Folsom Garden Club
2024 Scholarship Program
For Academic Years 2024-2025

The Folsom Garden Club is offering scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year at the following levels:

Application: Application Forms are available on the Folsom Garden Club website, www.folsomgarden.org.

Eligibility Requirements:

1. Applicant must be a California resident and one of the following:
2. A resident (permanent home address) of Placer, Sacramento, El Dorado or Yolo County.
3. A temporary resident in Placer, Sacramento, El Dorado or Yolo County attending a college or university within these counties.
4. Applicant must have at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) in order to apply.
5. Applicant must be a college student who will be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year at an accredited college or university. Freshmen may apply for their Sophomore year.
6. Applicant must be majoring in: Horticulture, Floriculture, Landscape Design, Botany, Forestry, Agronomy, Conservation, Plant Pathology, Environmental Concerns and/or other closely related subjects.

Application Package: All of the following required materials must be typed or computer generated except for the Application Form which can be typed, computer generated or printed legibly with black ink. The evaluation weight which will be given to each of the application elements is noted in parentheses ( ). Failure to meet all application requirements will result in disqualification. Please do not staple pages together.

1)    Application Form – Application Form must be complete and signed.

2)    Academic Record (40%) – An Official Transcript (not a photocopy) of all coursework is required. Emphasis will be placed on the strength of courses related to student’s major in Horticulture or related field.

3)    Applicant’s Letter (30%) – Discuss goals, background, personal commitment to career choice and financial need (10%). Limited to two typed or computer generated pages.

4)    List of Honors/Extra-Curricular Activities/Work Experience (15%) – This information should be typed or computer generated on a separate page and not included in the body of applicant’s letter.

5)    Recommendations (5%) – Two letters of recommendation are required that discuss scholastic ability, personal character and work related experiences of applicant. Recommendation letters from family members cannot be accepted. Each letter is limited to one typed or computer generated page. Letters must be sent by the author directly to the Folsom Garden Club (addresses below) by the application deadline.

6) Photo of Applicant – If you are selected, we request a good quality photo headshot for publicity.

Renewal: Scholarships may be considered for renewal on a yearly basis provided the student reapplies, remains in a Horticulture related field of study, is in good academic standing, and continues to meet the FGC Scholarship criteria.

Disbursement of Scholarship Funds: Successful applicants will be notified on or about May 15, 2024. Scholarship winners will be invited as guests to a luncheon meeting of the Folsom Garden Club and will receive a certificate.

Scholarship checks will be sent to the registrar of the college or university where the student is enrolled, to be deposited in the student’s account. Funds are to be disbursed to scholarship recipients after successful completion of 30 days of enrollment beginning in the Fall 2024 semester. Scholarship funds shall be used for tuition, books, or other school related expenses.

If the scholarship winner changes to a major outside of qualifying subjects as listed above, or withdraws from school for any reason, the balance of the scholarship grant funds must be returned to the Folsom Garden Club Treasurer.

Deadline: The complete Application Package including Application Form, Official Transcripts, Applicant’s Letter, List of Activities, and photo must be sent in one packet to the Folsom Garden Club’s Scholarship Chair and postmarked no later than April 15, 2024, Letters of recommendation must be sent by this deadline, directly from the author, to:

Folsom Garden Club Scholarship Chair

Cathy Keegan

P.O. Box 1681

Folsom, CA 95763

Email: folsomgardenclub@gmail.com

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Rev 8/1/2023

NOTE: In light of the need to limit spread of the Corona virus, the Scholarship committee will accept recent downloaded college transcripts, electronically signed applications and emailed recommendation letters.  All may be followed up on before awards are made.