During the Fall 2023 semester, the Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation awarded more than $650,000 in scholarships to students for the 23-24 school year.
Nearly 300 OTC students received Foundation scholarships, which are funded by donors. The total amount of those scholarships totaled more than half a million dollars. Scholarship amounts range between $1,000 and $5,610 annually.
OTC employees are significant donors to the Foundation scholarship fund. Annually, staff and faculty donate more than $50,000 to scholarships and the student emergency fund, which assists students with short-term challenges such as gas cards, bus passes or groceries.
“Scholarships are one of the tools we can use to help our students achieve their educational goals,” said Amy Bacon, executive director of the OTC Foundation. “Foundation scholarships are 100% donor funded, and I am proud to say that OTC employees are significant contributors to that scholarship fund.”
The scholarship application for OTC’s 2024 summer and fall semesters is open, but first, all students should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA to qualify for scholarships. Students must fill out the FAFSA to determine their federal and state financial aid eligibility, including Pell Grants and the Missouri A+ Scholarship Program. OTC uses FAFSA information to assess a student’s eligibility for need-based scholarships.
For the 2024-2025 school year, the Department of Education released a new, streamlined FAFSA. The new document is available now, and students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible to determine their eligibility for grants and college scholarships.
Anyone with questions about the FAFSA may contact the OTC Financial Aid Department at financialaid@otc.edu or (417) 447-6900.