Scholarships

The first obligation to fulfilling our mission is to award Scholarships to qualifying seniors at five high schools in the Hillsborough and Pinellas school districts: Alonso, Countryside, East Lake, Leto, and Sickles. We partner with the Hillsborough Education Foundation (HEF) and Pinellas County Education Foundation (PEF) in selecting our students.

Application

Application for the UTBEF Scholarship is through the common application at local high schools. This application is reviewed by the HEF and PEF and they provide us with a list of qualified candidates. UTBEF’s Scholarship Committee reviews those applicationsand selects one recipient per schoolbased on our criteria. Preference is given to students entering directly into a career preparation course of study which produces a certification or a degree.

Eligibility

To be eligible for consideration, students must meet the following requirements:

  • A senior at Alonso, Countryside, East Lake, Leto, or Sickles High School.

  • Meets the qualifications for free/reduced-price school lunches according to the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

  • Confirmation of intent to enter an accredited Florida university, community college, or vocational/technical education program in the Fall semester of the year making the application.

  • Meet the HEF or PEF deadlines and guidelines.
     

Selection Criteria

Once qualifying applications have been received by the UTBEF Scholarship Committee, the selection will be made based on the following criteria.

Leadership and Extracurricular Activities - 20%
Has the student demonstrated leadership in school, home, and community? Examples might include coaching a youth sports team or taking on extra household duties due to a parent's illness, absence, or injury.

Community Service and Work - 20%
Does the student have verifiable community service and/or work experience? Examples of this might include volunteer work with a local food pantry, serving as a teen counselor for a church summer camp, organizing a beach clean-up, or raising funds for a charity.

Essay - 50%
Does the student have a unique, personally meaningful introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook? Do they demonstrate the writing skills necessary for post-secondary work and professional communication?

Admission Test Score - 10%
Is the student eligible for the program of study? Has the student earned a qualifying score on the SAT/ACT/PERT/TABE?

HEF and PEF application links:

HEF: Application link will be available on November 1st, when the application period begins.  The link is https://educationfoundation.com/linksforstudents/senior-scholarships/.  

PEF: Application link will be available on September 30th. https://pinellaseducation.awardspring.com/.


Donate