CSF WESTFIELD DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS AWARDS PROCESS

 

  1.  Students fill out a profile online at anytime by logging into the link at the bottom of the Student and Parent Page on the CSF website  csfwestfield.dollarsforscholars.org    Profile information includes:

  • Personal data including, name, address, phone, email, high school, year of graduation, intended college or college attending, major or intended majors.
  • Scored data: scholastic performance, activities, work experience, goals essay and if applicable, unusual circumstances essay.
  • Financial data - FAFSA SAI (Student Aid Index-formerly EFC) as reported on the FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly SAR) received after student fills out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)  

  1. Students are required to upload copies of their current year FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly SAR) and transcripts (High School Students have transcripts uploaded by school guidance personnel and college students need to upload their college transcripts through the current fall semester).

  2. Students  who have completed or updated a profile apply online for scholarships between the announced open and close dates each year  - usually between February 1 and March 15 (announcements made at high schools, CSF Westfield website, facebook, printed information at library and city hall).

  3. During the open application dates, the CSF Westfield Dollars for Scholars Selection Committee monitors applications and reminds students to supply any missing data and to apply for scholarships by the deadline. 

  4. After the deadline the Selection Committee checks applications to ensure students have met requirements and uploaded necessary documents by the deadline.

  5. The Selection Committee checks all uploaded documents for accuracy in self-reported scholastic and financial information and corrects this data, if necessary.

  6. Members of the Selection Committee are assigned various sections of the data to manually score: activities, work experience, scholastic performance, and essays.  These scores are then electronically added together to form the total Merit Score for each student. 

  7. CSF Westfield Dollars for Scholars awards are based on Merit and Need in equal proportions.  To enable an equal comparison, Student FAFSA SAI (Student Aid Index-formerly EFC) and Merit Scores are each converted to an equal points scale. The two scaled (FAFSA SAI and Merit) amounts are then added to get a "Total Scaled Points" number for each student; this number determines the award amount for each student. 

  8. The CSF Westfield Dollars for Scholars Treasurer reports how much money is available for awarding in any given year, based on endowment revenue, yearly annual scholarship donations, yearly annual general fund donations and any yearly fundraising activities. 

  9. The Awards Committee, determines the range of award amounts based on money available, number of applicants and the total scaled score of each applicant. The awards range for Scholarship Year 2024 was $1000 to $6,000. 

  10. The Awards Committee then matches students to specific scholarships using the data from student applications, award amounts, and the specific criteria for certain scholarships.   

      12. **NEW MASS EDUCATE STATEMENT**  

CSF Westfield is committed to providing scholarships to Westfield undergraduate full-
time college-bound students with financial need. In the past this has included both
students attending community college for associates degrees (2-year programs), as well
as students pursuing bachelor degree programs (4-year college or university degrees).
Recently, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has implemented the MassEducate
Program which will be in effect for the upcoming academic year (Fall 2025-Spring
2026).
"MassEducate covers the full cost of tuition and fees for all eligible students. Students
may qualify for an allowance of up to $1,200 for books and supplies based on income
level. Some students may also be eligible for an additional allowance (up to $1,200) to
help with other costs of attending college", from the Massachusetts Office of Student
Financial Assistance website.
As a result of this new program in the state of Massachusetts, students attending
community college will no longer have any unmet financial need, and therefore will
not have eligibility to receive scholarship support from CSF Westfield while they
attend their community college programs.
Regardless, we encourage all Westfield students who are planning to attend college
full time this upcoming academic year to apply for a scholarship through CSF. Students
are often undecided about their college plans, and the receipt of a scholarship from
CSF Westfield may make a program that was otherwise out of reach financially, more
affordable for the student.
Please Note: Students who attend a Massachusetts community college through
MassEducate funding will still be eligible to receive up to four years of undergraduate
scholarship awards if they continue on to pursue a bachelor's degree as a full-time student.