Purpose

This scholarship is dedicated to the promotion of the English language. However, English as refereed to in this scholarship refers more accurately to the dialect spoken in the United States. Not that which is spoken in England or any of England's former or present colonies, except for those which achieved independence through violent revolution, especially not Canada.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible to apply for this scholarship the applicant must meet the following qualifications:

1. Must be planning to attend graduate school in Virginia at a state University.
2. Must have received your undergraduate degree from a university which had it football team ranked in the top 25 at the end of the season during which the applicant was enrolled in the school. Or if the football team was not good enough then the basketball team at the applicant's school must have made it into the NCAA tournament during one of the years the applicant was attending the school.
3. The applicant's must not have majored in a foreign language (language other than English) while an undergraduate
4. The applicant must be an American citizen

Preferred Applicants

Any applicant who meets the eligibility requirements will be allowed to apply. However, an applicant stands a much better chance of being selected based on the degree that he complies with the following criterion:

• The applicant shows an increase between high school GPA and class rank and college GPA and class rank. What this means is applicants who did better in college than in high school are preferred.
• The applicant showed a minimum of interest in foreign language's during high school and their time in a university setting.
• The applicant was not excessively involved in student government while in high school

Selection Criteria

The winning applicant will be selected from those applicants who are proven to be eligible. The graduate level research being done by the applicant will be considered for usefulness and interest level. The most applicant whose research is determined to be the most interesting and useful will be awarded the scholarship. Note that research in a technical field is considered to be generally more useful and interesting than that in a liberal arts field.

Scholarship Award

The sum awarded to the scholarship winner will be $100.00. This money will be applied only to the cost of tuition at the institution the applicant is attending. This money will be paid out in two lump sums of $50.00, one in early September and the other in late January.

How to Apply

To apply send the following information to The Southern Scholarship Program

1. Name
2. An email address at which the applicant can be contacted
3. Permanent mailing address
4. High school GPA and class rank
5. Undergraduate GPA and class rank
6. Name of University applicant will attend as a graduate student
7. Name of University the applicant attended as an undergraduate student
8. Years that the applicant attended their undergraduate institution
9. Social security number (or other proof of citizenship)
10. A description of 500 to 5,000 words telling about the research that the applicant plans to carry out.

Applicants who send in the requested information will be contacted by the The Southern Scholarship Program to provide more information if they are considered eligible. Request for information will be limited to those that can be easily provided to verify that the applicant has fulfilled all of the minimum requirements.

Scholarship notes

No winner will be chosen until at least ten applicants who meet all of the minimum qualifications have applied. Furthermore the award will not be paid out sooner than the '98-'99 school year at the earliest. All applications will be considered active for one year. If at least ten active applications are under consideration then an award will be given. Applicants are encouraged to reapply after one year if they do not win. Not more than one winner will be chosen per year.