ASCEND Scholarship Program
Trinity Services Group, Inc. has established a scholarship program for those who are currently incarcerated and completed the ASCEND program or dependents of those who are current or previous incarcerated who have successfully completed the ASCEND program and plan to continue their education in college to pursue a certificate or degree.
ASCEND Scholarship Program
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the ASCEND Scholarship Program must:
Incarcerated ASCEND (Advanced Skills/Career Education/New Development) applicant requirements:
- Have successfully completed the ASCEND (Advanced Skills/Career Education/ New Development) program with Trinity Services Group, Inc., and have been employed for at least 6 months by the application open date.
- Be high school graduates (including GED) or current college undergraduate students.
- Plan to enroll in part-time or full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school* for the entire upcoming academic year.
*Certification programs must be through an accredited institution. Certification programs must be a minimum of one semester/term in length and recipients must be enrolled at the time awards are disbursed in August.
OR
Dependent of current or previous incarcerated ASCEND (Advanced Skills/Career Education/New Development) applicant requirements:
- Be dependent* children up to age 26 of an incarcerated parent who is currently in the ASCEND program or has successfully completed the program with Trinity Services Group, Inc. by the application open date.
*Dependent children are defined as biological, step- or legally adopted children. - Be high school seniors, high school graduates (including GED), or current college undergraduate students.
- Plan to enroll in part-time or full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school** for the entire upcoming academic year
**Certification programs must be through an accredited institution. Certification programs must be a minimum of one semester/term in length and recipients must be enrolled at the time awards are disbursed in August.
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive a $1,500 award. Up to 13 awards will be granted.
Provided there are qualified applicants, 7 awards will be disbursed to the incarcerated applicant pool, and 6 awards will be disbursed to the dependent applicant pool. If there are not enough qualified applicants in one pool, those awards may be granted to the other pool.
Awards are not renewable, but students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.
Awards can be used for any education-related expenses.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in June.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of Trinity Services Group, Inc. Payment is made in early August.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
Financial need is not considered.
Selection of recipients is made by Scholarship America. In no instance does any officer or employee of Trinity Services Group, Inc. play a part in the selection. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
