Creating an Account & Completing Your CNYCF Scholarship Application

Your Account

To access the CNYCF Scholarship Portal, simply visit www.cnycf.org and click on Scholarship Login at the top of our homepage. The site can be accessed from any web browser or device (including smartphones and tablets).

Initial Login Process & Setting Up Your Account

If you are a new applicant and have never logged on before, choose Create New Account on the CNYCF Scholarship Portal logon page.

On the Create New Account page, enter your personal contact information under the User Information section.

  • The Email/Username field is case-sensitive. For your email, please use all lowercase.
  • Do NOT use a school email address, as this may be discontinued at the end of your studies. Please use a personal email that belongs to you, the applicant, and that you check frequently. You will use this email to logon to your account and this is how we will communicate with you about your award.

Note: Anytime you see an * after a question it means that question is required. You will not be able to submit your registration or application until you have answered all required questions.

Once complete, choose Next at the bottom of the page and you will be taken to the Password page.

  • Your password must be at least 10 characters long and include at least one upper case, lower case, number, and special character.
  • Enter the password a second time to confirm and choose Create Account. After you click this button, the system will automatically send you an email to confirm your account.

On the Email Confirmation page, you have three choices – I have received the email, Continue without checking, and I have not received the email. Please choose Continue Without Checking and then click Continue on the right side of the screen to be taken to the Apply page.

On the Apply page, you will see the CNYCF’s universal application, including the deadline for submission.

Returning Users

On the CNYCF Scholarship Portal login page, enter the email address and password you used to create your account and choose Log On.

If you forget your password, you can reset it by choosing Forgot your Password? on the portal login page. A link will be sent to the email associated with your account with directions on how to reset your password. To protect your security, CNYCF staff do not have access to your account password.

Scholarship Application

The CNYCF Universal Application is used to determine your eligibility for all scholarships administered by CNYCF. Please note the deadline for submitting your application – the deadline is firm and cannot be extended!

To begin Part 1 of your application, click the Apply box next to CNY Community Foundation Scholarships. If you click Preview, you can see the full application in a pdf.

Part 1 – Application Questions

Based on how you answer these questions, you will be matched to the scholarships you meet the criteria for. If a question seems unusual, it is checking to see if you qualify for a specific scholarship.

You may be able to answer all the application questions at once, but if you need to pause and come back to the application you can choose Save Application, then log back in later to complete the questions.

Application Tips

  • Answer each question to the best of your ability, based on your situation/knowledge at the time of filling out the application.
  • See our Scholarship Resources & FAQs page for help and for other information that might be useful to you as you apply.
  • You can find more instructions on uploading documents and recommendations below in the sections of this document titled Uploading Documents and Third-Party Recommendations.
  • Don’t forget to save your work every 15 minutes so you don’t lose your answers. If you step away from your application for more than 90 minutes, you’ll be automatically logged out.
  • A red box will open at the bottom of the text box if your answer is too long. Edit your response until it fits the character limit because the scholarship selection committee will not be able to read any words that go beyond the limit.

Submitting your Application & Next Steps

When all your answers are complete and within the character limit, choose the Submit Application box. If you forgot to answer one of the required questions (those with an *), the system will direct you to the ones you missed so that you can complete them. You will be able to see your answers but not change them once you choose the Submit Application box.

After you submit Part 1, you won’t be able to make changes unless you reach out to us. Please keep going, your application might not be complete at this point and you may have more items to submit.

Confirmation Page

Once you click Submit Application, you are finished with Part 1 of the application process. Next, you will see the Confirmation page. There are three different versions of this page and what you see is based on how your application matched with the criteria of our scholarships.

If you qualified for a scholarship that requires supplemental questions, those awards will be listed under the We will ask for supplemental information for the following heading.

If a scholarship appears in your eligible list, but not in your supplemental list, that just means that you have officially applied for that scholarship and no additional information is needed.

For the scholarships you are eligible for that have supplemental questions, choose the blue Continue box to submit that information.

Your application has not been officially submitted until both Part 1 and Part 2 with the supplemental questions are completed.

If your Confirmation page only lists scholarships under the Based on your answers, you are eligible for the following heading, you have officially applied for the scholarship(s) listed. Your application is complete and you can click Continue.

A message will appear if you are not eligible for any scholarships. If this happens and you believe that you do qualify for a scholarship or you were applying for a specific award, contact us! We can check your application and possibly rerun your eligibility to make sure you are matching everything you qualify for. Click Continue to view your application, then give us a call or email us.

Part 2 – Supplemental Questions

Before you begin Part 2, we encourage you to go to the scholarships descriptions page on our website to read more about each scholarship to help you understand the intent of why it was created. Once you have taken the time to review the scholarships that you are eligible for, you can decide if you want to apply for one or multiple scholarships on your supplemental list.

The supplemental questions in Part 2 are different for each scholarship opportunity. These questions might ask you to write an essay, request a recommendation, or give more information about yourself. You will be able to see which scholarship the questions are for at the top of the screen. Your contact information is also visible.

Go through the additional questions for each scholarship opportunity and answer to the best of your ability. You can save along the way and come back at any point. See below for detailed directions on submitting Third-Party Recommendations and Uploading Documents.

Note: You don’t have to apply for every scholarship you qualify for. If you do not want to apply for a scholarship that has supplemental questions, you can click on Abandon Request.

Once you have completed the supplemental questions for each of your opportunities, choose the Submit Application button. The system will then take you back to your original application. Click the Home icon at the top of the screen  to go to your dashboard.

Third-Party Recommendations

It is your responsibility to follow-up with your recommenders and make sure that their requests are submitted by the deadline.

If the scholarship(s) that you are applying for requires someone to send a Letter of Recommendation or fill out a Recommendation Form on your behalf, you must send them a request through the application.

Your recommender should be someone that knows you well, but is NOT a family member. You will need the email address for this person in order to send an electronic request. Here are the steps to send a request:

1) Some scholarships require a general recommendation letter, others require one that is specific to the scholarship, and a few require a recommendation form to be filled out. Pay close attention to what type of person you need for your recommendation. You might see a recommendation carry across to another opportunity. In this case, you do not need to fill that out again. Feel free to move to the next question.

2) Enter their email into the field. (Make sure it is spelled correctly!) If you want to use the example email text given in the instructions of the question, copy that now. Then choose Compose Email.

3) Next, an email window will appear.

  • In the Subject field, enter language that is clear to your request. Example: Scholarship Recommendation Request for CNYCF
  • In the Body of the email, paste the example text or write an email to your recommender asking them for a recommendation. Your recommender will not see your email address, so be sure to include your full name and the name of the scholarship in the email.

4) Choose Send. On your application, it will show that the email was sent and who you sent it to.

5) Your contact will receive your message and an email from CNYCF asking them to complete the recommendation. The CNYCF email will include a link to an online form where they can submit their information.

  • If your recommendation has not been submitted within a week after your initial request, the system will automatically send a reminder email to your contact.

6) Once submitted, your recommendation will be added directly to your application, but you will not be able to read it. Follow up with your recommender to make sure that they received the automated email request. If your recommender did not receive the request, ask them to look for it in their spam folder.

Uploading Documents

  • Upload items that the scholarship committee will not need a password to view.
  • You can only upload one document per question, so combine documents with multiple pages into one file. If you upload the pages individually, each page you upload will replace the one before it.
  • Only upload documents with the following file types: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .jpg, .png, .xls.

To upload a document that is already in an electronic format on your computer or thumb drive:

  1. Check to be sure that anyone can open the document without a password.
  2. Choose the Upload a File
  3. Browse your computer and click on the document.
  4. Create a smaller version of your document if the one you upload exceeds the megabyte (MiB) limit

To upload a paper copy of a document:

  1. Scan the document to create an electronic file or, if necessary, take a picture of it with your phone.
  2. Save the document on your computer. Do not password protect the document.
  3. Choose the Upload a File
  4. Browse your computer and click on the document.
  5. Create a smaller version of your document if the one you upload exceeds the megabyte (MiB) limit

Navigating the Applicant Dashboard

Whenever you return to the Scholarship portal and log in, you will be automatically directed to your Applicant Dashboard. Any time you want to return here, choose the Home icon at the top of the screen.

From your dashboard, you can:

  • Edit an application that has not yet been submitted
  • View an application that has already been submitted
  • Check to see if your recommendation requests have been submitted (third-party)
  • See deadline dates for the application and/or any required follow-up forms

There are three columns on your Dashboard with request cards:

  • Action Needed: Contains your draft requests and any approved requests that still need action.
  • No Action: Contains requests that do not need further action from you; request is being processed.
  • Historical: Contains any of your other requests that are no longer active.

The color of the request cards also indicates the request status.

  • Yellow: The request needs action taken on it.
  • White: The request does not need any action taken on it.
  • Green: The request has been approved and does not need any further action.
  • Grey: The request has been abandoned or denied.

If you save your application and return to it later, you can find what you still need to complete under the Assigned to You tab on the left of your dashboard. This tab is open by default and displays unfinished applications or supplemental questions and any forms that have been assigned too you.

Choose Start in the Assigned To You panel on any open application to complete the questions needed.

Your application will not be complete until there are no items under the Action Needed section of your dashboard. Please note that late applications will not be accepted.

If you have sent a recommendation request for an opportunity, you will be able to view its status on your dashboard.

In the example below, the third-party icon is red. This is an indication that not all the recommendations have been submitted for this opportunity (hover over the icon to see the completion status – 1/4 means that only one out of the four requests have been submitted). Click on the word Application to see who you sent a recommendation to, when the request was sent, and who still needs to submit.

In the Application, each request will have a status under the Compose Email field. The example request below is blue, which means it has not yet been received. The system automatically sends out a reminder email to your contact if they have not submitted their recommendation one week after the initial request is sent.

When a recommendation response has been submitted, the blue box will turn green (below), and when all the recommendations are in for an opportunity, the red icon on your dashboard will disappear.

Award information will not be published to the portal until the Award Notification date. On this date, your account dashboard will show if your scholarship requests have been accepted or denied.

Accepted Request

You will know if have been chosen for a scholarship if a ribbon icon appears next to a request. The request card will also be yellow and located under the Action Needed column.

Denied Request

If you are not chosen for a scholarship, the request card will be gray, have a status of Denied, and will be under the Historical column.

If you get selected for an award, you will need to fill out an Award Acceptance Form. Note: if you are selected to receive multiple awards, you only need to fill out the acceptance form once (the system will make sure of this).

The Award Acceptance Form will appear on the yellow request card of the opportunity you have been awarded. The form’s Due date will also be listed. A red alarm clock icon will appear next to forms that have a due date within the next two weeks.

To access and fill out the form, click on the words Award Acceptance Form on the request card. After you fill out and submit the form, you will receive a confirmation email from the system that it was received.

For an approved request, click the name of the scholarship on the request card to see the Award Details tab.

The Award Details tab displays more information about your scholarship including the total amount of your award, how many installments you will receive (if your award is spread over 4 years), when the payment will be made, and if a payment was made (when we send out your award check, the system will update with that information).

 

Multi-Year Scholarship Awardees: How to Renew Your Scholarship

For multi-year scholarships, you must provide renewal documents after the completion of your first academic year and each additional year after to ensure that your scholarship continues to be paid. We will send you follow-up emails when this documentation is required and you will be able to upload them to your CNYCF scholarship account. Documentation that is emailed directly to us will not be accepted.

Both documents MUST have your full name and school name located on them:

  • Transcript from the prior Spring semester
  • Proof of enrollment (fall semester class schedule or enrollment verification form)

To submit your renewal documents, logon to your account on the CNYCF Scholarship Portal by visiting www.cnycf.org and clicking on Scholarship Login at the top of our homepage.

On your dashboard, the Annual Scholarship Follow-Up Form will appear on the request card of the opportunity you were awarded. The form’s due date will also be listed.

To access and fill out the form, click on the words Annual Scholarship Follow-Up Form on the request card and you will be taken to the form to fill out. After you fill out and submit the form, you will receive a confirmation email from the system that it was received.

Questions? Feel free to contact us for help: scholarship@cnycf.org

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