Darwin Bryan Scholarship Program
This fund was put into place back in 1985 to honor the 37 years of service, leadership, and inspiration that Mr. Bryan provided to the Ohio Farm Bureau. The scholarship fund was established to assist students who have been active in the Farm Bureau youth program and/or whose parents are Farm Bureau members.

Women’s Leadership in Agriculture Scholarship Program
This scholarship program was established in 2006 by a gracious donation from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund. The role of the fund is to ennoble, uplift and strengthen the lives of young women in agriculture.

Foundation Scholar Program
The Ohio Farm Bureau Board of Directors established this fund in 2008 at the urging of some of its donor members. The Foundation Scholar award recognizes students for academic effort, community service and career interests that use agriculture to enhance the partnership between producers and consumers in rural, suburban and/or urban settings

If you are interested in any of these scholarship opportunities, you can download an application online at http://ofbf.org, stop by your local county Farm Bureau office, or send a written request to: Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, P.O. Box 182383, Columbus, OH 43218-2383

Application deadlines for all scholarship programs are March 1st.

The KEMBA Scholarship Opportunity

KEMBA Financial is a credit union that started many years ago (77 years ago to be exact) and it was founded originally for Kroger Employees. Fast forward to 2010 and now it helps to provide financial services for over 55,000 members throughout the Ohio region (Madison, Franklin, Delaware, & Logan counties).

KEMBA is providing a $2,000 college scholarship opportunity to one lucky student. This scholarship is not one of those fly-by-night programs since this is the 19th year that this program has been in existence. An extra bonus for all applicants is that they also get entered into a separate $1000 college scholarship contest provided by the Central Ohio Chapter of Credit Unions. So, by filling out one application you could gain an extra $3,000 to go toward your education expenses (if you win both scholarship programs). Sounds like a no-brainer to me!

The requirements for eligibility are not too stringent and easily met. You must:

• Be a KEMBA member
• Be at least a high school senior
• Be enrolled in or attending an accredited university
• Be a full-time student (taking at least two courses)
• Complete the application and submit the required essays before January 28, 2011

If you are a resident of any of the Ohio counties mentioned above (or know someone who is) and would like to garner some extra scholarship dollars, you can get the application for the KEMBA Scholarship program here. Should you have any questions about the scholarship program or the services (including private education loans) provided by KEMBA, you can reach them at the contact information provided below:

KEMBA Financial Credit Union
555 Officenter Place
P.O. Box 307370
Gahanna, OH 43230
www.KEMBA.org
800.282.6420

One option that many students take advantage of is going straight from their undergraduate experience to graduate school. CPA’s tend to migrate toward MBA programs. When they graduate with their MBA degree, they will have more than enough credit hours to be able to sit for the Ohio CPA exam.

Another option for the CPA minded student is to attend their college of choice for a fifth year to help boost their completed credit hours. Financially this option can sometimes be a costly approach but as more institutions embrace their fifth year seniors you find that most of the aid received in prior years will still be available for that fifth year (9th and 10th semester).

The state of Ohio realizes that their 150 credit hour requirement may be a little onerous in comparison to other states, so they have established a scholarship fund to help students offset the additional costs associated with completing those extra credit hours. The title of this grant program is the Fifth Year College Scholarship. I find it a little humorous just because it appears to be rewarding students that don’t graduate on-time!

It is a great scholarship program and it certainly encourages students in the state of Ohio to become a CPA without the added financial burdens. The only caveat that I can find with the scholarship program is that the state will make you repay the monies if you don’t sit for the CPA examination within 2 years of the final grant disbursement. So tread lightly with this program if you are not fully committed to becoming a CPA. Of course though, it only requires you to “sit” for the exam and not necessarily pass it to be absolved from repayment…

Here is the application form. It appears that they accept scholarship requests twice a year (each semester) and that it is available to upper-class students that are enrolled in an accredited accounting program at a qualified college or university. Enjoy!

Also, even though this scholarship program is specific to the state of Ohio, I can imagine that other state CPA programs may have something comparable (if you are reading this and you reside in another state).

Know anyone that qualifies for this funding? Be sure to send this link to them using the “share tab” below…

The premise of the scholarship program is to attract students with a grade point average between 3.0 and 3.6. ”This is a strategic endeavor to help families afford college,” said Kevin Kucera, UT associate vice president for enrollment services.

While most universities compete for the ”best and the brightest,” UT is concentrating on students with a lower grade point average. That’s because the best students have many options from which to pick and UT can’t necessarily compete successfully, the university has said.

The University of Toledo’s tuition and fees for the upcoming year equate to approximately $8500. All recipients of the Blue and Gold Scholar Award must be eligible for the Pell Grant which can range from $1,000 to $5,350 each student. That benefit combined with the Ohio College Opportunity Grant of $1000 reduces what is left over in unmet need. The University then kicks in the Blue and Gold Scholar Award to cover this need to make the student have no out of pocket expense for tuition and fees.

If the student decides to live on campus and not be a commuter, they will still have some expenses that will not be covered by the Blue and Gold Scholarship. ”They still have some skin in the game,” Kucera said. They are responsible for room and board, which on campus costs about $8,500.

All in all, it seems to be a great program and certainly a good opportunity for someone to get their undergraduate education for free (as a commuter student). If you are interested in checking out the University of Toledo and learning more about the Blue and Gold Scholarship program you can find more information here.

“We know that students have busy lives and need class options, convenience, and flexibility,” Provost Goke-Pariola said. “The summer savings is one way Otterbein can respond to the need for better access to quality higher education for Ohio families.”

If you are an Otterbein student, it is a no-brainer to take advantage of the new summer course rate. But, if you are a student elsewhere in the nation and will be coming home to Columbus, Ohio for the summer (or just visiting), then I suggest you stock up on a course or two at Otterbein and bask in the savings. Congratulations to Otterbein for “helping to make college affordable”!

I Know I Can (IKIC) was founded in 1988 by civic leaders that had a vision and commitment to ensuring that no student from the Columbus City School District (regardless of financial resources) would be denied a college education.  IKIC started small but twenty years later it can now successfully boast as being one of the largest college access programs in the nation. Through the generosity of private donors over the years they have been able to maintain an endowment of $23 million dollars that provides consistent funding for operational and scholarship grant support. This academic year alone, IKIC has awarded 1,240 grants (totaling $1.38 million dollars) to deserving scholars in need.

The following are some accomplishments that I KNOW I CAN can be proud to claim since it’s founding in 1988:

• They have awarded 20,830 Last Dollar Grants totaling $21,593,130 dollars
• They helped students gain access to over $289 million dollars in financial aid
• They have logged 160,564 volunteer hours for their Early Awareness & Financial Aid workshops
• Last Dollar Grant recipients have performed 64,395 hours of community service

I would like to acknowledge I Know I Can for all that they have done for students and families in the greater Columbus area for the past twenty years. I look forward to hearing about their many successes in the years to come.

Below is a list of the services provided by I Know I Can. If someone you know can benefit from any of these programs, please pass this information onto them by using the share tab at the bottom of this article.

• IKIC Children’s Book: I Know I Can is an illustrated book catered towards second grade students that starts educating them early about their opportunities for attending college.
• Blueprint:College 2.0: This program is focused on educating parents on the steps they need to take in order to help their children be college ready.
• Alumni Days: College students go back to their high schools to share wisdom and stories.
• College Fairs: Students meet with college representatives from all over the country to learn more about colleges and universities in which they are interested.

• College Planning: Call 614-233-9510 to set up a meeting with I Know I Can College Advisors to discuss achieving your college goals and plans.
• FAFSA Assistance: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an application for Federal Student Aid access for new and current college students.  Our staff will help you to complete the necessary paperwork to qualify for financial aid.
• I Know I Can Grants: If you meet the I Know I Can eligibility requirements, I Know I Can will contribute up to $1,200 towards your college tuition for up to 4 years.
• ACT/SAT Completion: I Know I Can will assist you in registering for the ACT and SAT. You can receive fee waivers from I Know I Can during your junior and senior years. Talk to your College Advisor for details.

• College Retention: I Know I Can has on-campus offices at 13 Ohio colleges and universities where College Advisors include all CCS graduates in activities and programs that support students in their successful pursuit of a college degree.
• Resource Room: Visit our Resource Room, located at our main office, to attend educational college planning presentations and conduct your own online college searches.
• Online Resource Center: We have compiled a list of what we think are some of the most beneficial and helpful online resources for college preparation.

Contact Information:
I Know I Can
3798 E. Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43213
Office: 614-233-9510
Website: www.iknowican.org