15 and closes in early August each year.

APPLICATION PROCESS

CollegeReady awards scholarships through two separate processes each year – students graduating from high school in the current year complete the process for Graduating High School Seniors, while students who are already in college submit a renewal form for Current College Students.

For Graduating High School Seniors

Each year starting in January and ending in March/April, high school seniors complete just one application to be considered for many scholarship opportunities.

Step 1: In our online scholarship portal, applicants complete their General Application. Based on those answers, students who are eligible for one or more of our scholarships will be immediately invited to complete the second step in our process, the application for Graduating High School Seniors.
Step 2: After the March deadline, our team of volunteers evaluate and score each completed scholarship application.
Step 3: Once applications are reviewed, we select and notify our Semi-Finalists. These candidates complete a Semi-Finalist Questionnaire to be further considered for an award.
Step 4: After the Semi-Finalist deadline in late May, all applications go through one final round of evaluation, then our scholarship recipients are selected. Recipients receive a letter and invitation to our Lamp of Knowledge Celebration in July, where they are recognized in front of friends, family and community members, and receive their scholarship award letter.

Renewal Awards for Current College Students

Students currently in college have from mid-May through late July/early August to complete their application.

Those who are eligible to apply for another year of funding will be notified of that fact when they receive their scholarship award letter and award Terms & Conditions as high school seniors. Please know that the majority of our scholarships for current college students are only for students who received a scholarship from us the previous year. There are just a few opportunities for students who do not meet that criteria – click here for a list.

Eligible college students who wish to be considered for a renewal scholarship must complete a General Application and Renewal Application in our online application portal.

You can learn about the scholarships we award and our application process here.

DATES & DEADLINES

2025 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION DATES

Class of 2025 high school seniors:
Application opens: January 15, 2025 | Deadline: April 1, 2025

Eligible college students
Application opens: May 15, 2025 | Deadline: July 31, 2025

When our application period is open, you’ll find a link to our online application system at the top of this page.

2025 Scholarship Application Timeline

January 15

Scholarship application opens (high school seniors)

April 1

Scholarship application deadline (high school seniors)

April 28 - May 29

Semi-Finalist forms accepted (high school seniors)

May 15

Renewal scholarship application opens (current college students)

July 10

Scholarships awarded at Lamp of Knowledge Celebration (high school seniors)

July 29

Renewal scholarship application deadline (current college students)

READY TO APPLY?

Check out these tips, tutorials, & answers to frequently asked questions about our scholarships and application process.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m not a Wisconsin student. Am I eligible to apply for your scholarships?: Regrettably, no. Our scholarships are only for students attending high school in Northeast Wisconsin. Learn all about who is eligible to apply for our scholarships by clicking on the ‘Eligibility’ tab above.

Are your scholarships available for graduate studies?: No. CollegeReady scholarships are for full-time undergraduate students taking a minimum of 12 credits each semester at a fully-accredited college/university in the United States. But you may find a scholarship that’s a fit for you on this list of other resources – click here.

exceptions

I’m already in college. Can I apply for your scholarships? The vast majority of our scholarships for current college students are only for students who received a scholarship from us the previous year.
The two exceptions are for college students who are employed by the Green Bay Packers Pro Shop, or for Door County residents studying Diesel Mechanics – if either are a match for you, please complete our Renewal Application.

Does your application require essays?: Yes, applicants must write two essays to be considered for our process. Click here to view our essays for high school students.

Application Tips

How do I get started filing my FAFSA?: FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – is a required part of our scholarship application process, so you’ll need to complete yours before you can begin a CollegeReady scholarship application. You can’t apply if you choose not to complete a FAFSA!
Learn all about it and file yours here: fafsa.ed.gov
Talk to your school counselor if you have specific questions on completing your FAFSA, or if you are not eligible to submit a FAFSA.

I don’t have a resume yet, where do I begin?: There are lots of free resources online that can help you write a great resume. We suggest downloading one of Google’s easy-to-use resume Google Docs templates. Find the template style that you like, download it, and fill in your personalized information. Here’s an article with instructions to get you started! https://resumegenius.com/resume-templates/google-docs-resume-templates

Your CollegeReady resume should include these key sections:

Honors or awards you’ve earned
Extracurricular activities (list the number of hours during high school that you’ve participated in each activity)
Leadership roles that you have held in clubs, sports or activities
Paid work (list the average number of hours worked per week for each job)
Volunteerism (list the total hours you volunteered during high school)

I filled out the General Application, and am not eligible for any of your scholarships. What now?: We’ve compiled a list of scholarships offered by other organizations and other resources that can aid you in your scholarship search. Don’t forget to inquire with your high school counselor/student services office (they probably have a list of available scholarship opportunities), and check with your intended college/university’s financial aid office (they have scholarships just for students attending your school!).

How can I make sure my application is submitted correctly?: Here is a quick checklist for your CollegeReady application:

Mark the application deadline in your calendar – and don’t miss it! We don’t offer deadline extensions.
When creating an account, sign up with an email address that you’ll continue using after high school. Don’t use your high school-issued email address.
In your application, you will enter the name & email address for your high school counselor and for one person at school who you choose as your school reference. Our online system will send each of them an email requesting their help submitting your reference forms. Verify the spelling of those email addresses to ensure our messages are successfully delivered.
Take time to develop and compose your essays. Brainstorm, proofread, read aloud, share with someone you trust for their comments and feedback. Students who are serious about receiving a scholarship focus on applying their personal thoughts, ideas, experiences and examples, and will submit only their best work.
Consider writing the optional essay, which may allow you to be considered for other scholarship opportunities.
Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible! The U.S. Dept. of Education will process your submitted FAFSA application, which typically takes 3-10 business days. They’ll provide your FAFSA Submission Summary (previously called the Student Aid Report), which you will upload to your CollegeReady application.
Save your FAFSA Submission Summary and your finished resume in PDF format. Scroll to the bottom of this page and check out our tutorial for help with this.
After uploading your documents, hit the ‘Save and Keep Editing‘ button. When the screen refreshes, click the document links to test them and make sure they can be opened/accessed.