Continuing Scholars Grant

Purpose

The Oscar Washington, Jr. Educational Fund (OWJEF) awards scholarships to undergraduate students based on demonstrated academic achievement, financial need, and involvement within their undergraduate community.

Qualifications

In order to be eligible to receive this scholarship, the student must be an Arkansas resident and an undergraduate freshman, sophomore, or junior at a four-year accredited college or university within the United States. Additionally, the student must have no lower than a 3.2 GPA at the time of application. Consideration will be given to academic achievement, financial need, and the student’s record of undergraduate community involvement. Students should submit the online scholarship application through the OWJEF website.

Guidelines

All applications will go through a blind review process by a scholarship review committee. The review committee will recommend finalists to the executive team, who will then determine the final scholarship recipients. All applicants will be notified of the final decisions by late March 2024.

Please make sure to add oscarwashingtonjr.ef@gmail.com to your email address book to ensure that our notifications are successfully delivered to your inbox and not your spam folder. Status changes and updates regarding your application will be sent primarily via email. Unread, deleted, or ignored emails could result in you missing important details or deadlines and disqualifying you from further consideration. 

Scholarships will be awarded on an annual basis. Cashier’s checks are made payable to the school and are sent directly to the student’s financial aid office. A copy of the cashier’s check and a cover letter will be sent to the student for proof.

Award Package

Each scholarship awarded will be a minimum of $1,500. Two students are selected to receive scholarships each application period.

Deadline

The online application form will open from January 9, 2024 – February 20, 2024.

Renewal Process

This scholarship is non-renewable. Previous scholarship recipients and past OWJEF scholars are not eligible to apply.

Applicant Requirements

• A completed scholarship application
• An official college transcript (PDF)
• A resume (PDF)
• 300-500 word written essay on one of the following prompts:
  • Prompt 1: The college/university experience is one that’s filled with new experiences and people that have a marked effect on your adulthood. Describe how you have grown or changed as a person since starting your undergraduate career. 
  • Prompt 2: Identify one problem that exists, either locally or nationally, and explain how you could use your degree of choice to eradicate the problem. 
  • Prompt 3: Oscar Washington, Jr. valued education and was committed to helping students achieve academic excellence. Explain why you value education, and what it means to you.

Annual Awards Ceremony

While award recipients are not required to attend the OWJEF Annual Awards Ceremony, they are required to submit a high-quality headshot to our media team so they can be acknowledged during the ceremony. For those that would like to attend the ceremony, tickets will be made available to both recipients and two of their family members.