WALTER O. MASON EDUCATION FOUNDATION &
MATTHEW W. TAYLOR SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION
To ensure TRIO students understand the scholarship evaluation criteria, the committee provides the following
guidelines:
For application and supporting documents:
 Applicants should submit the application and the supporting documents in the formats requested in the
application. Applicants must submit all application materials via email.
 Applicants must include all supporting documents - personal statement, essay, two letters of
recommendation, applicant resume, 2015-2016 Student Aid Report (SAR), transcript, TRIO Participant
Form, and TASSSP Name Release Form. The scholarship committee will not score incomplete
applications.
For personal statement and essay:
 Writing should demonstrate a logical arrangement of information: effective transition and a flow of
general ideas to specific conclusions.
 Writing should demonstrate an understanding of the addressed subject and use effective supporting
statements - relevant details and/or examples.
 Writing should illustrate the applicant’s insight, creativity, thoughtfulness or originality expressed in
his/her own words.
 Writing should incorporate active voice where appropriate and have an insignificant number of
grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
APPLICANT CHECKLIST
Completed Application
Personal Statement (minimum of one page, double spaced, maximum two pages)
Essay (minimum of one page, double spaced, maximum two pages)
2 Recommendations (must include one TRIO staff recommendation - please note that the TRIO
staff must be a TASSSP member in good standing- membership verified by TASSSP Board
Secretary)
Applicant Resume (use attached resume format)
Copy of 2015-2016 Student Aid Report (SAR)
Transcript (GED results, high school or college transcript - unofficial transcripts accepted)
TRIO Participant Form (completed by the TRIO program director - please note that the TRIO
program director must be a TASSSP member in good standing – membership verified by TASSSP
Board Secretary)
TASSSP Name Release Form (completed by applicant - please note giving or withholding
permission will not affect application scoring)
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WALTER O. MASON EDUCATION FOUNDATION &
MATTHEW W. TAYLOR SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION APPLICATION
Selection Criteria & Eligibility:
1. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors or current university/college students.
2. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of at least a 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or a GED standard
score of 2250 (450 average) or higher.
3. Applicants must demonstrate extracurricular and community involvement.
4. Applicants must be a certified eligible TRIO participant with active participation for at least one year. (TRIO
program director completes TRIO Participant Form. TRIO program director must be a TASSSP member in
good standing. TRIO program director’s TASSSP membership will be verified by TASSSP Board Secretary.)
5. If selected, applicant must provide proof of enrollment at a postsecondary institution for the 2015 fall
semester.
Guidelines:
1. Applications should be typed and submitted via email.
2. The following items must be included with the scholarship application:
 Student’s Resume (please use attached resume format)
 Student’s Personal Statement (see section D)
 Proof student has submitted the FAFSA (i.e. copy of 2015-2016 Student Aid Report that includes EFC)
 GED test results, high school or college transcript. (unofficial transcripts accepted)
 Entering college freshmen must also provide a copy of their college admissions acceptance letter to
demonstrate future enrollment plans. 
 Two letters of recommendation -- one must be from a TRIO staff member (please note that the TRIO
staff member must be a TASSSP member in good standing – membership verified by Board Secretary)
 Essay (see section D)
 TRIO Participant Form (TRIO program director completes the attached form. TRIO program director
must be a TASSSP member in good standing- membership verified by TASSSP Board Secretary)
 TRIO Name Release Form (Applicant completes the form. An applicant’s decision to give or to withhold
permission for the use of his/her name will NOT affect the application scoring.)
3. UB, TS, UBMS competition application deadline is July 10, 2015. SSS, McNair, EOC, VUB competition
application deadline is October 15, 2015. Please email to:
Al Bacon and Tony Hall, TASSSP Student Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
Email: tassspscholarships@yahoo.com
**Direct questions about the application process to the Scholarship Co-Chair Al Bacon and Tony Hall at the above email.
4. The TASSSP Student Scholarship Committee will review and rank all submitted applications. The highest
ranking application will be awarded the Walter O. Mason Scholarship funded by SWASAP. Other deserving
applicants (in subsequent order) will receive the Matthew W. Taylor scholarship funded by TASSSP. The
number of Matthew W. Taylor scholarships will be determined by the TASSSP board.
5. The Scholarship Committee will submit the application rankings to the TASSSP Board at SWASAP
Conference 2015. The TASSSP Board will determine the number of Matthew W. Taylor recipients. The
Scholarship Chairs will contact TRIO projects and scholarship recipients by November 13, 2015.
6. Scholarship recipients will be required to submit proof of enrollment at a postsecondary institution for the
2015 fall semester. Scholarship funds will be disbursed to recipients after November 13, 2015.
7. The Scholarship Committee will announce the selected recipients at the annual Southwest Association of
Student Assistance Programs, Inc., (SWASAP) professional development conference in November 2015.
A. APPLICANT PERSONAL INFORMATION
Name: ___________________________________________________________________
Address: _________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________________________
E-mail address: ___________________________________________________________
Phone: __________________________________________________________________
B. TRIO PROGRAM AFFILIATION
_____ Talent Search _____ Upward Bound
_____ Educational Opportunity Center _____ UB Math/Science
_____ Student Support Services _____ Ronald E. McNair
_____ Veterans Upward Bound
Institution: __________________________________________________________________________
Program Director: _____________________________ Phone ______________________________
E-mail: ______________________________________________________________
C. POSTSECONDARY PLACEMENT
Name and location of college/university where applicant is enrolled or will enroll the 2015 fall semester.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Name Location
D. ESSAY TOPICS
Please submit personal statement and essay in the following format:
 Typed, one-inch margins, double spaced with a 12pt font, Times New Roman. (Include applicant’s
name, TRIO project, and institution as a header or a title on each page. Please note that readers
will not see the student’s information. Each applicant will be assigned a scholarship application
number for reader identification).
Part I – Personal Statement (minimum of one page/maximum two pages double spaced)

Write a personal statement explaining how TRIO has changed your life and how TRIO is
preparing you or have prepared you to reach your future goals.
Part II – Essay (minimum of one page/maximum two pages double spaced)
***Answer one of the two prompts listed below***
1. What advice would you give to an incoming high school freshman? Explain what you did right and
what you could have done differently to prepare for university studies and please describe any academic
achievements, community service activities, or other personal characteristics that makes you deserving of
this scholarship?
2. People enter and exit our lives at different points and stages. Tell about a person who has positively
influenced your life. How are you paying forward that positive influence and/or how do you plan to pay
forward that positive influence in the future?
Scholarship Resume Format
Full Name Mailing Address
Email
Education:
High School
Class of XXXX
GPA
University/College
Major
Minor
Completed hours
Current GPA
Extracurricular Activities:
High School
Club name – Grades X-X
Sports team – Grades X-X
University/College
Organization name – XXXX-XXXX
Community Service:
High School
Organization name – Grades X-X Estimated hours of service
University/College
Organization name – XXXX-XXXX Estimated hours of service
Awards/Honors:
High School
Award/Honor Sponsor Grade X
University/College
Award/Honor Sponsor XXXX
TRIO Participant Form
TRIO program director completes this form.
Applicant name _________________________________________________
Applicant TRIO Program ______________________________________________________
TRIO Program Director _________________________________________________
_______________________________ has been an active participant of ____________________________ at
Applicant Name Project Name
________________________________________for _____ years.
Host Institution Name number
________ meets the TRIO eligibility requirement for the Walter O. Mason and Matthew W. Taylor scholarship
He/She
Competition.
______________________________________________
_________________
Program Director Signature
Date
Program Director’s TASSSP membership will be verified by the TASSSP Board Secretary.
Texas Association of Student Support Services
Name Release Form
I _____________________________________________ do hereby agree to give permission to Texas
Applicant Name
Association of Student Special Services Programs, Inc., (TASSSP) to use my name and picture(s) on the
association’s website for the sole purposes of promotion. This form is valid for 5 years from the date of signing.
Your preferred name for website __________________________________________
___________________________________ _____________
Applicant Signature Date
If you do not give permission to TASSSP to use your name on the association’s website, please sign below.
I ___________________________________________ do hereby not give permission to Texas Association of
Applicant Name
Student Special Services Programs, Inc., (TASSSP) to use my name on the association’s website for the sole purpose
of promotion.
_________________________________ _____________
Applicant Signature Date
An applicant’s decision to give or to withhold permission for the use of his/her name will NOT affect the application
scoring.