GAMA Merit Scholarship

Our GOAL is to provide an Academic/Merit based Scholarship grant to eligible student(s) of Greater Austin Malayalee community towards their college expenses.
To be eligible to apply – The parent/applicant should be an active GAMA member as on November 1, 2022
Eligible candidate(s) will be identified by an external group of Evaluators.

You must submit your materials through the GAMA’s on-line application system. This page offers guidance in completing your application.  Click on the ‘Register’ button below to begin. The completed application should be submitted by 30th Oct, 2022.

Who Can Apply

  • High School Seniors of the graduating class and starting college in the next school year
  • Current College students continuing their current course next school year
  • Current College students applying for a new course next school
  • College refers to graduate/under-graduate, programs at a recognized university or community college or trade-school
  • Applicants must be registered for a full-time

 

 

 

 

 

Scholarship Amount And Awardees

  • The scholarship grant amount per individual candidate can range from $1000 to $2500 in a calendar year
  • In a Given Year the number of recipients shall be decided by that year’s GAMA board
  • An applicant can be awarded the GAMA scholarship at most 1 time

selection

Some Salient Features

  • All applications will be first screened for eligibility
  • Only applications that meet the eligibility criteria will be reviewed by the independent Selection Panel.
  • The panel will short list a set of applications and then rank them according to the provided
  • Candidates may be dis-qualified by the review panel for not meeting a minimum standard or criteria
  • The maximum number of applicants that will be shortlisted will be subject to the max allowable awardees which is decided by the GAMA board
  • A candidate must apply every year to be considered for the scholarship program in that year.
  • Selection criteria will be different for freshman year applicants vs students continuing their college
  • Selection criteria
    • Must be a member of a family that has an active GAMA membership as on November 1, 2022
    • Parents must have roots and/or hail from Kerala. Applicants should provide proof, if requested by
    • Must reside within Greater Austin Metropolitan Area. Valid proof of address must be
    • Selection will be on merit
    • GYG volunteer directors have an added advantage (only applicable for freshman)
    • Parents should not be in GAMA 2022 Board of Directors

Scholarship Disbursement

  • The scholarship grant award will be disbursed to the selected awardees by September 15th of the subsequent year
  • This shall be done provided the awardee submits proof of enroll/admission into the eligible program listed earlier
  • The onus is on the awardee to provide the requisite proof prior to the disbursement date
  • Non-submission of the requisite documents by the cut-off date shall result in forfeiture of the grant

selection

Application Process And Supporting Documents

  • Applicants should submit a filled and signed application form available on GAMA website.
  • Applicants should upload the below supporting documents along with the application form to a secure file location, details will be sent to the applicant.
    • Transcripts
    • Recommendation Letters – should be sent directly to [email protected] by the person who is recommending, and the letter should contain the application reference code that you received in email while applying for the GAMA
    • Proof of extracurricular and volunteer activity (max 5)
    • Statement of Purpose
    • Recognitions in Sports and Games
    • Top 5 Recognitions /Certificates/Awards
    • 3 min Video Presentation on why the candidate feels he/she feels they are deserving of GAMA scholarship