The Foundation for Enhancing Communities Scholarships

You'll typically need to create an account to apply for a scholarship, and submit your application through their website—this is called a scholarship application portal. Not all scholarship providers use portals—some will just require that the application materials be sent via email. Tip: it's a good idea to write down your usernames and passwords to keep track of all your applications!

To have a copy of your official transcript submitted for a scholarship application, you'll need to contact the registrar's office and ask that they send your transcript to the address you provide. Tip: Make sure to do this far in advance!

For a college transcript, you can also contact the registrar's office, or, you can submit a request through your college portal. FYI: Colleges often charge a fee for this.

A letter of recommendation (letter of rec) is a letter written by someone in your life who can speak to your achievements, positive traits, and potential. It's basically a summary of why you're great and deserve the scholarship or funding you're applying for! Typically, students ask teachers, mentors, coaches, or employers (never family or friends). FYI: You have to ask someone to write a letter of rec for you.

Letters of recommendation typically come from teachers, counselors, coaches, leaders in groups you're a part of—basically any person who knows you well and is NOT a family member.