IFSA-Butler First Generation College Student Program

Scholarships: Putting Study Abroad Within Your Reach

Read First Generation Scholar student blogs »

Scholarship value: Maximum $2,500 (see expenses and reimbursement breakdown below)
Minimum GPA: 2.7 (4.0 scale)
No financial need requirements
Applicants submit a 500 word essay, a Cv/resume and the completed Financial Footprint.
Application deadlines:
October 1 for spring/semester 1/calendar year
March 1 for fall/semester 2/academic year
Send questions and application materials to: Becki Niccum

Overview

First generation college students have some of the lowest study abroad participation rates among U.S. college students, and IFSA-Butler wants to change that. Our new, achievement-based scholarship program offers first generation college students significant financial, academic and preprofessional support for study abroad on a semester or year IFSA-Butler program.

Applicants to the First Generation Scholar Program must complete and return the Financial Footprint form. Click here to download the form.

What's Covered?

Reimbursements and Expenses Covered

Reimbursements and expenses covered include:

IFSA-Butler group flight or suggested flight (approximately $1,500 value)
Student visa fee reimbursement, where applicable ($100-$500 value, depending on country)
Passport fee reimbursement (approximately $150 value)
Up to $500 housing scholarship (depending on flight and visa costs)
Specialized predeparture information
First Generation Parent Publication
Student Blog
Resume Building/Reentry Workshop

Why are so many up-front costs covered by this scholarship?
The proposition of study abroad—with its associated procedures, cost, documentation, visas, academic planning and inevitable geographic separation—is often daunting and discouraging. For this reason, the First Generation Scholar Program combines scholarships in the form of discounts, as well as up-front capital for passport, visa fees and airline tickets.

Why a resume building workshop?
First generation college students tend to have more vocation-driven goals and see university as a means to a profession, rather than the "transformative experience" that so permeates the traditionally academic elite. Recipients of the First Generation Scholar Program, as well as all other IFSA-Butler "first gens," can participate in a post-study abroad resume building session to better encapsulate and articulate skills they've built abroad. Butler University Career Services will help design and lead this online resume building session.

What's not covered

What costs are not covered by this scholarship?
Tuition, tuition supplemental fees, meals, deposits and housing supplemental fees are not covered by this scholarship.

Selection Criteria

IFSA-Butler considers the following factors in choosing First Generation Scholars:

Minimum GPA: 2.7 (4.0 scale)
No financial need requirements, but a Financial Footprint is required for committee review
Applicants submit a 500 word essay, a CV/resume and the completed Financial Footprint. See Essays tab for essay topics.
Special consideration will be given to students applying to one of our Spotlight Programs. See the Spotlight Programs tab for more information.

We know that not everyone is a great writer, but we want to give everyone an opportunity to tell us their story and more about themselves. We recommend the following resume and essay writing help sites:

Supercollege.com Essay Writing Guidelines

Scholarship Essay Writing Tips

Butler University Guide to Resume Writing

Essay

The First Generation Scholar Program is a competitive scholarship, and the quality of an applicant's essay is the most influential criteria in the selection of recipients. We encourage applicants to read previous recipients' essays as examples of strong, compelling stories about the first generation college experience. Click on the Recipients and Essays tab on this page, and check out the following essay writing tips online:

Supercollege.com Essay Writing Guidelines

Scholarship Essay Writing Tips

Please submit your essay and CV/resume in Word or PDF to Becki Niccum by the application deadline. Be sure to include the following:

Name
Home university
Study abroad program/country of interest

Each applicant should choose one essay topic from the options below:

As a first-generation college student, you have undoubtedly gained special skills to help you succeed in uncharted territory of the U.S. academic system. You'll now need to draw upon many of these proficiencies to help you adjust in a brand new culture and education system. Tell us what skills you'll have at your disposal to help you adjust, learn and succeed while you're abroad. What is it that drives and challenges you to continue expanding your comfort zone? How might study abroad, and this program in particular, assist you in achieving your goals?
Recreate a dialogue in which you discuss your motivation to study abroad with your family and/or other personal stakeholder. Why do you want to study abroad? What will it help you achieve? What are their hesitations or concerns? How did/will you address those? How will your decision to study abroad affect your family and community in the long run?

Tell your first generation college story in your own voice! Your story doesn't have to be dramatic, just engaging and reflective.

Spotlight Programs

University of Canterbury

The University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, has provided exclusive scholarships to IFSA-Butler first generation college students in 2012-2013 as part of the Canterbury/IFSA-Butler scholarship program. The university will provide interested IFSA-Butler students with campus mentors to help them more quickly integrate and understand NZ campus life, as well as facilitate in any IFSA-Butler New Zealand "first gen" programming (e.g. pre-professional workshops, tutoring).

IFSA-Butler New Zealand Resident Director Amy Rutherford will also include special sessions addressing issues important to first-generation college students during onsite orientation.

Mérida, Mexico

IFSA-Butler Mexico Resident Director Diana Arízaga has designed and implemented several initiatives aimed at nurturing the abroad experience for first generation college students. While it is not an identified student group at UADY, IFSA-Butler students (and interested UADY first gens) will participate in the following:

Workshops to better highlight their experience on a resume
Lecturers who conduct practice interview sessions for potential jobs (in English and Spanish)
A private orientation session discussing challenges and opportunities relevant to "first gens"
Specialized predeparture and reentry materials for parents of "first gens"
Specialized reentry programming for students to help shape and process the experience

For Parents & Families

IFSA-Butler takes special care to provide assistance and additional support to parents and families of first generation college students. We know that the study abroad process—with complicated travel arrangements, visa applications, unfamiliar academics and the mysteries of a different culture, to name a few—can be daunting. We work closely with our students' families to make the application process, predeparture preparations and in-country adjustment as smooth as possible.

We recommend the following resources for parents and families of first generation college students interested in study abroad:

For Families brochure
Folleto Para Familias (en español)
For Parents & Families section of our website

Bloggers

Share your story!
In order to facilitate articulating their experiences and help future students understand the value of study abroad, the First Generation Scholars will be required to chronicle their story before, during and after their time abroad in blog form. At least a portion of their blog entries will be guided by a series of questions specifically addressing their experience as a "first gen" abroad. These blogs can also be a powerful resume builder. Read our student blogs!

Recipients and Essays

Fall 2013

Congratulations to our fall 2013 scholarship recipients! All of our recipeints submitted an outstanding essay and a resume as part of the application process. Below are PDF versions of their winning essays.

Ashley Adams, Davidson College
Read Ashley's essay

Karina Casanova, Brandeis University
Read Karina's essay

Keith Mattern, Bucknell University
Read Keith's essay

Odalmy Molina, Brown University
Read Odalmy's essay

Sandy Xiong, Gustavus Adolphus College
Read Sandy's essay