January 2003

FAE Continues Accounting Scholarship
Society Encourages Members to Spread the Word to Accounting Majors

The Foundation for Accounting Education Board of Trustees in December renewed its Excellence in Accounting Scholarship allowing more accounting students to receive financial help.

The member-supported scholarship offers $750 and $1,500 awards to financially needy students who have completed at least 60 semester credits while maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average. Only students who have a declared accounting major can apply.

The New York State Society of CPAs and FAE launched the scholarship in 1990 to encourage college students to enter the profession. The Society sends applications to accounting departments, accounting clubs and financial aid offices each January and recipients will be selected by mid-May.

“I believe that the scholarship has made the difference for a number of students, and has kept some of the students in the accounting profession,” NYSSCPA Scholarship Awards Committee Chair Robert Kawa said. “Certainly, with declining enrollments, it’s an invaluable incentive that the Society offers.”

The Scholarships Awards Committee awards scholarships to around 50 students a year, which they can renew as long as they continue to fulfill the award requirements. The NYSSCPA awards scholarships of $1,500 per academic year for full-time students (12 credits or more per semester) and $750 per academic year for part-time students (at least six credits per semester). Payments are awarded in separate equal installments, one each semester. Students can renew the awards, provided they continue to meet all eligibility requirements.

The Scholarship Awards Committee is comprised of Society members from around the state, and selects recipients in proportion to the number of members in each Society chapter. The primary criterion for selection is financial need.
The Society will mail applications in early 2003 to accounting programs across the state. Applications must be in to the Society by April 1.

While CPAs can elect to make contributions to the scholarship program when they renew their membership in the NYSSCPA, the awards program accepts additional donations. Please contact NYSSCPA Associate Director of Member Relations Bill Pape at (212) 719-8420 for more information on contributing to the scholarship fund.