All-USA Scholarship

What is the All-USA Scholarship?

The All-USA Scholarship Competition is open to any EMCC student who will be transferring to a 4-year institution of higher education in 2025. Awards take effect for Fall 2025 transfer enrollment.

In Fall 2024, Estrella Mountain Community College will nominate two students for the 2025 All-USA Academic Team Scholarship, which is sponsored by the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society. The scholarship pays for two full years of tuition to one of our three Arizona public universities (ASU, NAU, or U of A) with money awarded for transfer in Fall 2025.

If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, please access the PTK scholarship portal at https://scholarships.ptk.org/. Applicants who are not PTK members will be able to register as a guest in order to complete their application. 

As you are preparing for this scholarship application, it is helpful to note that one of the requirements for the application is a letter of recommendation. The application may give you an option to have your recommender email it directly to the PTK scholarship email; however, the EMCC All-USA Scholarship committee requires you to have it uploaded at the time of completing your application. That means you must have your recommender send you the letter of recommendation so you can have it uploaded when you submit your application by the deadline.

Specific details on eligibility and application due dates are listed below. Please note that the PTK website lists the Fall 2024 scholarship deadline as December 3, 2024. However, students who want to be considered for the All-USA nomination need to follow the submission deadlines provided below, so the committee has time to judge the applications. 

Eligibility

Students MUST:

• Be enrolled through December 2024 in a minimum of six (6) semester credit hours [or nine (9) quarter credit hours] of associate degree, college-level coursework at the time of application.
• Hold a minimum of a 3.50 cumulative grade point average out of a possible 4.0 on all college-level coursework completed in the past five years.
  
  • Include all transcripts, Fall 2019 – present.
  • GPA is evaluated at the time of application, and no courses can be marked as incomplete. Student must maintain a 3.50 or higher GPA through the Fall 2024 semester to remain eligible.
• Be on track to earn an associate or a bachelor's degree (or the equivalent of a U.S. associate or bachelor's degree).
• Have a minimum of 36 semester (or 54 quarter) college‐level credit hours completed at or transferred into an associate degree or certificate program by December 31, 2024, and 48 semester (or 72 quarter) college‐level credit hours by August 31, 2025.
• Not have previously been nominated for the All‐USA Academic Team or the Coca‐Cola Academic Team.
• Hold permanent or temporary residency in the country of the college the student is attending or possess a visa considered appropriate by the college. Please see the help article or application for acceptable documents verifying proof of citizenship.
• Students who attend college in the United States do not need to be a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
• Have a college record free of suspension, probation or other disciplinary action.
• Not have a criminal record, or if a convicted felon, must have all conditions of sentencing, including parole/probation, completed. (Note: Having a criminal record does not disqualify applicants.)

The Selection Process

Step One

Complete the EMCC All-USA 2025 Scholarship Initial Application by October 23, 2024 at 3:00 PM. You MUST be logged in to your MCCCD Student Email to gain access to this initial application. If you cannot click the hyperlink above, please copy or type this link into your browser: https://forms.gle/NHuCM9P8uUhJQNdr9

Step Two

Complete the online scholarship application on the PTK website: https://scholarships.ptk.org/.  The application consists of short-answer questions and short essays. It is not something that can effectively be completed in one day! So, be sure to start the application as soon as possible. Submit your completed application on the PTK website by November 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You will also need a letter of recommendation to upload to your application. The application may give you an option to have your recommender email it directly to the PTK scholarship email; however, the EMCC All-USA Scholarship committee requires you to have it uploaded at the time of completing your application. That means you must have your recommender send you the letter of recommendation so you can have it uploaded when you submit your application by November 6, 2024 at 3:00 PM.

Applicants who fail to complete both steps by the deadline above will be disqualified.

If you are selected as one of the two official nominees of EMCC, you will be notified via email (from EMCC PTK email: ptk@estrellamountain.edu) by the first week of December 2024.