Apply for the Scholarship

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is active from November 15 through January 31 each school year. The information contained on this page is not to be considered current at any other time.

Before Getting Started
Please read all of the information provided on the Eligibility and Criteria page before beginning the process of completing your application.

Application Form
Complete all sections of the application form and the Agreement Statement. Be sure that all required signatures are in place before submitting the application. Applications must be typed. The forms required to complete your application are provided below:

Scholarship Application Form

Agreement Statement

The Agreement Statement is designed to be printed, thoroughly reviewed, and then signed.  The Scholarship Application Form is designed to be completed on-screen and then printed (it cannot be submitted online). The form cannot be saved for retrieval at a later time, so you should not begin entering data until you can devote sufficient time to completing the entire form in one sitting. Some applicants find it helpful to print a blank copy of the form to complete by hand as time permits, and then use this "rough draft" to make completing the form online faster and easier. You must have Adobe Reader to access these files (Adobe Reader is free and can be downloaded at www.adobe.com/downloads).

Financial Need
Financial need is one of the criterion for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship as administered by the Vanderburgh Community Foundation. Therefore, applicants must complete the FAFSA4caster.

The FAFSA4caster is a tool designed by the United States Department of Education to provide an early estimation of a student's eligibility for financial aid.  To access this tool, visit http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/.  Follow the instructions for data entry as indicated on the FAFSA4caster website, print the financial information sheet and the Expected Family Contribution report, and submit these documents with your Scholarship Application Form and other required documents.

Essay 2: "What are your plans to serve your community now and in the future?"

Letters of Recommendation
Attach two letters of recommendation, which should be enclosed in sealed envelopes.  One letter should be from a teacher or high school counselor.  The other should be from someone other than a school official or a Community Foundation board member who is unrelated to you but can attest to your volunteer work and community service participation, leadership abilities and/or religious activities.

Application Deadline
Submit the application and all attachments to your senior high school guidance counselor by January 16, 2009 (please do not staple the application and/or the attachments). Applications that are received after this date or are incomplete as of this date will not be considered. If this date falls on a holiday or weekend, the application is due the preceding weekday.  The high school guidance counselor will complete the transcript and academic information section and will submit the entire completed application to the Vanderburgh Community Foundation.