2020 is quickly approaching, which means it is once again time to start talking about the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship. WSOS now has TWO scholarship programs: Baccalaureate Scholarship and Career and Technical Scholarship (CTS).

Baccalaureate Scholarship
Our Baccalaureate Scholarship has been offered since 2012. It provides up to $22,500 in financial aid, plus support services for students planning to earn a bachelor’s degree in a high-demand STEM and health care major. These scholarship funds are flexible and can be used to cover tuition, fees and other indirect costs of attendance like housing, transportation, food and more.

This year, our application cycle will be shorter than usual, opening January 6 and closing February 6. We’re shortening the application window so that we can notify recipients of their selection sooner. We want the Opportunity Scholarship to be an important factor in the college decision-making process for more students. 

CTS
The CTS supports students planning to complete a certificate, apprenticeship or associate degree in a high-demand field trade, STEM or health care field like welding, manufacturing or information technology. It provides up to $1,500 per quarter plus support services for the duration of a students’ program. These funds are flexible and can be used to cover tuition, fees and other indirect costs of attendance like housing, transportation, food and more.

The CTS application will open in January for students looking for funding in spring quarter 2020. We need your help making sure students apply for the right program since we will have two applications open at the same time. Here's some tips to keep in mind while talking to students:

• If students think they may earn a bachelor’s degree after completing their program, they should apply for the Baccalaureate Scholarship - not CTS!
• Current high school seniors who want to attend a community college in the fall of 2020 should complete the late spring application (May - June), NOT the application open in January.

How can you help your students get these scholarships?
Here's how you can best support your students:

1. Learn more about each scholarship by visiting our website.
2. Be a champion. Most students apply on the advice of someone they know.
3. Participate in our Train the Trainer webinar. Near the beginning of each application cycle we will send out invites so that partners can stay up to date with the application requirements and get a walk through of the online application.
4. When each application opens, share this opportunity with teachers, coaches, families and community leaders so they can be champions too!

We’ll be in touch again as we get ready to open the 2020 Baccalaureate Scholarship application! If you have any questions in the meantime, please visit our website or reach out to us at awards@waopportunityscholarship.org.

​Completed nomination forms should originate from school districts and are due via email to cte@k12.wa.us no later than 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

Program Details - PDF

Application - Word Document

Dear Members of the Washington State Legislature,

On behalf of Amazon, I’m sharing an exciting opportunity for high school seniors in your district!

Starting November 4, 2019, all high school students who have taken, or are currently enrolled in, AP computer science, and intend to study computer science in college, are eligible for the Amazon Future Engineer scholarship, which includes:

• $10,000/year scholarship towards an undergraduate degree in computer science, up to $40,000 for all four years;
• Guaranteed paid software engineering summer internship at Amazon after their freshman year of college.

Amazon will be granting 100 scholarships to high school seniors who graduate in 2020.  The application opens today, 11/4/19, and will close on January 17, 2020. 

Students can apply and learn more at the link: https://learnmore.scholarsapply.org/amazonfutureengineer/

Please spread the word with your local school districts, computer science teachers and/or share on social media!

Please contact Guy Palumbo at guyp@amazon.com if you have questions.