School is officially back in session!  The now-shorter evenings filled with homework, club meetings, and sports practices have returned, and for some of our community’s high school seniors, college and scholarship research and applications has already begun.

It’s hard to believe that, only one month into the schoolyear, it’s time for our high school seniors to begin thinking about where they hope to be a year from now and how they plan to arrive.  Due to an advanced timeline from Lilly Endowment, college and scholarship considerations will be expedited this year.  As announced, the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is now available!

The Rush County Community Foundation is honored to partner with Lilly Endowment, Inc. to offer the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship to a graduating senior in our community for the 19^th year.  In previous years, the scholarship has been awarded in the early spring, but upon evaluation conducted by Lilly Endowment in 2015, it was determined that awarding the scholarship earlier in the schoolyear would give students more time to decide which college or university to attend.

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is a four-year full tuition scholarship to any accredited college or university in the state of Indiana.  To be considered a candidate for the scholarship, applicants must be a current senior graduating from an accredited Indiana high school and a permanent resident of Rush County.  Students must submit required information by the deadlines:

• September 16, 2016: College Cost Estimator due.
• October 7, 2016: Applications due.

Throughout the state, each community’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship selection process differs slightly: in Rush County, the process has always been completely “blind”.  The staff removes any and all identifying information from the applications prior to the evaluation, providing the selection committee with randomly-assigned numbered applications.  Criteria for the award includes involvement in school and community activities, GPA, financial need, and the student’s future goals.

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship has long been recognized in Rush County and throughout the state as a prestigious award.  In Rush County, 34 Lilly scholars have been awarded $2.5 million dollars, enabling opportunities that may otherwise have not been possible.  We look forward to awarding our 35^th Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship this year!

For more information on the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship or the Rush County Community Foundation, visit our website or contact our office.