Hilda M. Padgett Scholarship
The Hilda M. Padgett Scholarship has been established to assist students who attended a high school in Bloomington or Normal, IL and plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.
Hilda M. Padgett Scholarship
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 Hilda M. Padgett Scholarship must:
- Be high school seniors or graduates or current college undergraduates who attend or attended a high school in Bloomington or Normal, IL
- Plan to enroll in fulltime undergraduate study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school for the entire upcoming academic year
PNC employees or Trust committee members, their immediate family members, and members of their households are not eligible to apply.
Awards
If selected as a recipient, the student will receive an award that varies based upon funds available for distribution.
Awards may be renewed for up to three additional years or until a bachelor’s degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon satisfactory academic performance (maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale) and full-time enrollment. Renewal award amounts will be adjusted annually based on the recipient’s annual financial need and funds available for distribution.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in late July.
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 PNC Bank, N.A. Payment is made in 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
- An online recommendation
- Responses to two character essays.
Financial need, as calculated by Scholarship America, must be demonstrated for the student to receive an award. Scholarship America will evaluate all eligible applicants and provide results to PNC Bank, Trustee with recommended recipients and award amounts. The Trust committee will select recipients and determine award amounts. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Preference will be given to students who attended a parochial high school or one of the schools listed below and/or students who will be attending a parochial college or university.
- Bloomington High School
1202 E. Locust Street
Bloomington, IL 61701 - Calvary Christian Academy
1017 North School Street
Normal, IL 61761 - Central Catholic High School
1201 Airport Road
Bloomington, IL 61704 - Cornerstone Christian Academy
22017 E. 1200 N. Rd.
Bloomington, IL 61705 - Normal Community High School
3900 E. Raab Road
Normal, IL 61761 - Normal Community West High School
501 North Parkside Road
Normal, IL 61761 - University High School
500 West Gregory Street
Normal, IL 61761
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.
One online recommendation form must be submitted on your behalf no later than March 4, 2026 3:00 PM Central Time.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
