Career and Technical Scholarship
Congratulations Career and Technical Scholars!
Applicants selected to receive the Spring 2023 Career and Technical Scholarship were notified by e-mail. Selected scholars must follow the link in their email to accept their award by March 12, 2023.
Learn more about your scholarship by watching the videos below.
Our Career and Technical Scholarship provides up to $1,500 each quarter to fund a high-demand associate degree, certificate or apprenticeship from one of Washington's 34 community and technical colleges or approved apprenticeship program sponsors. This scholarship can be used toward nearly 1,000 trade, health care or STEM programs across Washington state. Each of these programs can lead to the jobs our communities need most such as welding, manufacturing or IT.
Details on eligibility, funding and more can be found below.
More information for recipients of the Rural Jobs Initiative, as part of the Career and Technical Scholarship can also be found below.
Scholar Portal
All Scholars should familiarize themselves with the Scholar Portal. This is where Scholars can view key details about their scholarship and submit forms to update their account.
The Scholar Portal is where you can:
- View upcoming and past disbursements, see all awards scheduled for the current academic year (anticipated disbursements) and any funds already sent to their institution (actual disbursements).
- View important deadlines such as your Scholarship Review Date or scholarship expiration date.
- Provide your student ID number through the “Update or Provide College ID” form so that WSOS disbursements will be appropriately applied to the right student account.
- Maintain current contact information. Email is our primary means of communication with Scholars about scholarship requirements and opportunities. Any changes to phone, email or mailing addresses can be submitted through the “Update Contact Information” form.
- Request a program change through the “Program Change” form in the Scholar Portal. Failure to do so will result in funding delays or withdrawal from the scholarship.
- Life happens. WSOS acknowledges that students may not be able to meet all eligibility criteria every term. Should a Scholar need to take a brief break from school they must submit a “Leave of Absence” form prior to the start of the term.
- Opportunity Scholars who do not meet the requirements to receive funding are withdrawn from the program. Withdrawn Scholars have up to one academic year from the term they became ineligible to reinstate. If you were ineligible to receive the Opportunity Scholarship within one academic year and now meet the requirements, you may submit a Reinstatement Request in the Scholar Portal.
Scholars can log into the Scholar Portal to view the status of requests at any time (typical processing time is two weeks).
New Scholars who are accessing the Scholar Portal for the first time should follow the steps below:
- Visit the Scholar Portal (once you’ve been directed by WSOS to do so).
- Click “Forgot your password.”
- Enter the email address provided to WSOS at the time of application.
- An email will be sent with a link to reset the password. Follow the instructions to enter the Scholar Portal.
- If still unable to log in or having trouble viewing information, email info@waopportunityscholarship.org.
Award Amount
CTS recipients will receive $1,500 per quarter for the duration of their program so long as they meet all eligibility criteria and are enrolled in at least 12 credits. Scholars enrolled part-time will receive a prorated award amount as shown in the table below.
| Enrollment | Award Amount |
|---|---|
| 12+ credits | $1,500 |
| 9-11 credits | $1,125 |
| 6-8 Credits | $750 |
| Less than 6 credits | Not eligible for funding* |
*Scholars enrolled in less than six credits during the fall, winter, or spring terms will be withdrawn (see Leave of Absence.) Scholars are not required to enroll in summer term but are eligible to receive funding at the usual rate if they choose to enroll.
Scholars enrolled in eligible apprenticeship programs may be exempt from this policy, dependent on their program requirements.
Scholarship Review Date
All new Scholars will have a unique scholarship review date assigned to their account. Scholars can find their unique scholarship review date by logging in to the Scholar Portal and looking in the “Scholarship Information” section. Scholars are guaranteed to receive their scholarship until they reach their scholarship review date (provided they continue to meet all other eligibility criteria).
To continue receiving their scholarship beyond their scholarship review date, Scholars must submit a filled Program Progress Form via the Scholar Portal before their scholarship review date is met. Once a filled program progress form is received, their final scholarship award parameters will be calculated and assigned to their account.
Scholarship Parameters
Once a Scholar has submitted a filled Program Progress Form, they will have a “Maximum Award” and “Scholarship Expiration Date” calculated for their account. These parameters are based on the length of the program and how much of the program has been completed. Scholars who meet all eligibility criteria every quarter will receive funding at the rate outlined in the section above until they reach one of the following parameters:
- Earn their credential
- Surpass their Maximum Award Amount
- Surpass their Scholarship Expiration Date
Scholars can find their maximum award amount and scholarship review date by logging in to the Scholar Portal and looking in the “Scholarship Information” section.
Remedial Credits
Scholars can receive funding for up to 45 remedial credits. The total number of remedial credits a Scholar is eligible to receive is based on the length of their program. Scholars can log into the Scholar Portal to review the number of remedial credits their scholarship supports. Scholars’ Maximum Award and Scholarship Expiration Date accommodate for the time a scholar may need remedial courses.
Disbursement Cycle
Disbursements are sent directly to the financial aid office of the Scholars’ college prior to the start of each term.
2022-23 scheduled disbursement dates:
| Career and Technical Scholarship | |
|---|---|
| Term | Date |
| Fall | August 16, 2022 |
| Winter | December 20, 2022 |
| Spring | March 21, 2023 |
| Summer | June 13, 2023 |
Some scholarship disbursement dates may take place after a college’s tuition deadline. In these instances, the college can place a hold on the Scholar’s account so that the Scholar will not be dropped from their courses and no additional charges will be accrued. If you need a hold placed on your account, please reach out to your college’s financial aid office and notify them of your pending CTS award.
Scholars can confirm funds were disbursed on their behalf by logging in to the Scholar Portal. If an actual disbursement is reflected in the Scholar Portal and you do not yet see funds in your account, it is likely due to processing time. Colleges take a few weeks to apply scholarship funds after they receive them. Scholars should contact their college’s financial aid office if they have any concerns about their award after it is shown as an “actual disbursement” in the Scholar Portal.
Keeping in Touch
Email is our primary means of communication with all Scholars. All Scholars should check their spam settings to ensure they receive WSOS emails. While all students have the right to unsubscribe from WSOS emails, this will result in missing important information and deadline reminders.
Looking for community, campus or professional development resources?
Visit the WSOS Resource Guide for Career and Technical Scholars.
Questions about scholarship funding or eligibility?
Contact awards@waopportunityscholarship.org or call 1-877-899-5002
The Rural Jobs Initiative (RJI) connects rural communities to the skills they need to access opportunities in their own backyards. RJI was created in recognition that rural residents face considerable barriers in accessing community and technical colleges, and rural communities struggle to attract and retain talent.
Our goal is to ensure those farthest from the state’s community and technical colleges have a path to earning a credential that will lead to a high-demand job in their rural community.
Eligible programs are carefully cultivated to represent the unique needs of each rural community and in recognition of the barriers facing rural students. We support programs that are short-duration, online, locally based and lead to jobs in that Scholar’s rural community.
Recipients of the Rural Jobs Initiative will receive an additional $2,000 in their first quarter, $1,000 in their second quarter and $500 per quarter for the remainder of their program.