Scholarships available

Health Professions Scholarship Application
Eligibility Criteria and Instructions

(If you are applying for a nursing faculty scholarship, please see specific eligibility criteria and instructions for that application.)

PLEASE CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY READ ALL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND INSTRUCTIONS. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for a Palm Healthcare Foundation (“PHF” or “Foundation”) Health Professions Scholarship, you must meet ALL of the following criteria:
1. You must be a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida.
2. You must be a current or prospective student who is, or will be as of fall 2007, enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited program of organized instruction or study that leads to an academic, professional, or vocational degree or certificate (or other recognized educational credential) in the healthcare field. The Foundation does not currently provide scholarship funding for pre-requisite courses for limited-access programs.
The school you are attending must be located in Palm Beach County, Florida. However, the Foundation will also consider applications from students enrolled in accredited online programs (e.g., The University of Phoenix). In addition, the Foundation will consider applications from students enrolled in schools outside of Palm Beach County under certain, limited circumstances. For example, if only one program of study in a particular healthcare field (e.g., pharmacy) exists in Palm Beach County, the Foundation may consider applications from students attending a school in another county in southeastern Florida (i.e., Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties).
3. You must maintain at least a 2.5 overall GPA.
4. After graduating from a healthcare program, you must work in Palm Beach County in a healthcare profession for one year for each year of PHF scholarship funding you receive.
Please note that the Foundation’s scholarship funds will be paid directly to your school, and may be used only to cover the cost of tuition, books and lab fees.
Please contact Clarisse May at (561) 833-6333, or cmay@phfpbc.org, if you have ANY questions about eligibility or use of scholarship funds.
Instructions: The Foundation’s scholarship application will need to be completed online in one sitting. That is, if you begin the online application but are unable to complete the process, your data will not be saved (you will need to start the process again). Therefore, we strongly encourage you to print out a paper copy of the application before starting to complete the online form. This way, you can prepare in advance all the information you will need, and think about your answers to the essay questions.

The online application can be completed and submitted from any computer with Internet access (e.g., home, school, public library). Computers are also available at the Foundation to complete the online application process. Please contact Clarisse May at (561) 833-6333, or cmay@phfpbc.org, if you would like to schedule a time to use a Foundation computer to complete the online scholarship application. If you are unable to complete the scholarship application online, please contact Clarisse May. Under limited circumstances, we will accept paper applications, but you must contact us to discuss this in advance.

In addition to completing the online application, you may be responsible for providing us with hard copies of the following documents. All applicants must submit to PHF items 1 and 2 below; please read items 3, 4 and 5 to determine whether you must submit these documents.

1. All applicants: Official transcript from the school you are currently attending, or most recently attended.

2. All applicants: Official proof of current attendance at, or acceptance into, an accredited program of study. For limited-access programs, you must provide proof of attendance or acceptance into the specific healthcare program, not just the school. For example, if you attend (or plan to attend) a college or university registered nursing program, you must provide proof of attendance or acceptance into the registered nursing program, not just proof of general attendance or acceptance into the college or university. An official letter from your school indicating attendance or acceptance into a limited-access program is sufficient.

(The Foundation is aware that some schools send out acceptance notices over the summer. If you are awaiting notice of acceptance, you may complete the rest of the application and send notice of acceptance when available.)

3. Applicants filing the FAFSA: Palm Healthcare Foundation considers financial need when awarding scholarships. Though not required, we strongly encourage you to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is a first step to applying for financial aid and/or most scholarships that require evidence of financial need. To file the FAFSA, or for more information about FAFSA, please visit http://www.fasfa.ed.gov/, or the financial aid office at your school. We strongly encourage you to file the FAFSA as soon as possible, if you have not already done so. If you already have filed, or will be filing, a current FAFSA, you will need to send us a copy of the official Student Aid Report you receive(d) following submission of the FAFSA.
4. Applicants not filing the FAFSA: You will need to send us a copy of the first page of the 2006 tax return for each person in your household who contributes to the household income.

5. Applicants applying for financial aid through the school you will be attending during the term of this scholarship: You will need to send us a copy of the financial aid award letter/notice you receive(d) from your school.

These documents may be sent to the foundation at any time after you complete the online application, but they must be received by the scholarship deadline of May 18, 2007. Please send all follow-up documents in one package / at the same time, if possible. Please contact Clarisse May at (561) 833-6333, or cmay@phfpbc.org, if you do not have, or otherwise are unable to submit, these documents by the scholarship deadline. Documents should be mailed or faxed to:

Ms. Clarisse May
Program Coordinator
Palm Healthcare Foundation, Inc.
1016 North Dixie Highway
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401
Fax: (561) 833-0070
Tips for Completing the Application

1. Be organized and give yourself plenty of time!

2. Prepare all application materials in advance of starting the online application process.

3. Print out and review a copy of these instructions and the scholarship application you will be using. Although you will need to complete the application online, this will help you gather all the information you will need in advance of starting the online process. Remember, your data will not be saved if you are unable to complete the online application in one sitting (i.e., you will need to start the process again if you stop before completing the online process).

4. If you have not already done so and plan to, complete the FAFSA as soon as possible. FAFSA processing can take several weeks. Remember, if you are filing a FAFSA, you will need to send us a copy of your Student Aid Report. In addition, you will need to send us a copy of your financial aid award letter/notice, if you are applying for financial aid through your school.

5. If you are not filing the FAFSA, obtain and send to PHF as soon as possible the first page of the 2006 tax return for each person in your household who contributes to the household income.

6. As soon as possible, obtain and send to PHF an official transcript from the school you currently attend, or most recently attended.

7. As soon as possible, send to PHF proof of your attendance or acceptance into an accredited program of study.

8. Compose a thoughtful Statement of Financial Need (essay) that will help our scholarship committee members understand your current financial situation and why you need a PHF scholarship. You will be asked to submit this as part of the online application. Describe any unusual expenses or hardships in your household that affect your ability to pay for school; any changes in circumstances since you filed your most-recent FAFSA; and any unusual circumstances that affect your eligibility for financial aid. Examples might include, but are not limited to, the following: single parent, parental unemployment, bankruptcy, unforeseen medical expenses, siblings or dependents in college, or property loss due to hurricanes.

9. Compose a thoughtful Personal Statement (essay) that will help our scholarship committee members understand you as an individual. You will be asked to submit this as part of the online application. In this essay, please describe your professional goals and career plans; events or experiences that have led you to pursue a nursing or other healthcare career; and how your caring and compassion have made a difference in someone’s life. Please also discuss what you think will be the biggest challenges and rewards in your career.

10. The Foundation will need to receive the online application, and all other required documents, by the scholarship deadline of May 18, 2007. Please send all follow-up documents in one package / at the same time, if possible. If you are unable to complete the application or submit the appropriate documents by that date, you must contact us to discuss your situation.

Please contact Clarisse May at (561) 833-6333, or cmay@phfpbc.org, if you have ANY questions about the PHF scholarship application. WE ARE HAPPY TO HELP!
Application Checklist for your records:

1. Date online application was completed: ____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Date official transcript was sent to PHF: ___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Date proof of attendance or acceptance was sent to PHF: ______________________________________________________________________
4. Date Student Aid Report was sent to PHF (for students filing the FAFSA): _________________________________________________________
5. Date tax return information was sent to PHF (for students not filing the FAFSA): ____________________________________________________
6. Date Financial Aid Letter/ Notice was sent to PHF (for students applying for financial aid through school): ________________________________