Scholarship FAQs

• No. Although most of our scholarships are intended for students at a two- or four-year college or university, some may also be used at other accredited educational institutions such as trade schools.
• Each scholarship has its own specific eligibility criteria. We encourage you to review these criteria carefully to find the scholarships that may be good matches for you.

• Yes. In addition, some scholarships are available to non-traditional students – that is, adults pursuing post-secondary education.

Once you are logged on and have completed the eligibility quiz to identify which application(s) you are eligible to fill out, click on “Apply” at the top of your screen, next to the home icon.  

No. We recommend that you use the same user profile as you used when you applied last year. Log on using your original email address and then edit your user profile to update your email with your college or other preferred address. To edit your profile, click on your name in the upper right hand corner of the screen and click “Edit My Profile.” Don’t forget to hit “save” once you have made your updates!

Click on the button below to see map by county.

 CFECT Map of Region by County

• Unless the Scholarship Application specifically indicates who should write it, the recommendation may be written by a teacher, counselor, spiritual leader, employer or other individual, as long as he or she is not related to you.
• The person writing your recommendation must be able to describe how they know you and support the information you have provided in your Scholarship Application.

No. All materials must be submitted electronically through your online application. If you have challenges uploading them through the Scholarships Portal, contact us at Scholarships@cfect.org to try to resolve your issue.

• FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. 
• To apply for federal student aid – including federal grants, loans and work-study opportunities – students have to first fill out a FAFSA form online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• Completing and submitting this form is free and gives students access to the largest source of financial aid available to pay for their education.
• Many states and colleges use your FAFSA information to determine your eligibility for the financial aid they will supply. Some private financial aid providers may use your FAFSA information to determine whether you qualify for the assistance they can provide.

• SAR stands for Student Aid Report.
• This report is generated and sent to you from the federal government once you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Your SAR is a 5 to 8 page document that provides basic information about your personal eligibility for federal financial aid. Click here for an example.
• This information is required for all Scholarship Applications and must be sent as soon as possible if it is not included with your online application submission. If you cannot provide this, you will be asked to upload an explanatory document in its place. 

• EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution – the amount of money you and your family are expected to contribute to help pay for your college education for one year.
• Your EFC is part of your SAR. Click here to see an example.
• The EFC determines your eligibility for some federal grants, and colleges use the EFC to assess your eligibility for other federal and nonfederal student aid.

• Contact your school's financial aid office to inquire about the notification.
• If you receive it before you submit your CFECT scholarship application, make sure to upload it. 
• If you receive it after you have submitted your CFECT scholarship application, sent it to scholarships@cfect.org.
• If you have not received your letter by May 15, please contact the Community Foundation immediately at scholarships@cfect.org, or at 860-442-3572 or toll-free at 1-877-442-3572.

That’s okay! Check one or more areas of study that you feel most strongly align with your interests. Click here for a list of some possible majors.

• In most cases, no. You only need to submit the general application for high school seniors or the application for current and non-traditional college students to be considered for all scholarships for which you are eligible.
• If you are eligible to apply for any of these five scholarships, you will have to complete a separate application for each: The Bulkeley Alumni-Harold J. Arkava Scholarship, the Cahill Black Point Education Fund Scholarship, the Caryn Nesbitt, MD, Memorial Scholarship, the John Coleman Prince, American Legion Post 9 Scholarship, and the Skip Thavenet Scholarship.

We will notify all applicants by June 30.

This button is to help streamline the process for applicants eligible to complete more than one of our specific scholarship applications. Once you have filled out one application, you can use the Copy Previous Answers tool to fill in the answers to identical questions on subsequent applications. How it works:

• After you've filled out one application, return to the Apply page and begin another one. NOTE: If you want to copy in responses for a third-party recommendation, you MUST wait until the response is submitted before copying into another application.
• For the next application you would like to apply to, click Apply.
• Click the Copy Previous Answers button on the top right of the screen.
• Select the request (application) you would like to copy answers from, and this will copy all your answers into identical questions on the new application.

We encourage you to carefully review all answers before submitting an application.
 

• Log on to the Scholarships Portal and complete the Follow-up Form on your dashboard with your student ID, the name of the school, and the address of the school’s financial aid or bursar's office. 
• We ask that you submit the Follow-up Form with this information by July 9 so that we may send payment to your school by August 1.
• Once we have this information, we will process the scholarship payment. Scholarship checks are sent directly to the school.
• If we do not hear from you by September 30 of the respective application year, your scholarship may be forfeited.

No. All scholarship checks are made payable to the college or university you are attending and mailed directly to your school’s financial aid or bursar's office.

Yes. We require a new application with a new essay and a new letter of recommendation from a professor or post-secondary instructor.

• It might. Financial aid policies vary.
• We recommend you contact your school’s financial aid office and ask if outside scholarships will displace any grants they might offer you.
• If your college proposes a reduction in your grant assistance (not in a loan or work-study program), we may be able to hold your scholarship award for the following semester or year. Please contact Deb Battit to discuss your situation at Deb@cfect.org or 860-442-3572 or toll-free at 1-877-442-3572.

• If you decide to defer enrollment, we may be able to hold your scholarship award for the following semester or year.
• If you decide not to attend once your scholarship award has been sent to your school, the school should return the funds to the Community Foundation. 
• Please contact Deb Battit to discuss your situation at Deb@cfect.org or 860-442-3572 or toll-free at 1-877-442-3572.
• If we do not hear from you by September 30 of the respective application year, your scholarship may be forfeited.

• You do not need to reapply, but you must submit your new transcript by June 15 in order to confirm your continued eligibility for the scholarship.

• You will need to provide us with a year-end transcript and confirmation that you are enrolled for the upcoming academic year. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, as long as they include your name, student ID, the name of your institution, your cumulative GPA and your complete grades to date.

• 2020 recipients will do this through the Scholarships Portal by submitting the Follow-up Form on their dashboard with their year-end transcript. 

• Multi-year recipients from 2019 and earlier should email their year-end transcript to us at ScholarshipRenewal@cfect.org. 

• Your transcript must confirm that you are in good standing.
• Read more about how to Renew a Multiyear Scholarship
• Transcripts (and changes of colleges and address, if applicable) can be sent to ScholarshipRenewal@cfect.org.

No. Current multiyear scholarship recipients are not eligible to apply for additional scholarships.

We communicate primarily by email. We strongly recommend you use an email address that you will continue to use after high school graduation. Remember to check your junk/spam files for emails from “@cfect.org” or the online scholarships system, “@grantinterface.com.” It would be very helpful if you provide us with your personal cell phone number in case we need to contact you.