First batch of SHEFA scholars out

Saipan Mayor Juan Borja Tudela and the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance board this week forwarded to the Secretary of Finance SHEFA’s first recipients of academic performance scholarship.

A SHEFA scholar must maintain or exceed a 3.5 grade point average or a 4.0 GPA.

The academic performance scholarship is SHEFA’s second batch of financial assistance to qualified Saipan residents attending U.S. accredited colleges or universities at home or abroad.

The amount of academic performance scholarship is $2,000 for the fall semester and $2,000 for spring 2005.

Of the approximately 200 Saipan applicants for fall 2004, only 30 percent qualify for this highly coveted scholarship, according to SHEFA.

To qualify for SHEFA’s financial assistance, a college student must be a bona fide resident of Saipan, including the Northern Islands; must be enrolled in a U.S. accredited college or university on full-time status; not taking any remedial classes; and a U.S. citizen or a U.S. permanent resident.

For more information about SHEFA and the assistance program log on to www.saipanshefa.com or call the SHEFA Office at 664-2585 and ask for Sue or the Office of the Mayor of Saipan at 235-7444 and ask for Florence Camacho-Stephen. The email address is contact@saipanshefa.com.