Guidelines for Applicants

Program Information

Educational Opportunities for Alexandrians (EOA) has been established to assist Alexandria City High School seniors whose immigration status creates barriers to higher education and who plan to continue their education in the upcoming year at Northern Virginia Community College. This tuition and books/materials scholarship is renewable for the equivalent of two years of full-time study upon submission of documentation indicating the maintaining of a 2.5 grade point average for the semester prior to that requested for renewal.

This scholarship program is administered by the Educational Opportunities for Alexandrians Fund at ACT for Alexandria, a 501(c)3 community foundation. Awards are granted without regard to race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability or national origin.

Eligibility

Applicants for the EOAS must:

Be at least 17 years of age.
Be born outside of the United States and/or be ineligible to apply for federally funded scholarships or participate in federally sponsored processes to determine financial aid eligibility.
Be either an Alexandria City High School graduate, graduating senior or recent GED recipient residing in the City of Alexandria.
Be planning to enroll full-time (12 or more credits per semester) at Northern Virginia Community College in the academic year the award is offered. (Awards will be made upon proof of enrollment and sent directly to the college for application to the student’s tuition and books/fees.)
Be able to demonstrate financial need.
Have a minimum grade point average of 2.5.

Application Process

Applicants must:

Complete the scholarship application form and submit by midnight, March 20, 2024.
Complete and submit an essay with the scholarship application form on the topic of what the scholarship would do to help advance your academic and career goals/plans. Essay should be between 600-800 words.
Complete and submit a written statement with the scholarship application form describing your extra curricula activities (including work activities) and highlighting any leadership roles. Written statements should be between 200-400 words.
Request a transcript from the Alexandria City High School Guidance Office to be sent to PO Box 25398, Alexandria, VA 22313 or by email to: info@educationalopportunitiesforalexandrians.org by March 20, 2024.
Submit three (3) letters of recommendation to be sent either by mail to: PO Box 25398, Alexandria, VA 22313 or by email to: info@educationalopportunitiesforalexandrians.org by March 20, 2024.
A Scholarship Selection Committee will be comprised of members of the EOA board and/or others whom they may invite to participate. After review of all submitted applications, the committee will determine which candidate(s) are to be recommended to the board to receive scholarships. The board has final authority to approve/disapprove of all scholarship recommendations.

Awards

The number of awards granted will depend on the amount of funds available each year as determined by the EOA board.

If selected, the student will be informed and the award will be sent to Northern Virginia Community College to be credited to the student’s account to cover tuition and books/materials for the upcoming semester. This payment to the account will be made no less than one month prior to the beginning of the semester.

Scholarship renewal requests must be made in writing two weeks before the end of the semester in which currently enrolled with a transcript for such semester forwarded to the fund’s designee as soon possible at the conclusion of the semester.

Program Deadline

Applications must be submitted by midnight, March 20, 2024.

Obligations

Recipients are required to fulfill the enrollment requirements of the award and to notify Educational Opportunities for Alexandrians of any changes in address, enrollment status, or other relevant information, and to submit a complete official transcript as requested.

Revisions

EOA reserves the right to review the conditions and procedures of this scholarship program and to make changes at any time including termination of the program.

Email: Info@educationalopportunitiesforalexandrians.org

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