*Due to the delayed release of the FAFSA, the 2024 General Scholarship Application window will be extended to run from January 1 to April 15. This will push back the below timeline.

The General Scholarship Application opens January 1 and is due by March 1 every year. Below is a timeline of what happens after March 1 (note: some dates may change).

· March: KZCF Scholarships staff review applications for completeness and to confirm eligibility. We’ll reach out to students regarding any missing documents.

· March – June: Scholarship selection committees review eligible applications and convene to select recipients.

· April – June: As committees make decisions, KZCF Scholarships staff reach out to recipients and update application statuses in Kaleidoscope.

· Mid-July – August: Scholarship payments are sent directly to institutions.

We receive hundreds of applications, so reviewing them takes time. Scholarship selection committees are made up of community volunteers and they need time to review the applications assigned to them.

KZCF scholarships are open to students regardless of their citizenship or permanent residence status.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid allows college students to access financial aid for college, including grants, scholarships, work study, and federal student loans. Information on the FAFSA and how to apply for it can be found here.

Although students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA, it is not required to apply for KZCF scholarships.

If you’re a graduating high school senior, your school counselor will receive instructions on how to upload your transcript to your application. Current college students can submit unofficial copies of their transcripts (which must include the student's name, school name, and semester and cumulative grades) or obtain an official transcript from their school registrar.

If transcripts are only accessible if paid for, please contact the team at scholarships@kalfound.org before purchasing. KZCF does not want paying for transcripts to become a barrier or obstacle to applying for a scholarship.

Log in to your Kaleidoscope application portal to see the names of each KZCF scholarship you qualified for. Under each scholarship name is a box that says Application Status. This field can say Submitted, In Committee Review, Not Selected, Ineligible or Selected.

Applicants are encouraged to check their portal every few weeks from April to June as selection committees convene. Recipients will be notified via email as soon as a committee makes selections.

KZCF scholarships may be applied to any items under your school’s cost of attendance (COA). Each school has a different COA that includes different items such as tuition, fees, housing, transportation, food, health insurance, etc. You can find your school’s COA online or by asking your financial aid office.

Scholarship payments are sent directly to your institution. We will send one check for the full academic year and ask them to split it evenly between fall and spring semesters. If you’d like it to be applied/split differently, please just let us know.

Requests for deferment need to be approved by the KZCF Scholarships team. Please contact the team at scholarships@kalfound.org for next steps.

We’ll email you the link to the Scholarship Renewal form in the spring (make sure you’ve shared your current email with us!). This short form needs to be submitted by June 1 for the following academic year. Some scholarships require you to maintain a minimum GPA or have a specific major to renew your scholarship; renewal requirements are always included in acceptance agreements. We’ll also ask you to submit a cumulative transcript at the end of the spring semester.

In certain situations, scholarship funds are considered taxable income for the recipient. The Internal Revenue Service provides information about scholarships on their website.

For questions about how post-secondary scholarships might impact you, please consult a tax professional.

Award displacement occurs when one form of financial aid, such as an outside scholarship, results in a reduction in other forms of financial aid. This reduction may include student loans, work-study, as well as scholarships and grants from your school. The KZCF Scholarships team wants you and your family to be informed on this matter and will provide you with the information necessary to ensure this does not happen to you. For more information, please review the National Scholarship Providers Association's Scholarship Displacement TIP sheet.

Please send it to us at scholarships@kalfound.org and we’ll be in touch with an answer soon.