AAUW Elgin Branch Scholarship Form

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN
Elgin Area Branch
Scholarship Form for the Academic Year 2026-2027  

The Elgin Area Branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) is offering TWO $1,000 scholarships to be used to meet undergraduate college expenses for the 2026-2027 academic year—the Betty Medearis Memorial Scholarship and the Elgin Legacy/Memorial Scholarship(s). At least ONE of these scholarships shall be given to a woman of color.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

–All applications shall be postmarked by April 1, 2026, or emailed to the scholarship committee no later than April 4, 2026. See addresses below.

–Applicants shall be 19 years of age by April 1, 2026

–Applicants shall identify as female

–Applicants shall have successfully completed at least 12 semester hours (or equivalent) college credit with a minimum of a cumulative 2.5 gpa.

–Applicants must live within a 50- mile radius of Elgin, and preference will be given to Elgin-area applicants. Applicants must be currently enrolled in an accredited institution or seeking enrollment for the upcoming semester.

The recipient(s) will be granted a student-affiliate membership in the Elgin Area Branch of AAUW and will be invited to attend branch meetings and activities. It is hoped that the recipient(s) will attend AAUW’s May dinner meeting at which time the scholarships will be awarded. The actual scholarship money will be mailed to the recipient’s college choice and deposited into her tuition account.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  April 4, 2026, Applications will be available on or before 1/06/2026.

The application is available below, or can be accessed through the Financial Aid offices at:

Applications will be available online at Gail Borden Library web page, the AAUW Elgin Area Brach web site: elginarea-il.aauw.net, or can be accessed through the Financial Aid offices at:

Elgin Community College—Elgin                                         Harper University–Palatine

Judson University—Elgin                                                      Waubonsee College—Sugar Grove

Aurora University—Aurora                                                  Northern Ill. University—DeKalb

McHenry Co. College—Crystal Lake                                    Kane County Connects

El Central de Informacion Elgin

TRANSCRIPT DEADLINE: Please send all necessary transcript(s) to Elgin Branch AAUW, P.O. Box 6721 United States Postal Service, 202 S.Randall Road Unit B, Elgin, Illinois, 60123, or electronically to aauw.il.elgin.scholarships@gmail.com. Transcripts must be received no later than April 15, 2026, in order for one’s completed application to be considered by the committee.

AAUW ELGIN BRANCH SCHOLARSHIP FORM

  • PLEASE ATTACH TO YOUR APPLICATION YOUR ANSWERS TO ALL FOUR OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.
  • 1. LIST all community activities AND/OR work commitments that you are (or have been) involved in and your years of participation.

    2. Discuss your educational and professional goals. Please limit your answer to 500 words or fewer.

    3. Discuss your need for financial assistance. Please include any financial scholarships or grants you have received or will receive for the 2024-2025 academic year. Please limit your answer to 500 words or fewer.

    4. Give a personal reflection on the AAUW Mission Statement goal: “to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, educational, and advocacy.” Again, please limit your answer to 500 words or fewer.
  • Max. file size: 3 MB.
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  • Max. file size: 3 MB.
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  • PLEASE SIGN: I certify that all information in this application is true to the best of my knowledge. Furthermore, I will be pleased to become a student-affiliate of the Elgin Area Branch of AAUW for the duration of my scholarship.
  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • I understand that if I were to receive one of these scholarships AAUW reserves the right to release my name and school I will be attending for public announcements and new articles.

REMINDER:  Please send or email your completed application and transcript from each post-secondary institution you have attended to Elgin Branch AAUW, P.O. Box 6721 United States Postal Service, 202 S. Randall Rd. Unit B, Elgin, Illinois, 60123 or electronically to aauw.il.elgin.scholarships@gmail.com no later than April 4, 2026. Transcript deadline is April 15, 2026.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR APPLYING FOR OUR SCHOLARSHIPS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.