Recipient Information

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Each year Colgate University awards endowed scholarships to selected students as part of their financial aid packages. These scholarships recognize your hard work and achievements as a Colgate student and represent a point of pride and celebration.

Our Scholarship Philosophy

Thanks to generous donors who support endowed scholarships, Colgate University is making its quality education affordable and accessible to as many talented, high-achieving students as possible. As the recipient of an endowed scholarship, you can help us convey the impact of financial aid by sharing your Colgate story with the donors of your scholarship in ways that feel comfortable to you. However, you are not required to share more than your name, major, and class year. Your level of participation will not impact your financial aid package or your future eligibility for financial aid.

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Scholarship Process

If you are receiving financial aid (need-based and/or athletic) from Colgate University, you will receive an email invitation from the Office of Donor Relations to complete a brief application for endowed scholarships in August or September. Your application provides information that helps us match you to an appropriate scholarship. The application also requests your permission to share your personal information with the contact(s) of your endowed scholarship.

If the University selects you for an endowed scholarship, we will notify you via email in the fall. We will invite you to share your Colgate story with the donor(s) or contact(s) of your endowed scholarship. They enjoy learning about you and what you are doing. There are several ways for you to connect with your scholarship donor(s) or contact(s), and we encourage you to choose one (or more!) that feels most comfortable to you.

Scholarship Expectations

This graphic illustrates the responsibilities and expectations for Colgate University, the donors who support endowed scholarships, and the students who receive endowed scholarships.

University Donors Recipients
✔ Spend scholarship funds according to donor intent. ✔Provide gifts without illegal, unethical, or burdensome restrictions. ✔ Voluntarily partner with the University to demonstrate the impact of financial aid.
✔ Thank donors and share the impact of their support. ✔ Maintain realistic expectations for interaction with scholarship recipients. ✔ Voluntarily share their Colgate story with scholarship contacts.
✔ Provide financial accountability to donors. ✔ Respect the privacy and preferences of scholarship recipients. ✔ Voluntarily share gratitude with scholarship donors.
✔ Set realistic expectations for interaction between donors and scholarship recipients. ✔ Understand their primary relationship is with the University, not recipients. ✔ Voluntarily meet with scholarship donors.
✘ Accept gifts with illegal, unethical, or burdensome restrictions. ✘ Expect control of gift after it has been given. ✘ Expect relationship with scholarship contacts.
✘ Allow donor control of gift after it has been given. ✘ Demand interaction with scholarship recipients. ✘ Feel indebted to scholarship donors.
✘ Force interactions between donors and scholarship recipients.

Scholarship Timeline

  1. June: Current students receive financial aid offers
  2. October: Students are matched with endowed scholarships in support of their financial aid packages
  3. November: Students are notified about their endowed scholarships and requested to share their Colgate story with scholarship contacts
  4. December–February: Endowed scholarship contacts receive information about the student recipients
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Colgate Scholarships and Student Privacy

All Colgate students are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which affords students certain rights with respect to their education records. In accordance with this federal act, the University may share a scholarship recipient’s directory information, including name, major, and class year, with the contact(s) of their scholarship(s); however, the University will not disclose contact information or any private information without the explicit consent of the scholarship recipient.

Frequently Asked Questions

Endowed scholarships provide financial assistance to Colgate students who receive need-based aid and/or athletic aid. Established by donors (alumni, parents, or friends of the University), endowed scholarships are invested in the University’s endowment in order to provide financial support in perpetuity. If you receive an endowed scholarship, it will subsidize your Colgate grant or athletic aid as part of your financial aid package.

If you are receiving financial aid (need-based and/or athletic) from Colgate University, you will receive a request to complete a brief application for endowed scholarships in August or September. Please complete this application so that the University may consider you for an endowed scholarship.

The application provides additional information that helps the University match you to an appropriate scholarship. The application also requests your permission to share your personal information with the contact(s) of your endowed scholarship. Whether or not you submit the application does not affect the amount of your financial aid package. 

The University uses the platform Blackbaud Award Management (BBAM) to manage applications for endowed scholarships. You can access the platform here to submit your application. It should take you 5-10 minutes to complete the application.

The University’s Office of Donor Relations notifies students who are receiving one or more endowed scholarships in November.

No. The endowed scholarship subsidizes your Colgate grant and/or athletic aid as part of your financial aid package.

You were selected as a recipient of your particular scholarship because you are receiving financial aid, demonstrate outstanding achievement, and meet the preferences (if any) that the donor(s) created for the scholarship (i.e., major, geographic area, campus activities, career interests, etc.).

You are invited to share your Colgate story with the donor(s) and contact(s) of your endowed scholarship in ways that feel comfortable to you, but you are not required to share more than your name, major, and class year. 

The contact(s) for your endowed scholarship is usually the donor who established the scholarship, or a relative or friend of the person for whom the scholarship is named. The University reports to the contact(s) on who is receiving the scholarship.

No! Your level of participation in scholarship activities will not impact your financial aid package or your future eligibility for financial aid.

Definitely! It is an honor to receive an endowed scholarship.

The Office of Donor Relations is responsible for ensuring that gifts to the University are used as the donors intended, and sharing with donors the impact of their gifts.

Please contact Shayla Witherell, associate director of donor relations, at scholarships@colgate.edu. For questions about your financial aid package, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@colgate.edu or 315-228-7431.