I do have a different question, have any current 2022 HSF Scholars ever received emails regarding other scholarship opportunities? My daughter received a few on the same day in the middle of last month and they are due next week. The wording in the emails were identical. The websites look pretty identical to the HSF website, but we cant find any information anywhere about these scholarships. The emails all say something like, "we have identified you as a competitive student who may be eligible for X scholarship’. Two are for up to $5000, one for $1500. It all seems pretty identical to HSF, but scammers are getting pretty good at phising and scamming these days too. I told her to send a note to HSF through the portal to see if they know anything about the scholarships. I should have noted, they are for Hispanic students, one for Hispanic in stem, one for Hispanic female. But it would be nice if the email said “because of your status as an HSF Scholar you have been identified…” or something like that. Or better yet, if they all used the same HSF portal to apply.
For other scholarships: LULAC (LNSF) notifications should be on (or by?) 6/15. GMiS (HENNAC) isn’t until mid-September I think.
has anyone received an email for 2023 yet?
My son just received his today!
- Here is the beginning of the letter.
Congratulations!
We are pleased to announce that you have been designated as a 2023 HSF Scholar from among a highly competitive pool of applicants.
Being designated as an HSF Scholar is a significant accomplishment and distinction. This year, you are one of the 10,000 students selected to be an HSF Scholar from a pool of 124,000+ applicants. This accomplishment is an acknowledgment of your hard work and dedication. Congratulations!
- Then they listed the next steps as:
STEP ONE: Submit Financial Aid Award Letter (also known as a “College Financing Plan” or “Shopping Sheet”)
Log into your myHSF account and submit the following, no later than Friday, July 21, 2023, 5:00 PM PT:
- A legible copy of your current Financial Aid Award Letter (2023-2024 FAAL)
- “Legible” means that your FAAL must be submitted in one of the following formats:
- PDF file, or
- Clear screenshot(s) that include(s) all pertinent data (First and Last Name, Name of Institution, Academic Year, Cost of Attendance, Gift Aid, and Unmet Needs/Net Costs) - Click here for information on submitting your FAAL
Please note that the submission form will become available on your myHSF dashboard 24-48 hours after receiving this notification.
- Also states:
Also, you are a member of a nationwide network of HSF Scholars and Alumni that you will be able to access today and in the future. Finally, should funds be available, you are eligible to receive a scholarship based on your demonstrated financial need.
My daughter received her confirmation today as well. Her notice is the same as above, which is different from the one she received last year which stated:
“Finally, you have been selected to receive a scholarship award that will range from $500 to $5,000, based on your financial need.”
So, I guess she is a scholar again this year, but unlike last year, she is not guaranteed at least $500. 
I was waitlisted for the designation as an HSF Scholar. Congratulations!
Complete the steps they give you. Last year my daughter was waitlisted and she did end up receiving the designation. So once she got it she decided not to apply again the next year because once you have the designation you keep it and any opportunities. Only benefit to reapplying each year after that is for money but we have a very high EFC so she didn’t bother with the application process this year and sounds like it’s a good thing she didn’t because she probably wouldn’t have received any again. She didn’t want to wear out her recommenders. It’s easier to get recommendations from high school teachers than college profs. So she focused on getting the recommendation letters needed for the department scholarships that she has a better chance of getting since they aren’t need based.
Could someone tell me what email address the message comes from? My son checked yesterday and said he has nothing from them. But then when he got into his dashboard on the website, there was a message asking him to upload his financial letter. This leads me to think that he must have received something from HSF. I’ll admit that he’s terrible with e-mail and often finds things later after some badgering on my part.
It should show up as Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Email address: scholarshipadmin@hsf.net
An easy way to find it is to search for HSF - it should search main folder and if your email separates “focused” versus “other” email and junk mail as well. But if it doesn’t you can search again in Junk mail.
@martinezcs yeah, I think the EFC may be why they sent my daughter other scholarship opportunities to apply for that are also run by HSF. We didn’t know until she got to the last step before hitting submit, they basically say you agree to only receive one scholarship per academic year from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. I guess we’ll see how this year plays out.
That’s good to know that the HSF designation does not expire (well, is there a certain time frame or is it actually like a lifetime membership?) because my son probably won’t apply again during college if the chance of scholarship is low. I guess we will see if he ends up getting any $ this year. When would he be told if he gets $ and, if so, the amount? I know they don’t disperse it until December, but wasn’t sure if they are notified ahead of that.
If he does get money and feels it is beneficial to apply again, can they also apply for funds during grad school or working towards a PhD or just during undergrad? Thanks for any insight.
Congrats to those who were selected and to those on the waitlist-definitely follow-up on what is asked for and hopefully the status will change to reflect being taken off the waitlist.
My daughter was as well. Did you also get extra paperwork to fill out? D23 doesn’t feel think she will pursue it.
It is lifetime.
“It should show up as Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Email address:
scholarshipadmin@hsf.net
An easy way to find it is to search for HSF - it should search main folder and if your email separates “focused” versus “other” email and junk mail as well. But if it doesn’t you can search again in Junk mail.”
Thank you for replying and sending the info. I’ve asked my son to look again and he insists he has nothing from them. I’m wondering if they’re simply asking us to upload his financial docs to determine if he should be awarded anything. But why wouldn’t he at least be honored as an HSF scholar even if he doesn’t receive a financial award (if our income is too high). I guess that’s my theory.
So he has no letter and we’re getting tired of the scholarship process. He has applied to so many and received none. In the end, his college surprised us by being very generous after our appeal so we should be happy with that.
Does he have multiple email accounts? He has to have it somewhere. If they are asking for documents, it is either because he has been named a scholar or because he has been put on the waiting list for HSF Scholar. Either way he should have received an email. You may also try searching for Vargas. The email will be signed by Fidel Vargas - sometimes email comes from him, sometimes from HSF. It is possible to be awarded HSF Scholar and end up with no money if you are waitlisted. I am a little surprised by the wording this year, because last year it was very clear that it is a merit award, and amound is based on financial need. So when my daughter received her notice, it said “Finally, you have been selected to receive a scholarship award that will range from $500 to $5,000, based on your financial need.” This year it says "If there is money you may receive an award. I don’t know if that is because perhaps they save most of the money for incoming Freshmen, or if because they know she applied for a couple other scholarships they sponsored or something else altogether.
But, yes, the designation and other benefits are for life.
Oh, I did want to touch on something i think @martinezcs said the other day - my daughter has found it much easier to get recommendations from her college professors than high school teachers and the recommendations are so much better. (A couple have given her copies) But - completely agree on one aspect, she also doesn’t want to over ask or wear any of them out. Save it for the bigger items.
She should consider pursuing it because even if you don’t get money, there are a lot of other opportunities for HSF Scholars to participate in and other opportunities that they receive, and they should keep receiving those even if they do not apply again the following year. (At least in theory). Other opportunities include things like the National Leadership Conference in the summer after freshman or sophomore year. Also, various summits like STEM, Business and Healthcare. There is also the HSF Career Center emails and HSF Insider Access which sends info about various seminar, webinar, training and internship opportunities. So after the initial effort, there is some more potential opportunity beyond the $500-5000, depending on what you want to make of it.
My son is an incoming Freshman and I noted the wording was the same as yours:
“Finally, should funds be available, you are eligible to receive a scholarship based on your demonstrated financial need.”
I am curious if anyone received an email with the wording from last year, asserting they would get merit between $500-$5000 based on need.
I wonder if they added “should funds be available” to all emails to allow them more flexibility, as to not be boxed into guaranteeing money for any winner? We aren’t optimistic my son will get any $ but he is really happy he was designated an HSF Scholar with so many applicants this year. And he hopes to take advantage of conferences, training, mentorship & other perks over the next few years. Not sure if any conferences would touch on his major-psychology-but I’m sure there are some with areas of leadership and mental health topics he can look out for.
My son received confirmation a few days ago as well. It looks like the wording of his letter is the same. He will pursue the HSF designation for the other perks. Our EFC is very high, and we did not apply for financial aid, but he did get merit scholarships. His gap is still pretty big as he is attending a private college. I wonder if that’s how they determine who gets scholarship money. I guess time will tell.
Do they really receive that many applicants? 124,000? Congrats to those who were selected!
I’ll ask him to check for emails from Fidel Vargas. Bc this doesn’t make sense that they’re asking for our financial aid letter / docs but he hasn’t been informed of being made a scholar or advancing to another level. I have been on his dashboard and see that request and nothing else that’s new.
He does use a second email for college related correspondence but we made sure that was one that I had access to so I could help him track missed opportunities and such, but he has no emails there either. But he prefers to use his regular email. So I think he used that one for HSF since everything else has gone there.
Based on the changes in language in the letter this year and the large applicant pool, I’m not hopeful that he’ll get a monetary award. The honor and perks would be nice tho so I’d like him to get the info and know for sure.
Yes she did get the HSF scholar désignation after initially being waitlisted. But she decided not to apply again. She is a 2022 HSF scholar and has those benefits for life. She gets the emails about stuff. She just didn’t get any money so she didn’t bother applying again this year and won’t anymore. She’s not likely to get any money and that is the only reason to reapply each year.
Completely understand your daughter’s position. It’s the benefits you mention which is why I was saying to @melissabel that she should urge her daughter to complete the process at least once and see how it all goes.
BTW @2CollegeHoosiers yesterday my daughter received her invite to the 2023 HSF Scholar Celebration. There are 4 live events and one virtual. The live events are in Miami, Dallas, San Franciso and, LA. That notice definitely came from Fidel Vargas.
I assume the way you register is through the portal, so you may check the portal and see if there is an option to register. I believe somebody also posted a phone number in the past on here. You may call HSF and inquire about the status and say you have the update file info but haven’t received an email.