Student FAQs
Selection decisions for the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program are based on merit. The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program does not consider financial need for selection. However, financial need will be taken into consideration to determine the amount of the award.
During the selection process, special consideration will be given to graduating seniors, and recent graduates, of L.G. Pinkston High School in West Dallas, Texas. Students who graduated from a high school in Dallas-Fort Worth are highly encouraged to apply, as well.
Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program award amounts are $5,000.
Phase I of the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program application opens January 1, 2023 and closes February 8, 2023, 5:00 PM PT. Finalists will be asked to complete Phase II of the application, which will open on March 3, 2023 and close March 31, 2023, 5:00 PM PT.
Scholarship funds may be used for tuition, fees, books, and other academic-related supplies, as well as for room/board and transportation expenses related to school.
Funding for the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program is provided by Toyota.
The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program will support students in any field of study, at any institution of choice, as long as the institution is an accredited, public or not-for-profit, college/university.
No. Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program scholarships are only awarded to students who are enrolled (or plan to enroll) full-time in an accredited, public or not-for-profit, college or graduate school program.
No. Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program awards are for the fall of the academic year in which you applied.
Yes, but Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program funds can only be applied to costs associated with study abroad if:
- You remain enrolled in your home university;
- The program occurs during the normal academic year (Fall, Winter, Spring in quarter system, Fall and Spring for semester system); and
- You will be receiving US college credit towards your degree
To qualify, you must submit an Enrollment Verification form from your home university, after being notified that you have been selected to receive a Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program award. Enrollment Verifications from institutions abroad will not be accepted.
No. Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program awards are single-year awards.
Yes. The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program has the discretion to enact random verification on select scholarship applications to ensure the validity of the information entered in applications. Additionally, the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program Team verifies all required documents.
No, it is all there. The application will allow you to save your work and return to it until you submit.
Please note, you will lose access to your application after the deadline.
No. All students who graduated (or will graduate) from a high school in Texas may apply, as long as they meet all other eligibility criteria.
Special consideration will be given to graduating seniors, and recent graduates, of L.G. Pinkston High School. Students who graduated from other Dallas-Fort Worth area high schools are highly encouraged to apply, as well.
Yes. The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship is open to students of all economic backgrounds.
Yes. High school students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, based on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent). Undergraduate college students, including community college students, must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5, based on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) earned for a minimum of 12 credits. Graduate students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5, based on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) earned for a minimum of 9 units/credits.
The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program is open to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, or students who have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.
No. An applicant must be a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.
No. An applicant must be a U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.
High school seniors can begin to apply to the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program on January 1, 2023.
Yes. Students who graduate from high school early are eligible for the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program. However, you must plan to enroll full-time in an accredited, not-for-profit, public or private university or college the following fall term.
Yes. Our scholarships are not age-based. Students may apply as long as they meet all the eligibility requirements, regardless of age.
Yes. As long as all other eligibility requirements are met, students attending community college are eligible for a Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program award.
No. The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program requires all recipients to be enrolled full-time in an accredited college/university for the fall term in the year in which they are awarded. Please note, official institution deferments, documented leaves of absence, and gap year programs in the fall will not be considered.
Yes. Students pursuing a second Bachelor’s degree are eligible for a Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program award.
Once your scholarship application has been submitted, you will not be allowed to make any changes to it. All selected recipients will be asked to update their information during the acceptance process. The following information must be correct prior to disbursement:
- Mailing Address
- Phone Number
- Institution
- Major (if applicable)
Yes. All applicants who complete the application process will receive notification, via email, once the selection process has been completed.
Please note, funds may continue to be available for a period of time after the initial notification. If you are waitlisted for an award, please continue to check your email regularly to determine if you are selected at a later date.
Yes. If selected to move forward in the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program selection process, the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program team will request that you confirm and update your permanent address, enrollment status (including the name of the institution you are attending), email, phone number, and major (if applicable).
Notifications of scholarship awards are emailed in June.
Scholarship awards are disbursed in the months of November and December, in the fall term of the year awarded. Please note that all scholarship awards are contingent upon proof of full-time enrollment.
You will need to upload:
- Your latest transcript
- A copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR)
- An Employment Authorization Document (students with DACA status only)
- Enrollment Verification Form
All documents should be uploaded into your scholarship portal, per application instructions. Only documents uploaded into your scholarship portal will be reviewed. Documents sent by US Mail or fax will not be accepted.
No. Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program’s online system is completely secure. Encrypted documents usually lead to disruptions in the scholarship application review process. Often times, the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program Team is unable to read and verify the receipt of documents if they are encrypted.
The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program accepts all word processing documents in PDF format. All images must be in the form of GIF, JPEG or PNG.
No. Documents sent by fax will not be accepted. Documents sent by mail will not be accepted. Only documents uploaded electronically into the applicant’s scholarship portal will be accepted.
You are required to upload your official or unofficial academic transcript(s) only when requested to do so. If requested, scan and upload a PDF copy of your transcript(s) to your scholarship portal. You may also submit a screen shot of your transcripts from your college student portal. Handwritten transcripts will not be accepted.
Your transcript(s) must clearly indicate your name and institution. You may click ‘View’ after uploading your transcript(s) to verify the document is legible.
If your transcript does not include an academic GPA, please request a GPA and written explanation that describes how the GPA was calculated from your counselor or Registrar.
If a particular transcript runs more than one page, you must scan all pages and merge the documents into ONE file, then upload the entire transcript in PDF format to your scholarship portal. The same procedure is required for any additional, multi-page documents you wish to upload.
If your question is not answered and you require additional assistance, please contact us via the Message Center.
Transcripts from different institutions must be uploaded into your scholarship portal, when requested. Please merge all relevant transcripts into one PDF.
Yes. Students with DACA status will be required to upload a copy of their valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD) into the scholarship portal. Expired EADs will not be accepted.
Applicants will be prompted to list recommenders’ contact information on the application.
Recommenders must complete the electronic Recommendation Form online. Please note that one recommendation must be from an academic reference; the second is optional and can be submitted by anyone who is not a family member or friend. All online Recommendation Forms must be submitted by April 15, 2023, 5:00 PM PT.
Please note, some email security systems block emails from Toyota-West Dallas. Therefore, we recommend that you ask your recommenders to check their spam folders.
Recommenders are persons you asked to complete an online Recommendation Form on your behalf, as part of your scholarship application. In order for your application to be considered complete, you must submit one completed academic recommendation. Your academic recommender must be an instructor, an advisor/counselor, or someone who is able to evaluate you academically (e.g., academic performance, motivation, plans and goals).
Additional recommenders can be academic or non-academic. Secondary recommenders must be able to evaluate your community service and extracurricular activities (e.g. leadership, work ethic, and commitment).
Please note, recommendations from family members, family friends, and other close friends are discouraged.
Please be sure to ask your recommenders’ permission prior to submitting their names and email addresses to us. Be sure they have agreed to complete the online Recommendation Form for you, and let them know that they will receive an email from us on how to proceed, within 24 hours after you have submitted your scholarship application.
The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program suggests you provide your recommenders with an updated resume to assist them in filling out their forms.
Please note, some email security systems block emails from the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program. Therefore, we recommend that you ask your recommenders to check their spam folders.
Recommenders will be able to access the Recommendation Form by setting up and logging into their scholarship portal (on this site). Recommenders will be emailed their recommendation link within 24 hours after you submit your Phase II application. Hence, we require the contact information you provide on your application form to include an email address for each recommender.
Please note, some email security systems block emails from the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program. Therefore, we recommend that you ask your recommenders to check their spam folders.
All online Recommendation Forms must be submitted by April 15, 2023, 5:00 PM PT.
On the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program sign-in page, recommenders have the option to click on ‘Forgot Your Email?’ or ‘Forgot Your Password?’ in order to retrieve their login information. If the issue continues, ask your recommender to contact us via the Message Center.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (known as the FAFSA) is a form that can be submitted annually by current and prospective college students in the US to determine their eligibility for federal student financial aid (including Pell Grants, work-study programs, and loans). All US citizens, permanent residents, and eligible non-US citizens must submit a FAFSA, in order to provide the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program team with a Student Aid Report. If you meet the residency criteria previously mentioned and do not file a FAFSA, you are ineligible for Toyota-West Dallas Scholarships.
The US Department of Education starts accepting FAFSA applications on October 1st of each year, for the upcoming academic year.
Please note, you can apply for financial aid before you file your taxes. Corrections to your (FAFSA) application can always be submitted after you and/or your parents have filed for taxes and/or after the FAFSA has been submitted
The Student Aid Report (SAR) is a report of your responses on the FAFSA by the US Department of Education, once the FAFSA application has been processed. The SAR contains information the student provided on the FAFSA as well as the resulting federally calculated Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The financial aid office of the student’s institution will use the information contained in the SAR in order to determine the student's eligibility for federal student aid programs.
The Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program team uses the SAR to ensure an applicant meets the program's citizenship eligibility requirements.
When requested, please upload your entire SAR, in PDF format, to your scholarship portal.
Verification of full-time enrollment must be uploaded to your scholarship portal between August and October.
Yes, there are several options for submitting an official Enrollment Verification form to the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program. You can go directly to your institution's registrar’s office and request an official Enrollment Verification form.
OR
Quickest method: You can submit an official Enrollment Verification from the National Student Clearinghouse. This is an organization with whom most US institutions register, and which offers a verification form as an expedited service. You can go to their website at http://www.studentclearinghouse.org/ and for a nominal fee, they will send you a PDF version of your Enrollment Verification instantly.
OR
You may use the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program Enrollment Verification form which will be emailed to you. You can take this form to your registrar’s office for completion. Please be sure to complete the student portion of the form and that the registrar’s office has completed all questions on its portion.
Your Enrollment Verification form must be dated at least one day after your first day of class.
Successful candidates are selected on the basis of academic achievement, personal strengths, and leadership.
It is important that the information an applicant provides regarding his/her intended school/major be as up to date as possible, prior to our selection process.
No. Applicants are only eligible to receive one award from the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program.
The selection process consists of four stages: Phase I, Phase II, Verification (for both pre-selected and waitlisted students), and disbursement.
All applicants must submit a Phase I application to be considered for an award. Applicants given the highest scores will be selected as Finalists and invited to complete Phase II of the application.
Students who submit Phase II will be evaluated. The top scoring applicants will be pre-selected or waitlisted for a scholarship. Students waitlisted for an award may not receive an initial award but will continue to be considered for an award if additional funding becomes available during the current award cycle.
Both pre-selected and waitlisted students must submit Verification Documents (enrollment verification, etc.) throughout the summer and early fall to ensure continued eligibility.
Money is disbursed between November and December.
I have a really high GPA and consider myself a strong candidate. Why didn’t I receive a scholarship?
We expect the number of applications from deserving students to greatly outnumber the awards we have available. Accordingly, selection is predicted to be highly competitive and not every strong student will make the final cut.
It’s important to remember that if your application is incomplete, you will not be considered for a scholarship. Many bright students miss out on opportunities because they submit incomplete applications.
Take charge of your application process by:
- Following up with school officials, as well as recommenders, and making sure they have completed the forms they’re responsible for, correctly and on time.
- Make sure to follow all instructions carefully.
- Have a teacher, counselor or parent review your application to make sure you didn’t overlook anything.
- Submit all requested documents by the due date.
Yes. However, documentation between your home institution and host institution will be required. You must submit the following items*:
- Enrollment Verification forms from each campus you are attending.
- A copy of official documentation from your home institution (i.e. Consortium Agreement; Dual Enrollment; Transient Agreements, etc.). If you are unsure what a Consortium Agreement is, please visit your academic advisor.
- A brief written explanation as to why you cannot be full-time at one campus that includes a list of the classes and their unit/hour value, in which you are enrolled, per campus.
*It is important that these documents be uploaded to your scholarship portal. We will need to review this documentation in order to make a final decision.
No. In order to be eligible for a Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program, students must be enrolled full-time in the fall and spring terms, for the year in which the scholarship is awarded. Please note, scholarship funds cannot be deferred to another academic term or school year.
Your status as a Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship Program award recipient is contingent upon verification of full-time enrollment at an accredited college/university. Once your Enrollment Verification is received, your award will be processed.
Scholarship awards are $5,000 each.
- Is the Toyota-West Dallas Scholarship based on merit or financial need?
- When is the application for Toyota-West Dallas Scholarships due?
- What may the scholarship funds be used for?
- Is there a minimum GPA requirement?
- Do I have to be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident to apply for a scholarship?
- Whom should I indicate as my recommender?