Our Scholarship Program

I’m not a Wisconsin student. Am I eligible to apply for your scholarships?: Regrettably, no. Our scholarships are only for students attending high school in Northeast Wisconsin. Learn all about who is eligible to apply for our scholarships by clicking on the ‘Eligibility’ tab above.

Are your scholarships available for graduate studies?: No. CollegeReady scholarships are for full-time undergraduate students taking a minimum of 12 credits each semester at a fully-accredited college/university in the United States. But you may find a scholarship that’s a fit for you on this list of other resources – click here.

exceptions

I’m already in college. Can I apply for your scholarships? The vast majority of our scholarships for current college students are only for students who received a scholarship from us the previous year.
The two exceptions are for college students who are employed by the Green Bay Packers Pro Shop, or for Door County residents studying Diesel Mechanics – if either are a match for you, please complete our Renewal Application.

Does your application require essays?: Yes, applicants must write two essays to be considered for our process. Click here to view our essays for high school students.

How do I get started filing my FAFSA?: FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – is a required part of our scholarship application process, so you’ll need to complete yours before you can begin a CollegeReady scholarship application. You can’t apply if you choose not to complete a FAFSA!
Learn all about it and file yours here: fafsa.ed.gov
Talk to your school counselor if you have specific questions on completing your FAFSA, or if you are not eligible to submit a FAFSA.

• Update for 2024: Due to many FAFSA delays and difficulties, CollegeReady is accepting FAFSA Estimates from Class of 2024 high school seniors. Follow this tutorial to generate your FAFSA Estimate and upload it to your CollegeReady application. NOTE: Any students who continue to the second round of scholarship evaluation will be required to submit their actual FAFSA results – so you should still submit your FAFSA form as soon as possible!

I don’t have a resume yet, where do I begin?: There are lots of free resources online that can help you write a great resume. We suggest downloading one of Google’s easy-to-use resume Google Docs templates. Find the template style that you like, download it, and fill in your personalized information. Here’s an article with instructions to get you started! https://resumegenius.com/resume-templates/google-docs-resume-templates

Your CollegeReady resume should include these key sections:

• Honors or awards you’ve earned
• Extracurricular activities (list the number of hours during high school that you’ve participated in each activity)
• Leadership roles that you have held in clubs, sports or activities
• Paid work (list the average number of hours worked per week for each job)
• Volunteerism (list the total hours you volunteered during high school) 

I filled out the General Application, and am not eligible for any of your scholarships. What now?: We’ve compiled a list of other resources that can aid you in your scholarship search. Don’t forget to inquire with your high school counselor/student services office (they probably have a list of available scholarship opportunities), and check with your intended college/university’s financial aid office (they have scholarships just for students attending your school!). And click here to check out our big list of scholarships & resources offered by other organizations.

How can I make sure my application is submitted correctly?: Here is a quick checklist for your CollegeReady application:

1. Mark the application deadline in your calendar – and don’t miss it! We don’t offer deadline extensions. Period.
2. When creating an account, sign up with an email address that you’ll continue using after high school. Don’t use your high school-issued email address.
3. In your application, you will enter the name & email address for your high school counselor and for one person at school who you choose as your school reference. Our online system will send each of them an email requesting their help submitting your reference forms. Verify the spelling of those email addresses to ensure our messages are successfully delivered.
4. Take time to develop and compose your essays. Brainstorm, proofread, read aloud, share with someone you trust for their comments and feedback. Students who are serious about receiving a scholarship focus on applying their personal thoughts, ideas, experiences and examples, and will submit only their best work.
5. Consider writing the optional essay, which may allow you to be considered for other scholarship opportunities.
6. Submit your FAFSA as soon as possible! The U.S. Dept. of Education will process your submitted FAFSA application, which typically takes 3-10 business days. They’ll provide your FAFSA Submission Summary (previously called the Student Aid Report), which you will upload to your CollegeReady application.
7. Save your FAFSA Submission Summary and your finished resume in PDF format. Scroll to the bottom of this page and check out our tutorial for help with this.
8. After uploading your documents, hit the ‘Save and Keep Editing‘ button. When the screen refreshes, click the document links to test them and make sure they can be opened/accessed.

Generating your FAFSA Estimate & Uploading to your CollegeReady scholarship application

Finding Your SAI/FAFSA Submission Summary & Saving as a PDF

What is a Financial Aid Offer