Ohio Scholars Program
Questions and Answers
Q.
What are the criteria for eligibility?
A.
Scholarship selection criteria varies greatly by program, and some information like your region, campus, major, and financial need helps to determine for which programs you may qualify. However, all applicants within the Ohio Scholars Program must meet the following criteria:
Be an Ohio resident.
Be a full-time undergraduate student during the full 2024-2025 academic year.
Maintain a minimum 2.8 cumulative GPA.
Attend an OFIC member college or university (Members — OFIC) during the full 2024-2025 academic year.
Submit a current, unofficial transcript within application.
File the FAFSA and submit your FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly SAR).
Q.
How do I apply?
A.
Complete the online application on the Ohio Scholars Program website (http://www.ofic.org/apply).
The deadline for submission of the online application is May 1, 2024.
Q.
What if my information changes?
A.
You may edit your submitted application at any time prior to the deadline. A reminder email will be sent to all applicants at the beginning of April to prompt application updates as necessary.
Q.
What is OFIC?
A.
The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) was founded in 1950 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization representing higher education in Ohio. OFIC believes all students who enroll at a member campus deserve the opportunity to complete their college education. Every day we connect and partner with corporations and foundations to make this dream possible by helping to keep education affordable through scholarships, internships and career opportunities. Our goal is to facilitate an exceptional appreciation of independent higher education and its impact on the state of Ohio’s citizens, economy, and culture.
Q.
Is applying online safe?
A.
Yes. Your personally identifiable information is kept secure. Only OFIC employees have access to this information. To protect the information being gathered, the scholarship application site has security measures in place including firewalls, encryption, and authenticated access to internal databases where needed.
Q.
How do you decide who will receive the awards?
A.
Scholarship recipients will be carefully selected by the OFIC Scholarship Team based on how well applicants' academic achievements and career goals match our donors’ preferences.
Q.
How and when will students be notified of decisions?
A.
All applicants will be notified of the final results by August 15, 2024. Scholarship recipients will receive award notifications with instructions for submitting a thank you letter to be written to the individual donor.
Q.
How and when will the awards be paid?
A.
Award funds will be distributed directly to the scholars' institutions at the beginning of July 2024. Funds may be held by a member campus financial aid office until enrollment and eligibility are confirmed.
Q.
Are these scholarships automatically renewed?
A.
Yes, as long as the student continues to meet all eligibility criteria and a thank you letter is submitted. Each year eligibility is reviewed and enrollment is verified through the financial aid office, and failure to meet eligibility criteria may result in the revocation of an award.
Q.
How can I submit a thank you letter?
A.
Thank you letter submission information will be sent with award notifications in August 2024.
Q.
What if I have additional questions?
A.
Please email your questions to scholarships@ofic.org and reference the Ohio Scholars Program.