Competition stiff for scholarships

If you are a student applying to a local community college, there is scholarship money out there for you but expect more competition.

“Because of the economic downturn, we are expecting an increase in the number of applications we receive in the Shoreline Community Foundation office compared to the (number) of applications we received last year,” said Ritva Manchester, acting executive director of the Shoreline Community College Foundation. “Our Web site hits have doubled from last year’s counts—it appears that more students are searching for avenues of financial help.”

The Shoreline Community College Foundation offers $90,000 in scholarships for about 50 students for the 2009-2010 school year and an additional $13,500 in endowed scholarships for 11 students.

“These current scholarship offerings are consistent or slightly increased from previous years due to new scholarships that have been added by generous donors,” Manchester said.

While college foundation portfolios have taken a hit the last year-and-a-half because of the declining stock market, Shoreline has a conservative long-term approach to its investment portfolio, Manchester said. Shoreline uses a rolling three-year average to determine amounts available for endowed scholarships so a decline in one year might be offset by portfolio performance in other years, she said.

The Edmonds Community College Foundation’s portfolio has lost 20 percent of its value in the last 19 months, according to new executive director Chris Marx.

The Foundation will still offer more than $100,000 in scholarships for the 2009-2010 school year but the amount handed out will be about 16 percent less than what was distributed last year.Last year, the Foundation awarded $136,000 to 200 students.

Both Edmonds and Shoreline offer assistance to current students who need a one-time award because of a significant, recent financial change in their financial situation.

Edmonds CC Foundation scholarship applications will be accepted until 4 p.m., Friday, April 10 and many students will qualify. Many Shoreline CC Foundation scholarship deadlines are in April but it depends on the scholarship. For more information or to apply for scholarships online, go to www.shoreline.edu/foundation or foundation.edcc.edu.