
Scholarship Opportunities
Note: Please check the deadlines for each scholarship.
Applying for Scholarships and Financial Aid
1. Letters of Recommendation and Resume
Get an early start on requesting letters of recommendation. I would suggest asking teachers as early as possible in the school year. When asking, provide them with a copy of your resume to aide them in creating a very personal recommendation. If you are a member of a church, seek out your pastor or youth pastor for a letter. If you are employed, ask your employer for a recommendation.
2. Fill out the Chireno Local Scholarship Application!
This is due in Mrs. Pinner's office February 23, 2024. Applications will be available in November. I will add a link as soon as it is finalized. When available, make sure all parts are included:
Completed application
Resume
Recommendation letters from at least 2 teachers (Must provide teachers a resume when asking them to write a letter for you)
Recommendation letter from employer (optional)
Essay
One Official High School Transcript
SAT/ACT Scores
Required Signatures
3. Fill out the FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
FAFSA Night will be scheduled sometime in December or January, depending on when the form opens. Make sure that you submit the FAFSA to the school of your choice. This is the ONLY way to get Pell Grants, and colleges will not award you scholarship money if they do not have a FAFSA on file for you. Use your parents' 2022 tax information to complete the FAFSA at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.
If you have apply to more colleges after you complete your FAFSA, make sure you log back in and edit the section where you chose the schools to send your information to. Also, once you have made your school decision, you will need to either ACCEPT or DECLINE the monetary offers that have been made to you. Just because you qualify for grants or loans does not mean you will automatically receive them; do your part to communicate with the Financial Aid Office at the school of your choice to ensure that you have the funds in place to cover your college expenses.
4. MERIT scholarships are available.
We are working hard to get every one of our seniors to apply to at least one college. When you get your acceptance letters in the mail, OPEN THEM and READ THEM. Colleges award some students scholarships based on merit, meaning, your class ranking or GPA fall into a category that they consider worthy of a scholarship. So, they will offer you money to join their student body simply for applying to their college. Generally, there are directions given from the university as to how to accept these scholarships. If you have any questions about how to receive the merit scholarships that have been offered to you, call the Financial Aid Office at the school that has awarded the scholarship to you.
5. Check the scholarship application links at the school(s) of your choice.
Please be diligent in checking for scholarships available from the schools that you want to attend. Double check the deadlines! There is absolutely no leniency on deadlines with colleges. You must be accepted to a school before applying to the scholarships that they offer. Here is list of scholarship information from various schools where previous students have applied:
Lonestar Institute of Technology
Northeast Texas Community College
Stephen F. Austin State University
Nacogdoches County Scholarship Links: Please click on the title to be taken to a pdf or website of scholarship.
(Updated weekly)
East Texas Community Foundation Scholarships (opens January 2024)
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (opens Feb 2024)
Nacogdoches Republican Women's Scholarship
East Texas Federal Credit Union Scholarships
Texas Farm Bureau (Opens Dec 1)
Ray Stoesser Memorial Scholarship (Ag Majors)
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Nacogdoches American Legion Post 86
The Texas Telephone Association Foundation Scholarship
2024 CDL (Commercial Drivers License) Scholarship Application
2024 Stacy Spurr Memorial Scholarship
2024 Aggie Moms Club Scholarship
National Scholarship Website Links: Each title is a link for more information.
University of the People
University of the People (UoPeople) is the world's first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited online university dedicated to opening the gates to higher education for all individuals otherwise constrained.
Mrs. Sandi Pinner, M. Ed.
Email: sandi.pinner@chirenoisd.org
Website: www.chirenoisd.org
Location: 901 Main Street, Chireno, TX, USA
Phone: 936-362-2132
Facebook: facebook.com/PinnersPricklyPress
Twitter: @SBlessed76