1. Be a high school senior and a candidate for graduation from any Marion County, Ohio high school, which the recipient attended the recipient’s entire senior year.

2. Be registered to attend an accredited college or university, which normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of pupils or students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on for a course of study that will prepare them for a career.

3. Have scored in the upper 50^th percentile of the ACT, SAT, or other national standardized test commonly used to select students for the applicant’s planned course of study.

4. Have timely prepared and filed the application and accompanying documents designated by the Marion Community Foundation for this scholarship.

Criteria for Selection among applicants who meet the minimum requirements:

1. Academic Achievement. His or her class ranking, his or her grade point average, and the relative difficulty of his or her courses will show the applicant’s prior academic achievement.

2. Academic Potential. The applicant’s academic potential will be demonstrated by his or her score on the ACT, SAT, or other national standardized test commonly used to select students for the applicant’s planned course of study.

3. Financial Need. The financial need of the applicant will be measured by the cost of the education as compared to the applicant’s financial resources.

4. Community Service and School Citizenship. The applicant’s commitment to the Marion County community and to the applicant’s school will be demonstrated by the applicant’s service, charitable works, and citizenship.

5. Special Skills. A brief essay, a possible interview, and the applicant’s academic achievements will demonstrate the applicant’s aptitude for and commitment to excellent communications.

6. No Prejudice. In making the selection, the Selection Committee shall not consider the applicant’s race, age, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity or disabilities.

7. No Relatives. The Selection Committee shall not award a scholarship to an applicant who are close relative of: a member of the Selection Committee, a member of the Board of Trustees of Marion Community Foundation, or an employee of the Marion Community Foundation. For purposes of this paragraph, a “close relative” is a spouse, child, parent, grandchild, sibling, first cousin, niece, nephew, aunt, or uncle.