The Application Process

Application Deadline: October 28, 2011

The process of applying for a DMSF scholarship begins with filling out the DMSF application.

Where can I get an application?

Download the application here.  Please print the application and complete by following the instructions on page 1.  Applications must be submitted via U.S. mail or delivered to the DMSF Office Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Applications cannot be submitted online, nor can they be faxed or emailed.  Applications will also be accepted at DMSF’s High School Fair on Monday, October 17 at St. Ignatius College Prep.

What does the application require?

There are three distinct portions of the application to be filled out by the student, a parent/guardian, and teachers/principal/guidance counselor. Students are required to provide answers to several short questions and respond to two essay questions.  Student responses must be hand written.  Parents and guardians have several short questions to answer, and must also provide financial information for all parents/guardians.  Detailed directions on how to submit that financial information can be found on page 13 of the application.  Teachers, principals and/or counselors must fill out recommendation forms and submit report cards and standardized test results.  The student is responsible for collecting the recommendation forms in sealed envelopes along with the report cards and standardized test scores, and must submit them together with the student and parent portions of the application in one envelope.  If there is more than one applicant in a family, all materials can be submitted together.

What happens to the applications?

Once an application is received by DMSF, it is reviewed to ensure that it is complete.  Incomplete applications are not considered.  Due to the high volume of applications, DMSF cannot confirm that it has received an application and cannot comment on the status of an application.

Completed applications are reviewed by at least two different readers.  Ultimately, about one in every five students who has submitted an application is selected to be interviewed.  Decisions about who will be selected for interviews will be made between September and January.

The interview process

Those applicants who are fortunate enough to be selected for an interview will be advised of their interview date approximately ten days in advance of the interview.  Both the applicants and their parents or guardians are expected to attend the interview.    Please let us know in advance if a translator is needed.

At the interview, each applicant will meet with two or three panels of interviewers, all of whom are volunteers.  Each meeting will last for about ten minutes.  Then, separately, the parents or guardians meet with each panel of interviewers.  Finally, everyone meets with DMSF’s Director of Education.

How will I learn about my status?

No information about an applicant’s status is given out over the phone.  After an applicant has been interviewed, he or she will receive a letter within two weeks of the interview date advising the applicant of DMSF’s decision.  Anyone who is not called in for an interview will be advised by letter of their status by late February.