Scholarships

About the Scholarships

Since 1985, the South St. Paul Educational Foundation has provided scholarship opportunities for high school seniors. The South St. Paul Educational Foundation proudly presents a broad range of scholarships to students who have a variety of needs, abilities, goals and talents.

These scholarships are available through the generous donations of the scholarship sponsors. They have recognized the importance of education and have chosen to actively participate in extending this opportunity.

We sincerely thank them and welcome them as true partners in furthering the education of our students. Because of our donors tradition of giving, our children benefit.

From near or far, separately or together, we all work to open windows of opportunity for our students. We encourage your involvement in our effort.

Scholarship Process

The following is the process that has been developed to award scholarships to South St. Paul graduates.

The originator of the scholarship determines the criteria the student must meet in order to be awarded for that particular scholarship. For example, there are scholarships specifically for students attending four-year colleges and scholarships for students attending technical colleges (vocational schools, trade schools). Some scholarships specify a certain level of academic achievement; some have financial need as a criterion.

Scholarship booklets and application forms are available for all seniors in a class meeting in February. It is each student’s responsibility to read the booklet and apply for any scholarships for which they may qualify.

After scholarship applications are turned in (February), the selection process begins:

Applications are coded (names are removed for confidentiality).
Applicants’ GPA, test scores, class rank, school activities, work experience, and community activities, are assigned a rating using a pre-established rating scale.
A master list of applicants and information is entered into a computer database.
The program will sort applicants and their information according to the scholarship criteria designated.
The applications, computer printouts, and ranking instructions are organized and delivered to the anonymous scholarship selection committee members. (The committee is made up of teachers and community members; no SSP Educational Foundation board members are on the selection committee nor do they know who the selection committee members are).
Individual committee member’s rankings are entered into the computer and the information re-sorted to reflect the additional data.
Students are notified that they will be awarded a scholarship and are invited to attend the scholarship awards reception in May. (Students do not know which scholarship they will receive until the presentation in May.) Also, students who did not receive a scholarship are notified.
Scholarship donors are invited to the reception to present their scholarship.

2023 Scholarship Recipients

Teacher Recommendation Form

Multi-Year Scholarship Recipients

Please remember if you have received a multi-year scholarship from the Foundation you must submit a proof of enrollment (bill, class schedule, transcript, etc.) at the beginning of each year. We do not mail out checks automatically, we must know that you are still enrolled in school and meet the requirements of your multi-year scholarship.

If you have any questions, please contact the foundation.