Sources of Money 43: Government Finance Officers Association

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Wendy needed more money to get through school. She singed a contract to attend a proprietary, for-profit school to study nursing. She needed $35,000 for her Associates Program. She used our program to find scholarships through search engines, financial aid counselors at the college, and scholarship books. Unfortunately, the more she looked, the more she discovered that students at proprietary, for-profit schools did not qualify for hardly any scholarship money. She also discovered that the contract indicated she had to pay for the schooling even if she did not attend.

Characteristics of Government Finance Officers Association

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) sponsors a couple of scholarships. They include

• Frank L. Greathouse Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to two undergraduate or graduate students who are enrolled in full-time study preparing for a career in state and local government finance. They award the scholarship at the annual conference
  • Qualifications: The web site says “Students must be currently a full-time student in an undergraduate or graduate accounting program that prepares students for careers in state and local government finance. Undergraduate students must be in the process of completing at least their junior year by the time the scholarship is awarded. Application must include a recommendation from student's academic advisor or chair of the accounting program. Student cannot be a past winner of a scholarship administered by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada.”
• The Daniel B. Goldberg Scholarship is available for award to a full-time graduate student who is pursuing an advanced degree and is preparing for a career in state and local government finance.
  • Qualification: Criteria for Scholarship Award: Statement of proposed career plan in state and local government finance and proposed plan of graduate study. Plans to pursue a career in state or local government finance. Past academic record and work experience.- Strength of past coursework and present plan of study, as it relates to a career in the public sector

Thursday we answer questions about applying for scholarships with reusable applications

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