Scholarship FAQ

Marion Community Foundation offers a scholarship program awarding more than $500,000 to high school seniors, college students, and non-traditional students. Scholarships are available to applicants planning to attend a trade school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate school, law school, or medical school. Each scholarship fund has specific criteria and requirements, established by its donor(s). Scholarships requirements focus on students in the Marion (Ohio) geographic area.

Marion, Ohio Geographic Focus – The Marion Community Foundation Scholarship Program offers awards to students in Marion County, Ohio, and the surrounding geographic area. Each of the scholarship funds comprising the Marion Community Foundation ‘s scholarship program has individually established criteria and requirements. On this website is a summary of the available funds showing each fund’s specific requirements and selection criteria.

The deadline is posted on the Marion Community Foundation website. Typically, the deadline will be near the beginning of February. The deadline is absolute. All portions of the application must be completed and the online application in the submitted status by this deadline date and time for an application to be considered for awards.

To be eligible for consideration by the Marion Community Foundation Scholarship Committee, a person must submit a completed online application with all necessary attachments and recommendations/references by the deadline.

Below is a sample of the information applicants are required to provide on the online application.

• Address and County of Residence
• High School Information: name of school, number of years attended, number in graduating class, GPA, class rank, percentile achieved on ACT or SAT tests, high school involvement in athletics, music, FFA, church, Boy Scouts, among other details
• College or Post-Secondary Plans: College or university attending, intended major or field of study, college GPA, college transcript
• Activities, Service, Work Experience: list involvement in each of these areas
• Essays: Field of study, career plan. Motivation, passions, background. Life-changing event.
• Financial Information: estimated yearly expenses (tuition, fees, books and supplies, room and board), resources available for college expenses (savings, earnings, parent/family contributions), FAFSA Student Aid Index (SAI)
• Two Personal Recommendations: Two letters of recommendation are required, one from a teacher or academic advisor and one from a community member. For high school students, a guidance counselor recommendation is also required. These are online recommendation requests. Instructions are provided in the application for email submission.

The Marion Community Foundation scholarship application does not require applicants to submit a FAFSA; however, we use the FAFSA information to help determine eligibility for our need-based scholarships. You may choose to NOT submit a FAFSA as part of this scholarship application. If you do not submit a FAFSA, you will not be eligible for scholarships that have a criteria for financial need.

Applicants may submit online applications with all required fields completed. The applicant will receive a confirmation email indicating the application has been SUBMITTED. Applications will not be in the submitted status until all required fields in the application are completed, including essays and references. Applications must be in the Submitted Status by the deadline date and time in order to be considered eligible.

Our online scholarship application is located at: SmarterSelect

You can reset your password on the homepage of the application site: SmarterSelect Please note that applicants sign in and create a password on the SmarterSelect website, which is NOT the Marion Community Foundation website.

Marion Community Foundation awards approximately $500,000 in scholarships annually. Typically, a little over 200 students receive scholarships. Scholarship award amounts for each scholarship fund are determined at the beginning of March each year and amounts vary for each scholarship fund.

We encourage each individual to review the list of Scholarships Available. Match your personal qualifications and involvement to the scholarships available. This process will give individual applicants the best assessment of how many Marion Community Foundation scholarships for which they are eligible.

Applicants chosen to receive a scholarship award will be notified in early May. Applicants are encouraged to notify the Marion Community Foundation if any of their contact information changes from what they put on the submitted application. Applicants with a submitted application, but not selected for a scholarship award, will also be notified.

Marion Community Foundation will pay all scholarship awards directly to the accredited educational institution. No scholarship dollars will be sent to individual applicants. Scholarships may only be used toward tuition, fees required for enrollment, and books, supplies, and equipment required for instruction and billed directly by the institution.

Recipients of Marion Community Foundation will receive instructions in July explaining what documentation is needed to process their scholarship award to their respective college or university. This documentation is required before scholarships are paid.