UW-Madison streamlines student scholarship search

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is using technology to make it much easier for undergraduate students to learn about and apply for scholarships for the 2010-11 academic year.

Each year, UW–Madison schools and colleges award millions of dollars in undergraduate scholarships. These awards are in addition to standard packages of grants and loans made available to students who have financial need based on the information provided on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

According to Jim Buske, scholarship administrator in the Office of Student Financial Aid, two important initiatives will make it easier for students to learn about and apply for these funds.

The first is a new Web site, Scholarships@UW-Madison, which launched on Sept. 1. This site offers a central resource where current and prospective students and their parents can explore the available undergraduate scholarships.

“We’re very excited about this effort, because Scholarships@UW-Madison creates a comprehensive central repository for campus scholarship info,” he says. “It’s our goal to make this process as simple and easy as possible for busy students and parents.”

Most UW–Madison scholarships are offered by a specific campus school or college within the university — such as the College of Letters & Science or the School of Nursing. Additional campuswide scholarships are open to any admitted or enrolled student. Each school and college maintains its own scholarships and awards them to students according to various criteria.

In the past, current students, prospective students and parents were responsible for doing all of the legwork by visiting Web sites and calling individual schools, colleges and departments on campus. Each had its own application, selection process and deadlines.

The new site will end the need for that effort, compiling information in one place, Buske says.

Building on the Scholarships@UW-Madison site is a second initiative called the Scholarships@UW-Madison Student Application.

Student Application is a secure Web interface that will be accessible through Scholarships@UW-Madison, which will make it easy for admitted and currently enrolled undergraduate students to apply for scholarships by completing an online application form.

The Student Application site will use a database to evaluate a student’s UW–Madison career and tell him or her which scholarships can be applied for based on school or college, year in school or previously taken courses and other criteria.

The Student Application will be rolled out in phases, starting first with undergraduate students in the College of Letters & Science later this fall.

For more information, call 608-263-1364 or e-mail james.buske@finaid.wisc.edu.