Unlocking Opportunities: Understanding Cobell Scholarship Eligibility

For American Indian and Alaska Native students aspiring to pursue higher education, the Cobell Scholarship Fund represents a significant avenue for financial assistance. Established through the Cobell Settlement, this scholarship aims to address the historical underrepresentation and underfunding of Native Americans in education. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the Cobell Scholarship eligibility requirements, application process, and key considerations for prospective applicants.

The Legacy of Elouise Cobell

The Cobell Scholarship Fund is a legacy scholarship named in honor of Elouise “Yellow Bird Woman” Cobell. Driven by stories of historical injustices, Cobell dedicated her life to seeking accountability for government abuse of Indian property and restoring Indian control of their financial futures. All applicants should read the documents linked in “Our History” and “Elouise Cobell” to understand the scholarship's mission and values.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

The Cobell Scholarship is competitive, awarded on merit first then disbursed based on unmet need, non-renewable, and available to any post-secondary (after high school) individual who meets the following criteria:

Tribal Enrollment: Applicants must be an enrolled member of a US Federally Recognized Tribe. To determine if a tribe is federally recognized, applicants can refer to the drop-down menu in the Applicant Profile in OASIS (IEI’s Online Application Scholarship and Information System). If a tribe is not listed, applicants should contact IEI for clarification.
Enrollment Status: Applicants must be enrolled in full-time study, as determined by the institution they attend. In some instances, applicants can be considered to enroll part-time, depending on the situation. There is a section in OASIS for applicants to provide Additional Comments for an explanation and clarification of attendance other than full-time. These circumstances are reviewed separately, and determinations are made on an individual basis.
Degree Seeking: Applicants must be degree-seeking, making progress toward graduation. They must be pursuing a vocational certificate or diploma, associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, or professional degree, or certificate.
Accredited Institution: Applicants must plan to attend or be attending any nationally, regionally, and industry accredited non-profit, public, or private institution. Eligible institutions are listed on the application in OASIS, where applicants select from a drop-down menu. If an institution is not listed, applicants should contact IEI to determine if the school should be added to the list, or IEI will inform the applicant if the institution is not eligible to receive Cobell Scholarship funds.

GPA Considerations

While there is no minimum GPA requirement for the Cobell Scholarship, IEI considers the following general guidelines to be "competitive" for funding purposes:

Graduate and Professional: 3.5 or higher, either from undergraduate or previous coursework.
Undergraduate and post-baccalaureate: 3.25 or higher, either from high school or previous coursework.
Vocational: 2.0 or higher, either from high school or previous coursework.

Applicants with lower GPAs than those listed should still consider applying but should be prepared to provide any explanations and show strengths in other areas. All completed applications are individually reviewed and scored by external professional educators who look beyond the GPA in a holistic review process.

Application Process

The Cobell Scholarship application process is multi-step and conducted through IEI’s Online Application Scholarship and Information System (OASIS), accessible online via cobellscholar.org.

Create a Profile: Submit the Applicant Profile in OASIS. The Profile can be edited/updated at any time, so applicants should always keep their contact information and institution information up to date.
Complete the Eligibility Form: Once the profile is complete, applicants must complete the Eligibility Form, with which OASIS will match applicants to open scholarship opportunities based on the self-reported responses provided in the Eligibility Form.
View Available Opportunities: Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the blue tab: Scholarships & Applications. Select 'View' in the Scholarships & Applications section on the following page to view all available opportunities.
Complete and Submit Application: If matched, the applicant will be directed to complete and submit the application for the available scholarship opportunities. The opportunity application(s) responses entered in the OASIS portal can be edited until the posted closing date.
Application Review: After the deadline, Cobell Scholarship Reviewers will evaluate and score each complete application for overall academic strength including academic rigor, references responses (if required), and all other information that is available in the application. Reviewers will also assess language, grammar, and writing skills from the applicant’s responses.
Finalist Selection and Verification: Following this review, merit-based offers are made to hundreds of carefully screened and selected applicants who then move to FINALIST status in early May each year. Finalists will accept (or decline) the offer, then submit completed recent transcripts and proof of course enrollment for the next term for which funding will be made available. This can be very early in the process or later depending on individual institutional policies. Staff also work with tribal enrollment offices to verify citizenship, and with financial aid offices to verify university attendance and financial aid eligibility. In some rare instances, the Finalist’s assistance may be needed in reaching out to these offices, but for most, IEI tries to do the heavy-lifting for Finalists.

Key Considerations for Applicants

Authenticity: The responses reviewers love to read and that are most helpful in making a decision are those that tell them something new and unique about the applicant and (most importantly) are in the applicant’s authentic voice. The reviewers should hear the applicant’s voice and perspective as they read all the application materials. The quality of the writing is not as important as the personalized message or story that is shared.
AI Tools: While AI tools can help brainstorm ideas, outline, or edit, the final responses must be the applicant’s own work. IEI expects that an applicant will personally write all responses submitted for review in the application.
Timeliness: Applicants should pay close attention to stated deadlines and ensure all materials are submitted on time.
Accuracy: It is crucial to ensure that all information provided in the application is accurate and consistent across all documents. Discrepancies, such as name mismatches, can lead to ineligibility.
Communication: Applicants should promptly respond to any requests for additional information or clarification from IEI staff. At any point in the verification process should a Finalist choose to attend a different school or their contact information changes, they can simply login to make changes or contact IEI offices for assistance.

Understanding the Cobell Scholarship Vocational Opportunity

The Cobell Scholarship Vocational Opportunity is specifically designed for individuals who have not yet earned a college degree and are enrolled or will be enrolling in a vocational credential, vocational certificate, or occupational license program (not including professional level or post-baccalaureate certifications). Vocational degrees typically are one year or less in duration, certify competency in a specific trade, or provide a license to perform certain occupations. Applicants uncertain about this degree level should check with the institution or review the “What is a Career and Technical Education” Fact Sheet at www.acteonline.org.

Financial Aspects

Cobell Scholarship awards are disbursed according to US Federal Student Aid standards and the policies of the individual colleges and universities, which determine scholars’ need. IEI makes offers based on the number of completed applications and amount of money available each year. Scholarship amounts vary based on degree level. After a review of the Financial Needs Analysis and Verification form (FNAV), provided by the institution, some Finalists may receive less than the original scholarship offer to stay within the annual cost-of-attendance and unmet need. Disbursement of funds is conducted on a first-completed, first-funded basis, each Friday throughout each academic term.

Waitlist

Each year a waitlist is established. Individuals on the waitlist can see their status in OASIS. If an applicant is not offered a scholarship in the first round, a select group of applicants are placed on a waiting list to receive offers as funds become available.

Reasons for Ineligibility

There have been several means by which an applicant has been deemed ineligible:

Parents of applicants should not be completing the application for their child/ren.
Applicants attending for-profit institutions will be deemed ineligible until such a time that the applicant chooses to attend a qualifying institution.
Applicants whose tribal enrollment office returns a negative status will be deemed ineligible until additional information is submitted and reviewed.
Applicants whose name does not match that of submitted documents, or the name listed at the institution of choice may be deemed ineligible.

Additional Resources

The Cobell Scholarship Team is available to address any questions or concerns regarding the scholarship process or other related inquiries. The most updated information is always available on the Cobell Scholar homepage and Online Application Scholarship Information System (OASIS), or by contacting IEI.

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