PROSPER Scholarship
Program Summary
The goal of ProsperityME’s PROSPER Scholarship Program is to help individuals reach their American dream of obtaining a post-secondary degree. Under the program, ProsperityME will award scholarships of up to $5,000 per school year ($10,000 maximum per student) to immigrant students who are ineligible for federal financial aid, including people with existing foreign degrees. ProsperityME will choose award recipients without regard to an applicants’ race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law.
Program Guidelines & Priorities:
Recipients must be living in the state of Maine when they apply for the scholarship and must plan to attend Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) or Central Maine Community College (CMCC), or other Maine Universities or Trade Schools with plans to pursue a certification or advanced degree. This is a competitive scholarship. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on the following qualities: hard work, resourcefulness, perseverance in the face of adversity, academic achievement, leadership, and commitment to one's community.
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Direct relatives of ProsperityME employees or Board Members are ineligible to apply.
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Applicants must have a minimum GPA (Grade Point Average) of 2.5
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Scholarships are awarded based on need after an evaluation of an Applicant’s ability, or family’s ability, to pay based on household income
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Applications will be reviewed, and recipients selected by a diverse committee consisting of community volunteers, Board and staff of ProsperityME. Recipients will be notified by April 1 annually.
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If awarded, funds will be paid directly to the Educational institution semester by semester. It will be the student’s responsibility to submit to ProsperityME student ID number and proof of maintaining a minimum 2.5 GPA.
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Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation with the application. One should be from their Guidance Counselor/Academic Advisor or their Supervisor (for adult learners). The other can be from any other individual, except for immediate family, who can attest to the applicant’s ability to complete a college degree. If it is your schools practice to remit letters of recommendation or transcripts directly, please have them emailed to ProsperityME (ProsperityME@prosperityme.org). In their place on this form, please attach a document(s) indicating from whom we can expect to receive that recommendation or transcript.