Port Macquarie Excellence Scholarship

Am I Eligible?

To apply, you must:

1. have a ATAR of 80 (inclusive of the Regional Bonus) or above, or the equivalent
   OR
   demonstrate high level achievement by completing a TAFE Certificate IV, Diploma or Advanced Diploma with Distinction
   OR
   have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5 and above from CSU or other University studies
   
2. provide a summary statement of evidence of leadership and community involvement
3. be enrolled in your first undergraduate course on campus at CSU in Port Macquarie
4. be a Commonwealth Supported student (HECS-HELP)
5. be enrolled full time
   - if you are studying part-time (under 24 points or less per session) you are eligible if you have extenuating circumstances preventing fulltime enrolment. Refer to the guidelines for more information.
   - enrolment load for integrated students combines TAFE and CSU study load
   
6. be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or holder of a humanitarian visa
7. not be in receipt of any other scholarships to the value of $7500 or more per annum

Ongoing Eligibility

• To retain your scholarship for the next and subsequent session's payment you must maintain a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 5.0 and above
• maintain enrolment each session as per point 5 above

Guidelines

Download the 2013 Port Macquarie Excellence Scholarship Guidelines [PDF]

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Community Involvement?

This can be involvement in your local or wider Community or your School. Some examples include charities, scouts, volunteering with different organisations, leading or organizing projects and activities at school, team/school captains, team involvement, school committee etc.

Leadership skills can be demonstrated with involvement in the above

What type of Information do I need to provide to demonstrate my leadership skills and community involvement?

• Letters or references from your Community and/or School supporting your involvement, plus leadership skills involved in these activities
• Certificates, letters of participation
• A resume
• A statement from you outlining and demonstrating your Community involvement and Leadership Skills

What if I didn't receive a confirmation when I submitted by application?

It might take up to 24 hours for your email receipt to come through.

• Have you checked your spam or junk mail folder?
• Did you provide the correct email address?

If you still haven't received the receipt after 24 hours, send an email to ask@csu.edu.au, quoting the submission number (if you got one), your name and DOB.

I applied last year and was unsuccessful, can I apply again?

Yes, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria you should apply again.

What if I am studying part time?

• To be eligible for the scholarship you need to be enrolled fulltime each, which is at least three quarters (or 75%) of an equivalent full-time study load (EFTSL). This equates to three (8 point) subjects or more or 24 subject points or more per semester.
• Students who are enrolled to undertake less than this amount of study are not eligible unless there are exceptional circumstances that prevent the student from studying full-time.
• CSU will take into account factors such as disability, long term illness, indigenous community responsibilities and significant carer responsibilities in determining your inability to study full-time.
• if you are applying for the scholarship but only studying part-time, you will need to provide a statement and supporting documentation demonstrating the special circumstances.

How and when do I know if I was successful or unsuccessful?

You will receive an outcome notice by email by 22 Feb 2013

How do I receive and accept my offer?

The CSU Scholarship Office, Student Services will email your offer by 22 Feb 2013. Your Offer Letter will outline what you have to do.

If I am successful, how and when do I get paid?

• If you are successful payments will occur via electronic funds transfer (EFT) payable at half the annual scholarship value in each of the selected sessions.
• Payments are made within 3-4 weeks from the sessions Census Date.
• Bank details can be entered or updated online

Can I suspend my scholarship if I am not going to study for a session and how many times can I suspend my Scholarship?

• As an enrolled CSU student, if you take an approved Leave of Absence from your course, you can suspend your scholarship for a maximum of 2 sessions and it is automatically re-activated next session by the Scholarship Office.
• If you defer your CSU course offer, you will need to reapply for the Scholarship again for the following year.

What is an ATAR?

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a rank that allows the comparison of students who have completed different combinations of HSC courses.  It is calculated solely for use by institutions to rank and select school leavers for admission to tertiary courses and by CSU to determine eligibility for some of our merit scholarships.

For applicants who do not have an ATAR, other selection criteria may be used together with the ATAR for the Scholarship.

• More information on ATAR's

How to Apply

You need copies* of the following documents before you begin the application process

• Supporting documents to demonstrate your community involvement and leadership skills
• If applying on basis of no ATAR, please provide:
• • a copy of your TAFE Transcripts demonstrating graduation at Distinction level or above
    and/or
  • transcript of your other University studies demonstrating a Grade Point Average of 5.0 or above

Please note: you do not need to provide a copy of your ATAR letter