Bridge4Students 2024 Merit Scholarship Application

PART 1. YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND GENERAL INFO

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* 1. PLEASE READ BELOW BEFORE PROCEEDING

Bridge4Students.org is a non-profit organization that aims to support international students affected by war. Bridge4Students is focused on refugee students applying to or studying at US-accredited educational institutions full-time.

Bridge4Students.org provides limited Merit Scholarship awards to help qualified students experiencing financial hardships due to the war. B4S Merit Scholarship covers all or part of the student's outstanding educational expenses for the academic year 2024-2025, such as Tuition, Room & Board.

Please read and accept the information below to proceed.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To qualify for the Bridge4Students Merit Scholarship, a student must:
1) Be an international student and/or a refugee from a country experiencing conflict, and have evidence of impact from the said conflict
2) Have legal permission to be / study in the US (e.g., J-1, F-1, asylum, TPS, applied/applying for TPS).
3) Be enrolled in, be accepted to, or have applied (waiting for acceptance) to an accredited educational institution in the U.S. on a full-time basis (associate, undergraduate, and graduate degrees)
4) Have a letter of acceptance or enrollment from an accredited educational institution and have an educational institution official/administrator (international advisor, financial office advisor, etc.) who can certify information. If the student has applied but hasn't been accepted yet and/or does not have an advisor who can approve the info (i.e., refugees applying to a school/university), please email students@bridge4students.org.
5) Demonstrate a financial need to cover educational expenses for the next academic year. (The year 2024 is our focus; however, other emergencies may be considered based Bridge4Students.org sole evaluation and discretion.)
6) Demonstrated evidence of applying for other funding sources, including working with educational institutions, to find sources of funding to cover the financial need and applying to other grants and scholarships.
7) Have a proactive mindset, aim to positively impact the world, and demonstrate determination and creativity.

- NOTE: Students who actively participate in the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright program ARE NOT eligible for the Bridge4Students Merit Scholarship. If these participants have emergency needs, they should contact their advisor at IIE (or the advisor at the relevant cooperating agency) to discuss individual situations.

IMPORTANT DATES and NOTES:

· The scholarship application is for Fall or Winter 2024 or Spring 2025 semesters primarily and is currently accepted on a rolling basis
· Nominations will be announced on a rolling basis within a month following submission. Don't hesitate to contact students@bridge4students.org if your case requires emergency / rushed consideration.
· Bridge4Students reserves the right to make a decision about the amount of scholarship to be awarded. The grant amounts will vary from $500 to $10,000 depending on need and merit
· Bridge4Students can only pay the scholarship directly to the student’s educational institution.

CONSENT
Your participation in sharing information with Bridge4Students.org is voluntary. You may choose not to participate. If you decide to participate, you may withdraw at any time. If you withdraw, your records will not be stored. Only completed applications will be considered.

We will keep your information confidential and will not share with any third parties.

Agree - I want to proceed

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* 2. Please enter your (student's) name and contact information

Name (First and Last) *

Email Address *

Phone Number

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* 3. Your (student's) date of birth

(Minors will need a parent, guardian, or administrator to work with us - see next question)

Date

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* 4. If a student is a minor (below 18 years of age), please provide contact information for an adult supporting the student in the US. They MUST be informed that the student is filling out this form and verify financial information (not merit essays). Please add their information here along with relationship to student. (This may be a parent/relative residing in the US, guardian in the US, host parent in the US, or high school / college advisor, etc.).

Contact Name

Relationship to student

Email Address

Phone Number

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* 5. At what stage of the application process are you in? SPECIFY details.

I have APPLIED to educational institution(s) and still waiting to hear back

I have APPLIED to educational institution(s), got ACCEPTED and applied for FINANCIAL AID (waiting to hear back from the financial aid department)

I got ACCEPTED and was provided FINANCIAL AID from the educational institution, but it doesn't cover 100% of my expenses

I got ACCEPTED, but wasn't provided any FINANCIAL AID

I am ENROLLED into an educational institution, but need FINANCIAL AID

Other ____ Please explain

SPECIFY your semester and year of study, the degree level and your desired major(s) in the education institution you will be enrolled in (or hoping to be enrolled in) in Fall 2023.
(For example: "In Fall 2023, I will be doing my 1st semester / 1nd year, Undergraduate degree, Major in Computer Science")

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* 6. Please provide the name and address of the educational institution you are applying to, have applied to and/or are enrolled in, for which you will be seeking financial assistance.

If you have applied to multiple institutions, please list your first choice and add additional universities in the "Additional School Names" box separated by comma.

Note: Only US accredited schools and universities are eligible.

School Name *

Campus *

Address

Address 2

City/Town

State/Province

ZIP/Postal Code

Country *

Additional School Names (Optional)

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* 7. Matriculation Date and Graduation Date

MATRICCULATION DATE - Please specify when you will be starting (if you are enrolled) / have started this school.

Date

GRADUATION DATE - Please enter when you are planning to graduate from this school. If you are not yet enrolled please enter date when you plan to graduate if you get enrolled

Date

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* 8. If you answered "N/A" above and you are not enrolled in or have not applied to a school or a University, please provide additional information about your status as a student.

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* 9. Are you (the student) or anyone related to you on the US sanctions list?

Yes or not sure - it's complicated (please explain)

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* 10. Have you (current or prospective student) ever been convicted or accused of a crime that has resulted in legal proceedings in the US or in their home country?

Yes or not sure (it's complicated) - Please Explain:

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* 11. When did the student arrive in / planning to arrive in the US?

Enter date

Describe the circumstances of arrival in the US (e.g. arrived with family and living in US OR planning to arrive for start of school). Please add as much detail to give us an understanding of your situation and eligibility as a refugee.

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* 12. What is or will be the student's current status in the US when attending educational institution?

TPS / applied to TPS

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Where is the remainder of the student's immediate family (parents, guardians) located?

Ukraine (home country)

Nearby countries (if they fled Ukraine)

Father in Ukraine, Mother has left the country

USA

Home country experiencing conflict (if home country is not Ukraine) (please specify)

Nearby countries (if they fled another country experiencing conflict, please specify)

Other (please specify)