Rules
Virginia Motorcoach Association (VMA) Scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $750 each in the year 2022. Eligible for these awards are full-time employees, or the dependent children of full-time employees, of VMA Operator (both Tour and Motorcoach) Member companies and of VMA Associate Member companies. The award will go to applicants which best meet the requirements set forth by the Scholarship Committee. Two annual scholarships will be awarded: one for VMA Operator Members of either type (Tour or Motorcoach) and one for VMA Associate Members. Award eligibility for VMA Associate Members is limited to only the actual individual contact member(s), or their family members, actively listed with and having a direct interest in the VMA, as opposed to all employees within the Associate organization.
The Scholarship Committee will be authorized to review the applications blindly, i.e., without identifying data, and make the selections. The Scholarship Committee is appointed by the Board of Directors and will serve at the discretion of the Board. The Committee Chair, Deb Owings, will be the point-of-contact for all pre-submission inquiries.
Criteria for Eligibility
Those eligible to apply must:
- Have been employed by VMA member organization for a minimum of one year by January 1 in the year in which the scholarships are awarded.
- Already be registered to a full-time college, professional school, or trade school in the previous fall or at the time of application.
- Hold a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or if a professional or trade school, the equivalent of a B grade.
- The winners, or the parents of the winners, must still be employed at the member’s company at the time the winners are selected.
(NOTE: Dependent applicants that will be first year higher education students may apply. Enrollment will need to be validated before the award is given and final high school GPA will be requested.)
Application & Selection Timeframe
- Applications must be typed for legibility. Handwritten applications will not be accepted.
- Applicant must include proof of eligibility (i.e., high school transcripts, or most recent higher education transcripts if a returning higher education student) as well as proof of registration for the coming semester to the institution where accepted.
- The Scholarship Committee will consider applications received before June 30, 2022.
- Sealed applications will be forwarded to a non-voting administrator, where they will be kept confidential and redacted by that administrator.
- Applications will be blindly reviewed by the Scholarship Committee and the final awards will be determined by point system.
- Winners will be notified on or after August 1, 2022.
The winners will be invited to the Annual Association Member Meeting in August, where the award will be presented. Attendance to the meeting is not required to receive the award.
Scoring
All applications will be sent, sealed, to a staff member who will redact all identifying information on the application, from questions 2 – 11 plus signature. Transcripts will also be redacted of personally identify data. The staff member will then return the redacted applications, identified by an application number only, to the judges for scoring.
Judges are selected by the board of directors, namely as the scholarship committee members and the executive director team, totaling six judges.
Scoring will be based on a point system as follows:
One point will be awarded per each 1/10th of GPA scored above 3.0. Where applicable, applicant should submit GPA using a weighted scale. GPA scores with scores in the 1/100ths may be rounded to the nearest 1/10th. (Example: 3.42 GPA would be rounded down to 3.40, while 3.46 GPA may be rounded up to 3.5. The point value would be valued at five points for the 3.4 score, or six points for the 3.5 score.) Student should present actual GPA, and the committee will round the scores appropriately.
The scale below demonstrates the point value of student’s scores:
| Unweighted | Points | Weighted | Points | |
| A+ | 4.3 | 14 | 5.3 | 24 |
| A | 4.0 | 11 | 5.0 | 21 |
| A- | 3.7 | 8 | 4.7 | 18 |
| B+ | 3.3 | 4 | 4.3 | 14 |
| B | 3.0 | 1 | 4.0 | 11 |
| B- | 2.7 | 0 | 3.7 | 8 |
| C+ | 2.3 | 0 | 3.3 | 4 |
| C | 2.0 | 0 | 3.0 | 1 |
| C- | 1.7 | 0 | 2.7 | 0 |
| D+ | 1.3 | 0 | 2.3 | 0 |
| D | 1.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 |
| F | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(Source: Crimson Education GPA Calculator – (https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/blog/test-prep/unweighted-vs-weighted-gpa/)
One point per applicant will be awarded for each qualifying extracurricular and community activity provided, per year participated during applicant’s high school or higher education school (as applicable) attendance period. Qualifying activities will be determined by judges based on actual separate activities.
Essay questions are subjective to the reader. Therefore, each essay question (degree plan and why, goals and objectives, and career plans) will be graded on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being least, 5 being most) by each judge based on their opinion on the thoughtfulness and comprehensiveness of each response, and the judges’ scores will be averaged for a total average point value per essay question, per applicant. A maximum of 2,500 characters will be permitted per essay question.
Please mail or email completed applications to:
Scholarship Committee – Confidential
c/o VB Group Marketing & Event Resources
Virginia Motorcoach Association
PO Box 344, Palatine, IL 60056
Phone: 908-750-4538
or Email to:
Email: shannon@vbgmarketing.com