O'Shaughnessy Foundation's Elevate Scholarship

Western has the privilege of providing higher education to students in Colorado and throughout
the country, who otherwise would not have the hope of pursuing a degree because of inability to
afford it. We seek out students who will be the first in their family to go to college, thereby
breaking the cycle of poverty and access to financial and career success; student of
underrepresented classes such as racial minorities, those in educationally under-served
communities, and students from rural areas (who are statistically some of those least
likely to obtain a college degree). We can do so by keeping Western’s tuition affordable, and
seeking private gifts and grants, such as the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation’s Elevate Scholarships
to give students and their families the hope for a better future. We want to provide students a
future defined by their dreams rather than debt or regret for opportunities lost or denied.
Scholarships change lives, and remains our top and consistent priority, because we care for
students and their futures.

For the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation’s Elevate Scholarships (The O’Shaughnessy Scholarships),
we will begin with the relationships we currently have with prospective and current students
through Western’s team of on-campus and regional recruiters. With this grant, we will increase our
efforts through communications and marketing to attract even more recently graduated high
school student who fit the scholarship profile. Together with our capable and caring staff in
Student Financial Services (Financial Aid), we identify the students who have the greatest need
and potential for success. This identification is achieved through the FAFSA (Free Application for
Federal Student Aid) form, which identifies the expected family contribution, or EFC, (financial
capability) of each family represented. The lower the EFC, the higher the need. For potential,
Western assesses the academic, work and volunteer history of each applicant to determine
which students have the greatest potential for success with the resources and support we are able
to provide them.

ELIGIBILITY
The O’Shaughnessy Scholarships is a “last dollar in” scholarship, meaning that they will achieve
maximum effectiveness, being awarded only after all available federal, state and institutional aid is
awarded. This means that the O’Shaughnessy Scholarships would not substitute for any other
financial aid, but supplement it to make the total aid package as great as it can possibly be. Our
ultimate goal is to be able to provide the neediest, most deserving students with an excellent
education, graduating will little or no debt burden.

The O’Shaughnessy Scholarships with a cumulative needs-through-graduation plan, in which
we would award fewer scholarships, saving the appropriate balance to award to recipients
during their remaining years at Western.

Each student will be provided this scholarship for 4 years to ensure they are
provided support through graduation.