CSU StanislausSTARS Online Scholarship

Application Instructions

https://banner2.csustan.edu/stars/

Contents:

Eligibility Criteria Before You Begin Logging in Personal Information Opening Questionnaire Academic Information Free-Form Questions Attaching Documents

Letters of Recommendation

Academic Transcripts

Essays (required of some scholarships) Recommended Scholarships

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Applicants must be a fully matriculated student and have a declared major (except for entering freshmen).

Full-time enrollment is required of all scholarships unless otherwise noted in individual scholarship criteria. A minimum of 12 units for undergraduates and teacher credential students

A minimum of 8 units for graduates in a graduate program.

A minimum GPA if required unless otherwise noted within individual scholarship criteria.

All documents, or essays required for individual scholarships must be completed or scholarship application will not be reviewed.

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Your CSU Stanislaus 9-digit student ID A current email address

Be sure to keep your email address current in STARS – this is where we will send any correspondence regarding your scholarship application.

Your academic information

Know your academic major (unless you are entering student) and what degree you are seeking (check your MyCSUStan for this information)

Complete the 2012-2013 FAFSA form by 3-2-2012

Some scholarships are based on financial need which require you to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Letters of Recommendation

These can now be requested online through STARS (instructions to follow)

An unofficial copy of your academic transcript

Required if you are a new student to CSU Stanislaus for the 2012-2013 academic year

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Prepare your responses to the Free-Form essay questions. Your STARS online session will time-out in about 15 minutes so be sure to prepare your

responses in WORD first, then copy and paste into the appropriate section in STARS.

Use spell-check when preparing your responses.

DO NOT use all lower-case when typing your scholarship application. It is what the scholarship reviewers will see and it will affect the quality of your application.

Read all instructions and criteria carefully. It is very important that your application be complete and filled out correctly in order to be

considered for any CSU Stanislaus scholarships.

When completing each section of the application click on ‘Save and Exit’ or ‘Save and Continue’ at the bottom of each page or your data will not be saved.

The scholarship application process is very competitive Be sure to apply your best effort and allow sufficient time in order to present the best

scholarship application possible.

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Use Windows Explorer 6.0 or higher, allow pop-ups and enable cookies to access STARS.

Click ‘START HERE’ to begin. After initial registration, you’ll use your ‘User Name’ & ‘Password’ to log back in to STARS. If you used STARS in a previous year at CSU Stanislaus, you will continue to use the same login.

If you need to stop at any point, you may click on ‘Save and Exit’ and continue your application later.

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Complete all required information (marked with an asterisk).

You must provide a valid email address. All contact pertaining to this scholarship application will be sent to the address you provide.

If you change your email address in your ‘MyCSUStan’ account, it will not be changed in your STARS application – you will need to also change it in STARS.

When you complete this page and other pages within the STARS application, click on ‘Save and Continue.’

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Read each question carefully before answering.

Keep in mind that the questions refer to your status in the upcoming fall semester and not your status at the time you complete the application.

Additional questions will appear as you progress through the page.

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Select your high school from the drop-down menu and your high school graduation date (required of all students). If you are transferring from a community college, you will be required to indicate the college you are transferring from.

Select your college major*, and your expected graduation date from CSU Stanislaus. Also indicate your cumulative college GPA.

* All students applying for scholarships at CSU Stanislaus are required to have a declared major – except for incoming freshmen students.

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NOTE: It is best to first prepare your responses in WORD, and then copy and paste into the appropriate section as STARS may time-out before you are able to finish – your work would then be lost. However, you are able to type your responses directly into STARS (editing tools are available) if you wish.

Essay Question #1 (Explain your educational & career goals) requires a page to a page and a half of text. The scholarship award process is competitive, but the more effort you put into this section, the better your chances of receiving a scholarship.

DO NOT type in all lower case – this will lower the over-all quality of your application and weigh against your chances of receiving a scholarship.

Be sure to do a spell-check as well as a grammar-check. Take your time – you can log out and log back in to STARS in order to fine-tune your application right up

until the deadline date of 3-2-2012.

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Recommendation Forms –For scholarships that require letters of recommendation, you can upload the completed documents directly to your STARS application.

If you are not able to scan and upload your completed document, you can send it to the Financial Aid Office and we will do it for you.

The online Letter of Recommendation Form can be found here:http://www.csustan.edu/FinancialAid/documents/Schol-recomnd-form.pdf

Teachers/Professors are able to type directly to the online form, print it out and either fax or mail to the Financial Aid Office.

Scholarship applications without the required letters of recommendation forms will not be reviewed.

Academic Transcripts –If you have had your transcripts sent to our Enrollment Services Office, WE WILL NOT RECEIVE COPIES OF THEM. You must arrange to have unofficial transcripts sent separately to the Financial Aid Office (copies printed from the internet will be accepted).

Unofficial copies of your academic transcripts are required for all students entering CSU Stanislaus for the first time in Fall 2012. High school transcripts as well as any/all schools attended prior to enrolling at CSU Stanislaus.

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Your ‘Recommended Scholarships’ are those that best match your qualifications based on the informationprovided on your scholarship application.

To view the scholarships on this list and to see detailed criteria, click on ‘ApplyNow.’

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A description and specific criteria is listed for each scholarship.

Verify your qualifications by clicking on each appropriate box.

Complete each application as thoroughly as possible.

If an essay is required, be sure to complete the essay on the specified topic (if the essay on the specified topic is not completed, you will not be considered for that scholarships.

When complete, click on ‘Apply Now.’

Follow these steps for all scholarships provided on your list.

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Log on as often as you need in order to complete your scholarship application up to the deadline date of March 2, 2012.

Make sure to complete your 2012-2013 FAFSA by March 2, 2012.

After the deadline date, you can log on to check the status of your scholarship application.

If you have any questions, please contact our Scholarship Coordinator at (209) 664-6587 or by email at dgarz@csustan.edu