Higher Ed to disburse over $2 million this fall


By Christina Good Voice

Staff Writer


TAHLEQUAH, Okla.  -  It's back-to-school season again and the Cherokee Nation Higher Education Office has been reviewing applications and preparing for the last month to disburse over $2 million in scholarship money to Cherokee college students.

The office reviewed 4,193 applications between February and the application deadline of June 17, an increase of more than 800 applications than last year. Of the 4,193 applicants, 2,257 will be funded due to budget restraints. Even with a tight budget, 194 more students were funded this year than last year.

The names of 578 students will be placed on a waiting list. Students on the waiting list may be funded if a funded student leaves school.

Of the 4,193 applications received, 1,327 of those applications had to be returned to the applicant because they were incomplete.

Dale Miller, Higher Education director, said the primary reason applications were determined to be incomplete was the lack of tribal membership and CDIB cards and the Student Aid Report from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that were to be included in the application packet.

The SAR is the report that will have the information the student entered on the FAFSA including a dollar amount for the student's Expected Family Contribution. Colleges will use this number to determine the amount and type of financial aid the college will offer. The EFC is the amount of money the student's family is expected to contribute to the student's education.

It's based on the student's dependency status, family size, income, expenses, assets and the number of family members enrolled in college or trade schools. When the student applies for financial aid through the FAFSA, the information reported is plugged into a formula that calculates the EFC.

The SAR is generally mailed to students from the U.S. Department of Education approximately four weeks after the FAFSA is submitted to the federal processor.

The Higher Education Office encourages students to consider enrolling at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., because of cost, expansion and concurrent enrollment.

HINU is a tribal college offering bachelor degree programs in elementary teacher education, American Indian studies, business administration and environmental science. Students may transfer to another bachelor's degree-granting college.

"The cost of attending Haskell is in the range of $120 per semester and the (Cherokee Nation) scholarship program will pay that cost," Miller said. "A student can attend and graduate without incurring a gigantic debt upon graduation."

Another reason, Miller said, is Haskell is expanding their degree programs each year and if a student's desired program is not offered at Haskell, concurrent enrollment is available with the University of Kansas.

Scholarship recipients should receive award letters by Aug. 1 and students who did not get funded will receive a denial letter from the office.

 For more information, call (918) 456-0671, Ext. 2465 or 1-800-256-0671, Ext. 2465.