GMiS Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
GMiS scholarships are one-year scholarships. Students must apply each year and compete against our annual candidate pool.
The number of scholarships that are awarded each year depends on the amount of scholarship support that is provided to Great Minds in STEM™.
No. Graduate students and undergraduate students compete within their own grouping.
Yes. Based on the requirements of the sponsors, Great Minds in STEM™ determines what scholarships you are eligible to compete. Your GPA, major, university, classification, citizenship status, essay, courses, leadership, activities, resume, and letters of recommendation will be among the determining factors.
Yes. Great Minds in STEM™ does not accept paper applications for its GMiS Scholarship Program. All supporting documents, including official transcripts, must be submitted electronically. Applicants must first create a username and password to gain access to the scholarship portal. Applicants will be able to log back in and continue to review, edit, delete and or resubmit a new application through 11:59 pm PST on April 30.
Eligibility
Applicants must be of Hispanic descent and/or must significantly participate in and promote organizations and activities in the Hispanic community.
The GMiS Scholars Program accepts applicants who are U.S. citizens, U.S. residents, F1 Visa, or DACA status.
Individuals who are studying on an exchange visa – i.e. J1 Visa – are not eligible to apply.
Yes. The minimum overall GPA is 3.00. However, in rare extenuating circumstances, students with a GPA below a 3.0 may be considered.
All science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields of study AND health/medical fields of study qualify for the GMiS Scholarship Program.
No. An MBA, executive MBA, law degree, education/teaching certificate of any sorts is not considered a STEM degree for the purposes of this scholarship program.
Yes, students pursuing a health profession field of study are encouraged to apply..
Yes. Students pursuing an accredited program of study in science, technology, engineering or math at a 2-year community college, in the U.S., leading to an associate’s degree or a transfer program, are eligible to apply and will be considered for a scholarship.
Yes, you must be enrolled as a full-time student (i.e. 12 hours undergraduate; 9 hours graduate), in an accredited academic program, at a community college or 4-year university, the following fall semester/quarter to receive a scholarship. Great Minds in STEM requires enrollment verification prior to receiving your scholarship.
No. Students must be enrolled in a degree-granting 2-year or 4-year institution. Students enrolled in certification programs or receiving technical or vocation training are ineligible for a GMiS Scholarship.
No. Students must be enrolled in an accredited degree-granting STEM or health program of study at a 2-year or 4-year institution..
No. The nature of the institution, primarily to provide an online, distance education, does not qualify as an accredited institution for a science, technology, engineering or math degree.
Yes. You must be currently enrolled full-time in an accredited academic program, in the United States or its territories, during the application period.
Yes. Your home institution, in the United States or its territories, must consider you to be enrolled full-time in an accredited academic program, during the application period.
Yes. Undeclared college students looking to switch into a STEM field of study are eligible to apply. However, if selected, scholarship recipients must be pursuing a STEM field of study and must submit proof of enrollment the following fall semester.
Graduating high school seniors qualify for the scholarship if they will be enrolled as a full-time student, in a science, technology, engineering or math field, at an accredited college/university, in the U.S. or its territories, in the fall semester immediately following their graduation. Enrollment verification in a STEM field of study is required the proceeding fall semester.
Yes. If you are returning to college after an absence, you will be required to submit the official transcript of the educational institution you last attended. Enrollment verification in a STEM field of study is required the proceeding fall semester.
Yes. However, transcripts must be translated into English into a 4.0 scale. Both the international transcript and the translated transcript must be submitted. GMiS does not accept transcripts that are not in English. The GPA must appear on the transcript. Enrollment verification in a STEM field of study is required the proceeding fall semester.
Yes. So long as your parents are on active duty and you are completing your studies in an approved course of study, you are eligible to apply for this scholarship. Transcripts must be translated into English on a 4.0 scale.
Yes, if you are considered a graduating high school senior and the high school curriculum you are completing is an accredited curriculum. Transcripts must be submitted on a 4.0 scale.
No. You must be enrolled full-time (12 hrs undergraduate; 9 hrs graduate) in an accredited academic program, in the United States or its territories, both at the time of application and during the term of the scholarship, if awarded.
Doctoral candidates, i.e. those students who have passed all their comprehensive examinations, must be making satisfactory progress toward their dissertation and be enrolled at least half-time in their academic program.
Yes.
Requirements
You must submit the following seven documents, online, for your application to be considered complete:
- HENAAC Scholarship Application
- Resume: one-page limit
- Personal Statement. Refer to the application page for the current question.
- Official Transcripts: Transcripts must include the seal of your university/college or high school or signature of the Registrar. The cumulative GPA, weighted or unweighted must appear on the transcript. If you received a sealed envelope with your transcript, you may open it and scan the document to either upload as part of your application or email directly to scholars@greatmindsinstem.org.
- One faculty letter of recommendation (From an advisor, dean, principal, faculty or instructor – i.e. someone who can speak on behalf of your academics)
- One peer letter of recommendation (From a friend, classmate, lab partner, teammate, member of a student organization). The letter may not be from a mentor, coach, or supervisor. It must be from a peer.
- Photo: The photo will not be used in the scholarship selection, but rather used for publications of scholarship recipients, in print and online
- The photo must be professional in style and content.
- The photo must be of high quality – i.e. 300 dpi. In other words, no cell phone photos. The photo must be taken with a digital camera or scanned at a high resolution. An indicator of a high-quality photo is a photo over 1 MB.
- The photo should be a head-shot. There is no need for a full-body photo.
- The photo should not be a party-shot (i.e. taken at a party), a scantily-clad photo, a “selfie,” a glamour shot, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media photo
- The photo should not be Black and White or Sepia. Photos must be in full color.
Please refer to the application page for the current question.
No. The 700-850 word count is an approximation. The essay should be succinctly written to address the essay questions. The essay is like an interview and should present the applicant to the scholarship reviewer as a highly qualified applicant
Yes. Unless you are submitting a curriculum vitae, resumes must be limited to one page.
No. There is no specific resume format. However, it is strongly suggested that the resume be formatted in a manner which will allow them to be scanned and entered into a database by sponsors.
The Overall or Cumulative GPA, on a 4.0 scale, must appear on the official transcript. Weighted scores or numerical scores must be converted to a 4.0 scale. No exceptions. Transcripts will not be accepted if there is no GPA indicated.
No. The GPA must be re-calculated to at least a traditional U.S. 4.0 grading scale. If your institution does not provide this service, you may seek an unofficial GPA converter or guide to provide the re-calculation. However, the re-calculated GPA must be verified and validated by your institution by a letter from your advisor/counselor that is submitted with the re-calculated transcript.
Your GPA must appear on your official transcript. If it is not automatically included, you must include a signed letter from either the guidance counseling office or registrar’s office indicating your Overall GPA on a 4.0 scale. The letter must also include the official seal/stamp of the institution.
GMiS is aware of the handful of institutions that do not provide a grading scale. You must include a signed letter from the registrar’s office indicating your Overall GPA on a 4.0 scale. The letter must also include the official seal/stamp of the institution.
You must include a signed letter from either the guidance counseling office or registrar’s office indicating your Unweighted Overall GPA on a 4.0 scale. The letter must also include the official seal/stamp of the institution.
You must submit your official high school transcript.
A faculty is a teacher, professor, dean, principal, guidance counselor, or academic advisor. A faculty is someone, who can write about your academic abilities.
A peer is someone, who is within your same age group – a friend, neighbor, classmate, lab partner, teammate, or member of a student organization/youth group. Your peer should be someone, who can write about your leadership and character.
The GMiS Scholarship requires a peer letter of recommendation because in the future, your peers will become those individuals you will turn to for a job recommendation, and will come to know your work ethic and personality.
If your mentor, coach, pastor or community member is of your same approximate age group, the letter provided by that individual will be considered a peer letter of recommendation. Otherwise, you need to find a peer to write your peer letter of recommendation.
No. Only two letters – one from a faculty and one from a peer – may be submitted. Any additional letters will be discarded.
No. However, the letters should reflect the extent to which the writer knows the applicant and can address specific qualities – academic, interpersonal, professional – that presents the applicant as a future STEM professional. Applicants are encouraged to persuade their recommenders from submitting standard form letters. Applicant’s name and university should be listed in the upper left hand corner of each page.
Yes. However, the photo will not be used in the determination of the scholarship selection
The self-photo is required to assist in the post-selection marketing of the GMiS Scholars via social, print and electronic media.
- The photo must be professional in style and content.
- The photo must be of high quality – i.e. 300 dpi. The photo must be taken with a digital camera or scanned at a high resolution. An indicator of a high-quality photo is a photo over 1 MB.
- The photo should be a head-shot. There is no need for a full-body photo.
- The photo should not be a party-shot (i.e. taken at a party), a scantily-clad photo, a “selfie,” a glamour shot, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media photo.
- The photo should not be Black and White or Sepia. Photos must be in full color
Submission Process
The online application closes at 11:59 PM PST, on April 30. All materials must be submitted by this deadline.
You must apply online through the GMiS Scholars Portal. Additional documents: essay, letters of recommendation, resume and official transcripts must be uploaded online. Paper copies of application materials are not accepted.
No. Applicants will be required to establish a login ID and password, which will enable them to return and complete their application and upload their documents at a later time. However, it is STRONGLY recommended that you have all your documents ready to upload before you begin the application process.
Yes. If you closed your browser before submitting your application, the content is saved. You will need to login to the portal and continue your application.
Yes. If your school/university provides you a sealed envelope with your transcript, for our purposes, you may open the transcript, scan and upload with your application. Scanned transcripts must be legible and uploaded as a PDF not as a photo.
So long as the uploaded transcript contains the university or high school seal or registrar office signature, the transcript is considered official. Transcripts that contain the words “Unofficial” or documents that are a menu of course listings, or in any way altered, are unacceptable.
You must scan all the transcripts into one document and then upload that single document. Scanned transcripts must be legible and uploaded as a PDF not as a photo.
If the institution will not release the transcripts directly to you, they may email directly or use a clearinghouse to email the transcript to scholars@greatmindsinstem.org
Yes. Please notify the institution to send the e-transcripts to Dr. Gary Cruz at scholars@greatmindsinstem.org.
Yes. Please notify the recommender to send the letter to Dr. Gary Cruz at scholars@greatmindsinstem.org. Letters must be sent as a pdf and must be signed by the recommender.
Notifications
Yes. Upon submission of your COMPLETE scholarship application you will automatically receive a response generated by the GMiS Scholars Portal indicating that your application is received. Remember, that if you uploaded place holder documents, you must upload with the correct documents before submitting.
Yes. Great Minds in STEM™ will also send a general press release to all scholarship applicants by mid-September.
Yes. Applicants who are not selected as a GMis Scholar will not be notified. The list of scholarship recipients will be posted on the GMiS website no earlier than mid-September.
Support to GMiS Conference
All GMiS scholarship recipients must attend the GMiS Conference. If there is an extenuating circumstance that prevents scholars from attending the conference, those instances will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
No. As a GMiS Scholar, your conference registration fee is complimentary. Registration includes lodging and meals. Each student will have their own room.
No. As a GMiS Scholar, your travel expenses to the GMiS Conference will be arranged by Great Minds in STEM™.
If there is a concern, you may contact scholars@greatmindsinstem.org or by phone at (323) 262-0997.
Selection Process
The Scholarship Selection Committee is comprised of corporate, government and academic representatives. Selections are also made by the individual representatives on behalf of the sponsoring companies.