Most scholarship recipients apply and receive scholarship awards when they are high school seniors. Those applications are processed through the high school guidance office. Students are eligible to apply if they are graduating from Cherry Valley-Springfield, Cooperstown, Edmeston, Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton, Laurens, Milford, Morris, Mt. Markham, Richfield Springs, Owen D. Young, Schenevus, or Worcester Central School Districts, or the Otsego Area Occupational Center in Milford.
Those graduates who do not receive a scholarship in high school may apply for an award after attending college for one year. Students must graduate from one of the 13 locations, attend an accredited college full-time with a minimum of 12 credit hours for two consecutive semesters and achieve a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
Adult students who are documented 10-year residents (after age 18) of one of the 12 school districts are also eligible to apply for a scholarship (for GMU and Morris, eligibility starts from the year 2015). Those applicants must fulfill the above criteria to indicate academic success potential.
Anyone interested in applying should call The Scholarship Office at (607) 547-9927.
The scholarship program is basically eight (8) semesters in length. Once a four-year degree (usually a B.A. or B.S.) is achieved or eight semesters of scholarship have been awarded, the scholarship ends. It may take students an extended time period to complete a degree and a few academic programs are approved for more than eight semesters. Please call The Scholarship Office at (607) 547-9927 to discuss specific programs or issues.
Student transfers are not unusual. A copy of your letter of acceptance to the new school is needed for your file. If the transfer takes place mid-year, bring or send your letter of acceptance to the office before the end of January. The spring scholarship award cannot be issued until the letter of acceptance is received. Students transferring at the end of a school year may either send a copy of the letter of acceptance or bring it to the annual interview.
For the Clark Foundation to comply with Internal Revenue Service regulations, scholarship funds are sent directly to the academic institution.
Sometimes students must put educational plans on hold for a semester, a year, or even several years. It is possible to resume your undergraduate education and reactivate The Clark Foundation Scholarship. When planning to return to school, it is necessary to contact The Scholarship Office. A personal interview will be needed to finalize your award status.
The Clark Scholarship Program does not have a GPA requirement, but you must be in good academic standing at your school. This means you must have an overall GPA of 2.0 for the academic year. If your GPA falls below a 2.0 for the academic year, you will be placed on Academic Probation. The Academic Probation policy and expectations will be discussed, if needed, during the personal interview.
When filling out the financial section of your application, you may not know certain amounts at this time. (i.e. Pell, TAP, other scholarships, etc.) You will need to enter a zero (0) in these areas. Many colleges now include laundry, fees, etc. as part of their overall Room and Board charge. It is acceptable to enter zero’s in these areas as well. Any questions, please consult your guidance counselor.
There are a couple of things to pay attention to if you are considering a Study Abroad program. First and foremost your scholarship will follow you if: (1) The Study Abroad program is through your college or University or (2) The College or University that you will be studying at is accredited and you will be enrolled full time. In most cases we will send your semester check to your home school and/or the college/University that is sponsoring the Study Abroad program. If you are directly enrolling in the overseas school, your award can still be used. As each country has its own set of rules in terms of how they want to receive payment, it is best that you contact our office as soon as you know where you are going.
This is a question we get on a regular basis. For new students entering their freshman year of college, there are several reasons why your check hasn’t been sent to your school. Please ask yourself these questions: Did I return my signed student agreement to the Scholarship office? Did I provide the Scholarship office with my social security number? Did I tell the Scholarship office which school I decided to attend? If you answered no to any of these questions, call the office as soon as possible.
If you are a returning student, there are three things we require before we can issue your check. (1) We need your renewal form, a copy of which is available on this website, (2) we need your grades from the previous semesters, we do not need an official transcript, and (3) we need to see you for an interview each year .
If you have transferred to another school, did we receive a copy of your acceptance letter to the new school?
Your scholarship can be used for any secondary institute of higher education as long as they are officially accredited. Please contact the Scholarship office if you have any questions about the status of the school you are interested in.