IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarships Frequently Asked Questions I attend a school that is not a member or associate member of the IES Abroad Consortium. May I apply for a Merit-Based Scholarship? IES Abroad Merit-Based aid is available only for students from schools that are members or associate members of the IES Abroad consortium. If you attend a school that is not a member or associate member of our consortium, please review the additional financial aid resources section of our website. Do I have to wait until I am accepted to an IES Abroad program before I can apply for a Merit- Based Scholarship? You may apply for IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarships at any time during the admission process but you must apply before the scholarship deadline, even if you have not yet received a decision on your application for admission. In order to be awarded any IES Abroad financial aid, you must be accepted to and attend an IES Abroad program. Please note that Merit-Based Scholarships are available only for Fall, Spring, Academic Year and Calendar Year programs. Merit-Based Scholarships are not available for summer programs. Is the Merit-Based Scholarship application deadline a mail-by deadline or a received by deadline? The deadline for all Merit-Based scholarships is a received by deadline, meaning that all applications and all required supporting documents must be received by IES Abroad by the deadline. Applications and supporting documents that arrive after the posted deadline will not be considered. Is there a limit on the number of IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarships for which I may apply? You may apply for as many Merit-Based Scholarships as you are eligible. If you apply online you may only apply for a maximum of three scholarships at a single time. Although you may apply for more than one scholarship, you may not receive more than one scholarship. My cumulative grade point average (GPA) is just below the required 3.3. May I still apply for an IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship? Due to the very large volume of scholarship applications received, we must be very strict with the 3.3 minimum GPA requirement. Therefore we cannot consider any applicants with a current cumulative GPA lower than 3.3 (on a scale of 4.0). What kind of supporting documents do I need to submit with my IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship application? Each scholarship category requires specific documents in addition to the application. You should carefully read each scholarship category description so that you understand exactly which documents you are required to submit. How do I submit my application and all of the required supporting documents? The easiest and quickest way to apply for a scholarship and submit most of the required additional documents is through the IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship online application upload. As you are using the online IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship application, you will be asked to attach and upload supporting documents. The document upload feature of the online application allows only the following type of documents to be uploaded: Microsoft Word Documents (.doc), Text Documents (.txt) or Adobe Acrobat Files (.pdf). These types of documents can include the required academic essay, personal statement, unofficial copy of your transcript and reference letters if you
have them in your possession. Keep in mind that there is a size limit of 1MB per upload so make sure that any documents you attempt to upload do not exceed this size. IMPORTANT NOTE: The following documents cannot be submitted by upload due to their size and file type; These documents must be mailed to the address below: Foreign language or performance recordings of any kind. Artistic portfolios. In some cases your transcript or creative writing sample might exceed the upload size maximum of 1 MB. If this is the case, you can scan and email a copy of the document to scholarships@iesabroad.org. You may also mail your documents to the address listed below. Be sure to include your name and the scholarship(s) to which you are applying in the subject line of the email message. Where should I send the required supporting documents that I cannot upload? Any required supporting document that you cannot upload should be sent to the following address: IES Abroad Attn: Scholarships 33 N. LaSalle Street 15 th Floor Chicago, IL 60602 Paper documents such as transcripts, statements and writing samples that exceed the maximum upload size of 1 MB can be scanned and emailed to scholarships@iesabroad.org. If you email documents, be sure to include your name, your IES Abroad program and the scholarship categories to which you are applying in your email message. If you are applying within two weeks of the IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship application deadline we VERY STRONGLY suggest that you send documents using a traceable courier service such as FedEx or UPS. It is a known fact that any type of U.S. Postal Service mailing, including Express Mail, is very unreliable in the Chicago area and may cause your documents to arrive after the deadline. How should I format my required supporting documents? Please follow these formatting guidelines for all required supporting documents. Failure to properly format your documents may result in disqualification of your scholarship application(s). MAKE SURE YOUR NAME APPEARS ON EVERY DOCUMENT YOU SUBMIT! Transcripts It is acceptable to submit unofficial transcripts with your scholarship application(s). If you print a copy of your unofficial transcript from your school s online system, MAKE SURE YOUR NAME APPEARS ON THE DOCUMENT! If you attended more than one college or university and your courses AND grades do not appear on your current school s transcript, you must then submit a copy of each school s transcript with each scholarship application. Essays, Personal Statements and Proposals: While there is no minimum or maximum length requirement for these documents, they average approximately 2-3 single-sided, double-spaced pages in length. They should be a Word document and formatted so that your name, IES Abroad program and the name of the scholarship category appear as a header in the upper left-hand part of the document on every page. If the document contains multiple pages, sequential page numbering should appear on each page. If you are
applying for more than one scholarship, you will need to submit a copy of each required document for each scholarship category. Letters of Recommendation: Reference letters should contain your name and the scholarship category for which you are applying. If you are applying for more than one scholarship, you will need to submit a copy of the reference letter for each scholarship category. Your recommender may fax the recommendation directly to us at 312-944-1448, email it to us at scholarships@iesabroad.org, or mail it to us at the address above (use UPS or FedEx if mailing it within two weeks of the deadline; do not use US express mail). Please make sure that your name, IES Abroad program and the scholarship category appear as a header in the upper left portion of each page. Foreign Language and Vocal Performance Recordings: Recordings should be made on a standard CD and should be sent by private, traceable document courier (FedEX, UPS, etc). Be sure to listen to your recording before you send it to make sure that your voice is clearly heard and that there is no distracting noise in the background. Vocal performance recordings should not be longer than 5 minutes in length. Recordings that cannot be clearly heard will be disqualified. Make sure you write your name, IES Abroad program and the scholarship category on the CD. Artistic Portfolios and Visual Performance Recordings: Portfolios should be submitted on slides (8-12) or a standard CD. Visual performance recordings should be on DVD and should be less than 5 minutes in length. Be sure to view your portfolio/ recording before you send it to make sure that it is easily viewable. Portfolios/recordings that cannot be clearly seen will be disqualified. Make sure you write your name, IES Abroad program and the scholarship category on the CD/DVD or slides. Creative Writing Samples: Creative writing samples should be single-sided, double-spaced Word documents and formatted so that your name, IES Abroad program and the scholarship category appear as a header in the upper left-hand part of the document on every page. Each page should be numbered and you should submit no more than 12 pages of fiction or literary non-fiction. I am applying for more than one IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship. Do I need to submit a set of required supporting documents for each scholarship? YES. Each of your scholarship applications must be a single, complete set of documents because they are reviewed by different academic panels. Therefore, you must provide a full set of required supporting documents with each scholarship application. This includes transcripts, statements, essays, proposals, reference letters and any other required supporting document. Make sure that you list your name, the IES Abroad program to which you are applying and the scholarship category as a header in the upper left portion of each page of every document you submit. May I use the same statement and letter(s) of recommendation for each scholarship that I am applying for? Remember that merit scholarships are extremely competitive. It will be to your advantage to tailor your essays and letters of recommendation to the specific scholarship to which you are applying. While the body of text of your documents/letters may be the same, your name, IES Abroad program and the correct name of the scholarship category to which you are applying must appear on each document.
I submitted an official transcript with my application for admission. Why do I have to submit another transcript for my IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship application? IES Abroad receives hundreds of Merit-Based Scholarship applications each term and processing this huge amount of documents in a very short amount of time is very labor-intensive. Unfortunately, we do not have the time or the staffing to pull documents from admission applications and match them to scholarship applications. An unofficial copy of your current transcript is acceptable for the IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarships. If you print a copy of your unofficial transcript from your school s online system, MAKE SURE YOUR NAME APPEARS ON THE DOCUMENT! You must submit a copy of your transcript for each scholarship category to which you are applying. The professor who wrote my reference letter does not want to give it to me. He/she would rather send it directly to IES Abroad. If you cannot upload the reference letter, your professor may fax it directly to us at 312-944-1448, email it to us at scholarships@iesabroad.org, or mail it to us at the address above (use UPS or FedEx if mailing it within two weeks of the deadline; do not use US express mail). Please make sure that your name, IES Abroad program and the scholarship category appear as a header in the upper left portion of each page. How are the scholarship awards determined? All IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship applications are reviewed by different academic panels depending on the scholarship category. These panels comprise academics with expertise in the various scholarship subject areas. They thoroughly review and rank the applicants in each scholarship category. The most highly ranked applicants are then offered a scholarship. When will I be notified of the decision on my IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship application(s)? Decisions are sent by email approximately 4 weeks after the scholarship deadline. How many IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarships are awarded each term? The number of scholarships awarded varies from term to term depending on the quality of the applicant pool and the total number of applications received. Because of the highly competitive nature of the IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship program, it is not uncommon for less than 10% of all applicants to receive a scholarship. Depending on the quality of the applicant pool, there may or may not be multiple winners in any single scholarship category. Is it possible to receive more than one IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship award? Although you may apply for multiple scholarships, an applicant will not receive more than one IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship. If I receive an IES Abroad Merit-Based Scholarship how will I receive the funds? If you receive a bill directly from IES Abroad, you will see your award as a credit on the invoice. If you receive a bill for your IES Abroad program from your home school, your scholarship will reflect as a credit on the invoice sent to your home school. You should check with your Study Abroad Office to determine exactly how your scholarship award will handled by your home school.
I am currently receiving financial aid from my home school. If I receive a Merit-Based Scholarship will my aid package be affected in any way? There is a possibility that any financial aid received from IES Abroad might affect your overall financial aid package. We strongly suggest that you meet with your Study Abroad Advisor and your on-campus Financial Aid Office to determine if IES Abroad aid will affect your current or future aid packages. If I defer my admission to a future term will my Merit-Based Scholarship also be deferred? Merit-Based Scholarships cannot be deferred to future terms. Applicants who defer their admission must submit a new application for Merit-Based Scholarships and must submit new required supporting documents. Will my scholarship application materials be returned to me? All scholarship materials received by IES Abroad remain the permanent property of IES Abroad. No application materials will be returned to applicants.