NGC College Scholarships

Scholarship Sponsored by National Garden Clubs

Introduction
The National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) awards annual scholarships to students pursuing careers related to gardening, landscape design, floral design, horticulture, environmental studies, and allied fields. The program offers one-year awards to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students; sophomores may apply in anticipation of their junior year.

Award information
- Up to 45 NGC Scholarships are offered each year, with each award worth as much as $4,000.
- Scholarship duration: one academic year (available to juniors, seniors and graduate students).
- Awards are distributed without discrimination; equal opportunity is provided to all eligible applicants.
- The applicant’s institution must be accredited and appear on the U.S. Department of Education accreditation search: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx.

Who is not eligible
Applications will not be considered from:
- International or foreign-exchange students.
- Students enrolled in doctoral programs, except in exceptional cases approved by the NGC Scholarship Chairman.
- Students on study-abroad fellowships or internships (unless other eligibility conditions apply as noted above).

Eligibility requirements
Applicants must satisfy every item below:
- Be a U.S. citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States.
- Be enrolled full-time as defined by NGC: undergraduates must carry at least 12 graded semester hours; graduate students must carry at least 6 graded semester hours.
- Funds may be used for required study abroad only if the overseas study is a required part of the degree program and payments continue to be made to the accredited U.S. college/university.
- Hold a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale.
- Plan to pursue a career in areas such as gardening, landscape design, horticulture, floral design, environmental management/issues, or related professions.
- Have a major in one of the following (or a closely related/allied subject): Agronomy; Agriculture; Education; Floriculture; Horticulture; Landscape Design; Botany/Biology; Forestry; Wildlife Science; Plant Pathology/Plant Science; City (Rural & Urban) Planning; Habitat or Forest/Systems Ecology; Environmental-related programs (Environmental Management, Horticulture Resource/Environmental Behavior); Environmental Conservation (including engineering, law, etc.); Land Management; or other related fields.
- Previous applicants (whether past recipients or not) may reapply; each application must be current and complete.

Selection process and scoring
- State-level judging: all applications must be received by February 1 for state judging. Each state may submit one winning application to the national round (states with membership of 8,000 or more may forward two).
- National-level judging: after state judging, the NGC Scholarship Committee will review submissions following the March 1 deadline. The NGC Scholarship Committee is comprised of the NGC Scholarship Chairman and the eight Regional Directors. Final national judging occurs prior to the annual NGC Convention; winners are announced at the Convention.
- Applicants will be notified in writing by NGC Headquarters immediately after the Convention of the Committee’s decisions.

Suggested scoring breakdown (sample)
- Academic record: 40%
- Applicant’s letter: 25%
- Honors/extracurricular activities and work experience: 13%
- Financial need: 15%
- Recommendations: 5%
- Conformance to requirements: 2%

Funds distribution and conditions
- Payments will be sent in late July from NGC Headquarters to the Financial Aid Office of the recipient’s accredited institution. Funds are not disbursed directly to students.
- The student and the institution’s Financial Aid Office will decide how the award is applied (tuition, housing, food, books, etc.).
- If a recipient changes majors to one not listed as eligible, or withdraws from school, any remaining scholarship funds must be returned to National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Required application materials
Submit the following documents (each item front side only where indicated):
1. NGC Scholarship Application form.
2. NGC Financial Aid Form.
3. Complete academic transcripts.
4. One-page applicant’s letter (front side only).
5. A list of extracurricular activities, honors and recognitions received in the past three years (front side only).
6. Two letters of recommendation (one page each, front side only).

How and where to submit
- All materials may be submitted online at https://gardenclub.org/college-scholarships, or sent by email or postal mail. If mailing, place all documents together in one large envelope; do not bind or staple.
- Send the application to the State Garden Club Scholarship Chairman for the applicant’s legal state of residence, even if attending an out-of-state college. A list of State Scholarship Chairmen is available on the NGC website. Applications must be received by February 1 for state-level consideration.
- Applicants may also submit directly to the NGC Scholarship Chairman via the NGC scholarship webpage listed above.
- Previous applicants must provide a newly completed application package each year.

Key deadlines
- State-level receipt deadline: February 1 (for state judging).
- National committee review occurs after March 1.
- Scholarship funds mailed to institutions: late July.