Associated Foundations Honors Scholarships

1. Academic Experiences
2. Sense of Community
3. Personal Attention
4. Research Opportunities
5. Residential Living
6. Leadership & Service
7. Freshman Scholarships
8. Transfer Scholarships
9. Perks

History of the award

In the early 1970's, a group of individuals decided to give to the future by providing college scholarships. They founded Associated Foundations, Inc., and began awarding scholarships at a number of colleges and universities in the western states, including Arizona, to students studying Agriculture, Business, Engineering, and Nursing. After making these awards for almost twenty years, the Foundation realized their program of awarding many modest scholarships did not make much of an impact and was burdened with significant administrative overhead and the scholarships were discontinued. After considerable study the Foundation's trustees decided to focus on making a limited number of substantial awards. They established the Honors Scholars program to implement that objective.

The scholarship

The University of Arizona was selected as the first institution to participate in this new program. One new scholarship is awarded each year on a competitive basis to an incoming non-resident freshman. That award will be renewed for up to four consecutive years, provided the recipient maintains academic eligibility in the UA Honors College (by earning a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher) and remains a non-resident of Arizona. A non-resident tuition waiver provided by UA augments a substantial cash grant from the Foundation. In addition to the basic scholarship, the Foundation provides an additional $5000 for each Honors Scholar to use to underwrite educationally-related off campus activities of the Scholar's choice, such as travel, study abroad, or internship work during his or her undergraduate years.

Application process

Qualified students will be invited to apply based on criteria which may include: academic grade point average, scores on SAT or ACT, number and level of courses attempted in high school, rank in class, and information included on the UA admission application. The selection of Scholars is based on academic achievement, evaluation of a personal essay, and a telephone interview. Invitations to apply are generally mailed in January or early February.

For best consideration, it is important for students to apply for University admission early in the senior year (recommended by October 1) for admission to the University at the beginning of the following academic year.