The Financial Aid Office (picture above) is in Erwin 104. In addition to now offering scholarship applications through Academic Works, the office provides support for state and federal aid programs (Xavier Delcid/photo editor).
On Feb. 3, the Financial Aid Office will launch its new scholarship portal for students. Dubbed Academic Works, the portal will allow students to apply for scholarships in one brief application beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year.
Director of the Office of Financial Aid Susan Romano said the portal will house all the Geneseo scholarship opportunities available to students.
“It allows students to see what’s available and to actually apply online for all scholarships here at Geneseo,” Romano said.
Romano describes that important factors, like a student’s GPA or major, will be available to Academic Works, which will help determine which scholarships students are eligible for. Students can also view all the scholarships the college has to offer, except for study abroad, in the “opportunity” tab on the webpage.
“I do think this will make it easier for students to apply to scholarships for a couple of reasons,” Romano said. “First, you’re going to be able to see all the scholarships that are available at the institution. So, even if you’re a communication major, you can still see what business scholarships [are available], you’ll see the big long list of all of them. This way it’s more of a standardized process.”
The relatively short application process uses multiple-choice and short answer questions to determine a student’s eligibility. Some questions that the application asks students involve leadership experience, community service and extracurricular activities.
Romano said she believes that this new system will make applying to scholarships easier and less time-consuming for students, especially since the college has about 120 to 150 scholarships offered annually.
“Everyone who’s applying for these scholarships is going to go through this one process, which is new for us,” Romano said. “This will standardize the process on both sides. Hopefully this will eliminate any confusion that students may have about their eligibility and the application process.”
According to Romano, students can find the new scholarship system on the financial aid website or at geneseoacademicworks.com.
English adolescent education major sophomore Jose Romero said he believes this simplified application process will increase the amount of applications received for a particular scholarship.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for students to fill out one application, it will save a lot of time and redirecting to external sites,” Romero said.
English creative writing and early childhood education double major junior Sarah Holsberg is skeptical about the new website.
“I think it will be very convenient, but I am withholding my judgment until I can see how well the portal runs,” Holsberg said.