Thanks to a large number of generous donations, University of the West has recently created the Lotus Scholarship for new students entering the University. Students must meet the scholarship eligibility requirements and matriculate into University of the West in the 2012-2013 academic year. Returning or continuing students are currently not eligible to apply for this Lotus Scholarship (University of the West has set aside separate financial aid funding sources for returning or continuing students).

Domestic Applicants:

• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Domestic ($10,000): For domestic students
• Lotus Silver Scholarship – Domestic ($5,000): For domestic students
• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Fo Guang ($10,000): For students recommended by religious order
• Lotus Silver Scholarship - Fo Guang ($5,000): For students recommended by religious order
• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Rosemead ($10,000): For Rosemead Residents
• Lotus Silver Scholarship – Rosemead ($5,000): For Rosemead Residents
• Lotus Silver Scholarship – High School ($5,000): For high school students
• Lotus Silver Scholarship – College ($5,000): For community college transfer students
• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Teacher ($10,000): For high school teachers
• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Instructor ($10,000): For community college instructors
• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Non-Profit ($10,000): For people with one year non-profit work experience

International Applicants:

• Lotus Gold Scholarship – International ($10,000): For international students
• Lotus Gold Scholarship – Fo Guang ($10,000): For students recommended by religious order

UWest anticipates awarding a total number of 150 Lotus Scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. The Scholarship awards $5,000 or $10,000 annually to each student to cover his or her tuition, mandatory fees, room and board and other expenses required for attendance.

Term of Scholarship:

The Scholarship is initially awarded for one academic year. The renewal of The Scholarship is possible but not guaranteed, depending on the student’s performance and funding availability.

The maximum renewable term is three years for four-year undergraduate students, and one year for undergraduate transfer students and students entering UWest’s Master’s degree programs.

Scholarship Disbursement:

Disbursement of The scholarship fund will be made in two installments, the first in Fall Semester and the second in Spring Semester. The fund will be applied directly to the student’s account. The Bursar’s Office will issue a stipend check if a student has a credit balance in his or her student account after the add/drop date of each semester.

Eligibility:

• The Scholarship is available to new students seeking either Bachelor’s degrees or Master’s degrees at UWest. PhD students, ESL students or students seeking certificates only are not eligible for this Scholarship.
• GPA Requirement:
  Lotus Gold Scholarship ($10,000) - Minimum GPA 3.0 or international equivalent. (Minimum GPA 2.75 is required for students recommended by Fo Guang Shan or another recognized religious order).
  Lotus Silver Scholarship ($5,000) - Minimum GPA 2.75 or international equivalent. (Minimum GPA 2.5 is required for students recommended by Fo Guang Shan or another recognized religious order).
• International students must meet the minimum UWest’s admission requirements on English Proficiency.
• To qualify for The Scholarship a student must carry a full-time credit load at UWest. This is defined as registering for, and successfully completing, a minimum of 12 credits each semester (24 credits per academic year) for undergraduates and 9 credits each semester (18 credits per academic year) for graduate students. Students must be pre-registered at the full-time credit level before the Scholarship fund can be made available to them.

Maintaining Scholarship:

To maintain their Scholarship while at UWest, students must fulfill the following requirements:

• Maintain a minimum GPA 3.5 for the Lotus Gold Scholarship ($10,000) or a minimum GPA 3.25 for the Lotus Silver Scholarship ($5,000).
• Maintain full-time enrollment at UWest.
• Not be caught cheating or committing plagiarism.
• Be actively engaged in student life (e.g. Student Association, Student Clubs, etc.) and/or community service.
• Not be disciplined for unacceptable social conduct (e.g. drinking, physical abuse, threats of violence, disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, harassment, sexual harassment, etc.).

During the first two weeks of the Spring Semester, recipients of the Scholarship will be reviewed for eligibility based on the above-mentioned requirements. Recipients may be disqualified for the Scholarship if these requirements are not met.

Other Important Terms and Conditions:

1. This Scholarship is non-transferable.
2. This Scholarship cannot be deferred. If recipients decide to postpone their entrance into a program until the Spring Semester, they will only receive half of the awarded Scholarship (e.g. a recipient of a $5,000 Scholarship will only receive $2,500 for the Spring Semester). If recipients postpone their entrance into a program by more than one semester, they will lose their Scholarship. New students who only enroll in the Fall Semester but not in the following Spring Semester will lose the second half of their Scholarship.
   (Note: Exception to this policy due to visa or medical reasons will be made on a case by case basis. Students applying for this exception must present relevant documentation.)
3. This Scholarship cannot be awarded in conjunction with President’s Fellowship, Dean’s Fellowship, Campus Life Fellowship, Buddha's Light Fellowship, IBEF Scholarship, or UWest Scholarship. Students must return the Scholarship fund if other scholarship money is received.
4. Recipients may become disqualified after The Scholarship is disbursed if their enrollment status changes during the term of the award, in which case students must return the Scholarship fund received.
5. Should The Scholarship be declined or returned, UWest may apply that Scholarship to another student.
6. Each recipient of The Scholarship will be paired with one of the Scholarship donors, and is required to write a “thank you” letter to the donor which outlines how the scholarship is furthering his or her education.

Application Deadlines:

• Priority Deadline: February 15, 2012. 75% of The Scholarships will be awarded to the students who meet this priority deadline. Students will be notified of the scholarship result by May 1, 2012.
• Secondary Deadline: April 1, 2012. The other 25% of The Scholarships will be awarded to the students who miss the priority deadline but manage to submit their applications before the secondary deadline. Students will be notified of the scholarship result by June 1, 2012.
• It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all application materials and supporting documents are submitted on-time.

The application deadline has been extended to June 15, 2012.
Award notification is anticipated to be sent out in July.

Application and Required Documents:

The Lotus Scholarship Application must be submitted together with the Application for Admission to the University by the deadlines indicated above. Lotus Scholarship Applications that do not include the Application for Admission will not be considered. The Lotus Scholarship Application must include the following documents:

1. Completed and signed UWest Financial Aid Application form;
2. Completed and signed UWest International Student Supplemental Application for Financial Aid; (International students only)
3. A copy of Official Transcript (in English) of the highest education;
4. A copy of official TOEFL or IELTS score report. (International students only)

UWest management reserves the right to change part or all of the above terms and conditions at any time