Since the inception of the Carmel Woman's Club in 1972, each year several scholarships are awarded to women returning to school for a higher education pursuit of a degree.
The purpose of the scholarships is to assist those in need with the funds to continue their education with the goal being to gain employment that will raise their standard of living and allow them to be able to support themselves and their families. In some cases, this means the women will not have to rely on government assistance for any support.
These scholarship awards are not loans; therefore, there is no repayment. Our scholarship program is posted at the local colleges and we enlist the colleges' Financial Assistance personnel to refer candidates to us. We also accept applications that come to us directly.
We maintain detailed Scholarship Recipient information which includes the recipient contact info; their grades; the amount of the award; any correspondence between the recipient and CWC.
We look for women who: live in Hamilton County; are likely to succeed or meet their educational goals based upon previous school achievements; are of good character verifiable by provided references; can demonstrate financial need and who are looking to further their education in areas that possibly will eventually benefit the community.
The number of scholarships is based on the amount of money the CWC is able to raise annually through their membership fees, fundraising projects, grants, donations and sponsorships. Since 1974, all proceeds from CWC's Dessert and Card Parties and other fundraisers have gone directly towards scholarships. Applicants have deadlines to meet for qualification for both the fall and spring semesters.
CWC monitors the recipients’ performance during the year by staying in contact with them, along with requesting transcripts of their grades. We don’t set a specific grade point average but rather look at the difficulty of the courses they are taking and make a decision based on that. Most of our prior applicants have been in nursing programs which require some difficult courses and thus far, those recipients have maintained a 3.00 GPA or above which is acceptable depending upon the course difficulty.
We also look at the the goal of the recipients. If they are pursuing a career in something that will eventually be community beneficial, that counts a great deal in that recipient being eligible for scholarship renewals.
Our Scholarship Chairman stays in contact with the recipients during the year. Each semester, we require grade transcripts from the recipients. All scholarship award money for new recipients and recipients obtaining a renewal award is sent directly to the college through the Bursar’s office for that recipient before the beginning of the semester.
The Scholarship Chairman oversees and reviews all applications and presents them to both the Board and to the General Membership.
CWC requires an application, a 300 word essay stating the recipient’s goals, their plan to achieve those goals and at what level they are within that plan. They also must provide us with their GPA documentation from the last semester, their employment history and two character references.
After presentation of the applications to the Board, the General Membership then votes on the applicants for the scholarship awards.
If you or someone you know is interested in applying for a scholarship, please email or call for an application and more detailed information. Our new online link to download the Scholarship Application Form will be available shortly.
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