Details for Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations on your scholarship award! Please read the information below carefully to ensure that you receive your funds in a timely manner.

Before any funds can be released, you must complete the following steps:

1. Notify the Office of Student Financial Services.

If you are receiving assistance through OSFS, any scholarship you receive may impact your financial aid package. You can report your scholarship to them through your E-FAN, or by calling their office. It is best to get this taken care of as early as possible.

2. Write a thank you letter to your donor.

Donor address information is available on your Scholarship Management page. You MUST write a thank you letter to each of the donors listed.

Thank you letter tips:

• Letters must be typed and signed.
• If possible, please use nice stationary/resume paper (but do not use a card).
• Please proof your work! Remember that you communicate your intelligence through your presentation, so please check for grammatical and spelling errors before you turn in your letters. If we find any errors, we will send your letter back to you for revision.
• Include personal information about yourself. The donors gave this money because they like UT and our students. They love to hear about organizations you are in, any volunteer work you do, what your future plans are and, most importantly, how this scholarship will help you.
• Remember that the donor is not the person who selected you for this award, so please don’t say “Thank you for choosing me for this scholarship.” These people generously donated their money and stipulated that it should be used for student scholarships. It would be more appropriate to thank them for their generosity and support.
• Take note of the committee that has awarded you this scholarship and thank your donor appropriately. For instance, if the School of Journalism awarded your scholarship to you, you should thank your donor for their support of the School of Journalism and its students.
• Be professional, but be yourself! Use your own voice and words when writing your letter. If you try to sound like someone else, or use fancy words that aren’t in your usual vocabulary, the end result is an awkward-sounding letter that the reader just can’t understand. Just be who you are, at your best.

Please turn in your letters to the Office of Student Affairs. Do not mail the letter to the donor. You do not need to turn in an envelope or postage with your letter.

3. Return your Scholarship Agreement.

You will also need to complete a scholarship agreement, which lists the stipulations of your scholarship. You must print, sign, and return this form to the Office of Student Affairs with your thank you letter. Please keep a copy for your own records.

Receiving your funds

Once these steps have been completed, you have taken all action necessary to receive your award.

Most scholarship funds are released in two disbursements. For most recipients, the first half will be released on the 13th class day of the Fall semester, and the second half on the 13th class day of the Spring semester. Check your Scholarship Management page for specific disbursement dates for your scholarship.

Please see our Receiving Your Funds page for more information on how scholarship funds are released by UT.