Scholarship Selection Policy

1. Eligibility first The committee first checks the published Eligibility Policy and the round's application requirements. Ineligibility is recorded separately from scoring. Only an eligible application is considered for an award. No purchase, donation, vote for a particular business, marketing subscription or attendance at an affiliated school is required.

2. Scoring criterion Career goals and program fit is scored from 0 to 10 using the applicant's goals statement and verified selected program. A score of 0 means the statement gives no assessable connection between a career goal and the program; 1–3 means a limited or unclear connection; 4–6 means an understandable goal with some explanation of the program's relevance; 7–8 means a clear goal and a well-explained training path; 9–10 means a specific, coherent goal with a persuasive explanation of how the selected training supports that goal. Reviewers record reasons tied to the application. Score substance, not writing polish, the prestige of a school, a relationship with the organizer, protected characteristics or an ability to buy promotion. Applicants may request a reasonable accessible means of explaining the same information through support. Do not infer sensitive personal circumstances from a name, address or photograph.

3. Review and selection Assigned reviewers disclose conflicts before accessing an application and recuse when required. The configured number of completed, nonconflicted reviews must be present before a committee decision. Scores inform a human committee decision; the system does not automatically award money. The decision records the result, amount, criteria-based rationale and decision-maker. Where equally scored eligible applicants compete for limited funds, the committee first compares the documented strength of program fit under the same criterion. If the evidence does not distinguish them, it may make equal partial awards within the published round limits or place the remaining equally qualified applicants on a waitlist, with reasons recorded. It must not use an undisclosed purchase, affiliation or personal preference as a tie-breaker.

4. Amounts and notices Awards cannot exceed the round's available balance, its stated limits or verified eligible school charges. A waitlist is not a payment promise. Decisions and any needed acceptance/enrollment steps are communicated privately through the applicant account or contact information. Disbursements go directly to the selected eligible school under the Eligibility Policy. An applicant may ask support to correct a factual or procedural error. A nonconflicted reviewer examines the issue and documents the outcome. The same scoring criteria remain in effect for the round after applications are received; later policy revisions do not silently change that round.