Community Foundation Now Accepting Scholarship Applications

The Outer Banks Community Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications online. As a response to the growing concerns and procedural changes in our local schools due to COVID-19 the NEW Scholarship application deadline for students & student recommendations is Sunday, March 29, 2020 11:59 PM EDT. We have 55 different scholarships available, and about $173,000 to give away this year. We look forward to getting your application!

How to Start: CLICK HERE to begin your application. This link will take you to a short questionnaire that helps you identify the right scholarships for you. Answer each question in the questionnaire as completely and accurately as possible, and you’ll get a list of the scholarships that you may be eligible to receive. Select the scholarships that seem to fit you, and start your application.

Create an Account: You must create a (free) account in the system in order to apply. By creating an account, you can save an incomplete application, and log back into the system later to complete it. To log back into the system to finish your application, go to www.smarterselect.com, click login, enter the email and password for your account, and you will see the list of all of your applications, including incomplete, pending, and submitted applications.

Common Application: Students complete one common application for all Community Foundation scholarships. That means that once a student completes his/her first application in our system, all of the information from that first application carries over to his/her next applications. This includes financial information, academic information, extracurricular information, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. The only part of the application that a student must complete individually for each scholarship is the essay question at the end.

Letters of Recommendation: We require two letters of recommendation. The application form will prompt the applicant to identify two people to submit letters. The system will automatically email your recommenders once you enter their email addresses. It is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure that their recommenders upload their letters by the March 29 deadline. We regret that late letters cannot be accepted.

Need-Based Awards: Though many of the Community Foundation’s scholarships are merit-based, the majority of awards consider financial need. For the need-based awards, students should complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and upload the resulting Student Aid Report into their application. Students whose citizenship status prevents their completion of a FAFSA (e.g., DACA students) may still be considered for need-based awards and should talk to their guidance counselors for instruction.

Students, start your applications today! Our application closes on Sunday, March 29 at 11:59 pm. Unfortunately, late applications are never accepted. All scholarship winners will be announced at their school’s Senior Awards Night in May or June.

Click here for more information in English.

Haga clic aquí para más información en español.