Frequently Asked Questions
How many Scholarships are awarded and who will I compete against?
Scholarship awards will be one-year, $1,000 scholarships. The Golden West Scholarship Program will offer 40-plus awards. Each of the participating high schools will be eligible to receive one award. Eligible applicants will compete against other eligible applicants from their high school. The Company makes one at-large scholarship available to home-schooled students or those students not attending one of the high schools covered by the scholarship program.
Who will select the scholarship award winners?
The selection committee shall consist of the high school's principal and/or superintendent, who are not connected with the Golden West Scholarship Program. The selection committee will be responsible for the confidential review of each applicant's file. They alone will determine the scholarship award winners. At-large applications will be judged by a committee made up of Golden West employees.
How will applications be judged?
The selection committee will judge applicants' scholarship and leadership abilities based on the following information.
1. SAT, ACT, or Accuplacer scores
2. Transcript of High School Credits
3. Scholarship Award Application
This is a merit-based scholarship program. Merit includes leadership in school, civic and other extracurricular activities; academic achievement; and the motivation to serve and succeed. Personal character is also very important. If two or more applications are extremely close in qualifications, the selection panel will use financial need as the tiebreaker.
How do I apply, and what are the deadlines?
Students who are interested in the scholarship program should apply in the following manner:
Obtain a scholarship award application from their local high school guidance counselor. Complete the scholarship award application and submit it along with an up-to-date transcript of grades and SAT, ACT, or Accuplacer score results to the local high school principal, superintendent, or designated school official. Applications for 2020 graduates must be completed and returned to the school principal by March 15, 2023.
DO NOT send the application directly to Golden West. Send your application to your school principal.
At-large applicants may print an online application form or contact us at the address listed below. Completed forms should be returned to that same address.
How will the awards be administered?
Award winners will be announced at the respective graduation exercises attended by the winners and published in the local newspaper. Golden West would appreciate a photo and short biography of each winner to assist with the preparation of the news release.
The award becomes final when the student has completed the equivalent of a full-time course load in the first semester of their freshman year and enrolls in the second semester at an accredited post-secondary institution. All checks are paid directly to the school; under no circumstance will we make payment directly to the student.
The scholarship monies may be used for tuition and fees, books, and supplies. In order to receive payment, a student must have the school send to our Wall office a completed Verification of Enrollment form, whereupon we will issue our check, payable to the school, and mail it directly to the school to establish a credit in the name of the student.
If a student terminates his or her course for any reason, the unused balance of the scholarship MUST be returned directly to the Golden West Scholarship Program. It may NOT be transferred to another school, and it may NOT be paid to the student personally.
In our scholarship program, it is the responsibility of the student to follow up on all matters relating to his or her scholarship. In all correspondence relating to a student who has won, or is applying for a scholarship award, we must have the full name AND address of the student.
For more information, you can email us at :
scholarships@goldenwest.com
or write to us at:
Golden West Scholarship Program
PO Box 411, Wall, SD 57790-0411