SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS

1. BYU ALUMNI REPLENISHMENT GRANTS
2. BYU MULTICULTURAL SOAR SUMMER PROGRAM
3. BYU OUTREACH SCHOLARSHIP

1. BYU ALUMNI REPLENISHMENT GRANTS

The BYU Alumni Association directs replenishment grants to needful junior and senior students whose total costs of education may not be met through other financial aid programs. These may be students who are working to put themselves through school and, by so doing, disqualify themselves for grants or loans.

Grants will be awarded annually and vary in amounts up to full tuition. Grant recipients may be invited to participate in alumni activities. They will also be invited to replenish the grant fund once they are financially able.

Serious candidates must meet the following qualifications to be considered:

Earn a minimum 3.0 GPA from all institutions attended by the end of Winter Semester
Demonstrate financial need
Recipients will be eligible to apply each year for another grant under the same criteria.

2. SOAR: BYU MULTICULTURAL STUDENT SERVICES

SOAR is a BYU college preparation & scholarship program that gives opportunities to multicultural students from various backgrounds (geographic, socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and educational) to be exposed to BYU and to guide them in becoming strong contributors at BYU.

Although SOAR is open to all students after their junior year of high school (or equivalent), priority will be given (through a holistic evaluation) to historically disadvantaged and underrepresented students, and those who traditionally do not have access to the same educational resources, experiences, and opportunities as others.

Objectives of SOAR

• In conjunction with both the missions of BYU and Multicultural Student Services, SOAR aims to:
• Identify students who have the capacity to contribute to BYU’s unique mission.
• Provide exposure to college life (academically, socially, culturally, and spiritually) and receive instruction, practice, and educational resources to succeed at BYU.
• Strengthen students’ BYU admissions application using the Aims of a BYU education
• Connect students to various university departments
• Educate students in finding on and off-campus scholarship opportunities
• Evaluate students’ financial needs in order to provide MSS need-based scholarships
• Assign a multicultural advisor to each student to connect and increase belonging at BYU
• If admitted to BYU*, continue to provide advocacy for students to reach their potential 

Online SOAR: $95 (scholarships available)
In-person SOAR: $350 (scholarships available)

Need-based tuition scholarships are available! If you demonstrate financial need you can qualify for:
$50 scholarship for online SOAR
$300 scholarship for in-person SOAR


3. DETROIT OUTREACH SCHOLARSHIP

The Detroit Outreach scholarship was established to help low income students coming from  Detroit to BYU or BYU-Idaho. You cannot apply directly for this scholarship because of the way the schools process scholarships. However, if you are planning to attend either of these schools and are a Detroit resident, there is a good chance you could get this. 

There is a set amount of money to be given each year.  It is prioritized.  Detroit resident first, Detroit Metro area second then beyond.  Having an ecclesiastical leader call the scholarship offices about a candidate can help this process.

Here is the process you must follow:

1. File the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid at https://fafsa.gov/ by February 1. You can start filling out the form, but in order to complete it in its entirety you (and your parents if you are dependent) will need to have filed your previous year taxes. The information on the tax form is used to complete the FAFSA. You can start the form before this date and if you don’t have your taxes done by then, you can indicate that you will file them and come back later to edit it, but getting started is the key.

2. File an admissions application for BYU (in Provo) and/or BYU-Idaho by February 1. This is ESSENTIAL because the people in the Financial Aid Office cannot do anything for you unless you have been admitted to the university.
 
3. You must complete the application for financial aid and scholarships. Each school has one scholarship application. Based on your answers to the questions and your financial need, the folks at both schools will look at your situation and try to fit you into an available scholarship. These folks are very skilled and aware of all the scholarships that are available and will work very hard to make sure that you have the ability to begin your education at BYU. In fact they say, “That if you want to go to school, they will try their best to figure out a way to make it happen for you. If you are in a situation where you think you cannot afford to go to school, do not let these issues be a deterrent to you. There is a great deal of help out there and people here that want to help you.”

So let’s review: 

1. Before FEBRUARY 1 – File the FAFSA (with or without completing your taxes)
2. Before FEBRUARY 1 – Apply for Admission for BYU/BYU-I on BESMART.COM
3. Before FEBRUARY 1 – Apply for scholarships. You will actually have until March 1, 2016 to complete the ESSAY portions. The key is to get started ASAP.

For help with any of this you can call either school’s Financial Aid Department at the following contact numbers:
BYU-Provo –  (801) 422-2650 scholarships@byu.edu
BYU-I – Idaho – (208) 496-1617