Welcome to Mattawan Public Education Foundation

1. Complete the 2022 – 2023 Mattawan Public Education Foundation Scholarship Application Form electronically via www.mpef.org and submit it by midnight on March 31st, 2023. You will receive confirmation via email if your application was submitted successfully. Please be sure to check your Spam/Junk Mail folder.

2. As part of your application, you must include two letters of recommendation which are an important part of the application evaluation process. One letter of recommendation must be from a teacher (please share this link with your teacher.) TEACHER RECOMMENDATION ONLINE FORM It is the responsibility of the applicant to inform the teacher of which scholarship the teacher is writing the recommendation for. Teachers can write one letter of recommendation for multiple scholarships, or you may select a different teacher for each recommendation. Your recommendation will be tracked by the last four digits of your Social Security number, your name cannot be included on the recommendation; this is a blinded selection process. Upon receipt of teacher recommendation, the MPEF Scholarship committee will upload your teacher recommendation to your application.

3. You will also be required to upload one NON-teacher recommendation. This recommendation should be a character reference from someone outside your family, such as a group leader, advisor, coach, pastor, employer, etc. Please ensure they include their address and phone number on the letter.

NOTE: This is a blinded selection process so the recommendation letter cannot include the Scholarship applicant’s name – not in the letter itself or in the file name. If your name appears in the letter (or the file name) your application will be invalid and will not be considered.

You will be asked to upload this letter as part of the online application process. Prior to upload to the application website (Smarter Select), we ask that you rename the file to indicate it is a non-teacher recommendation and use the last 4 digits of your Social Security number as an identifier. An example is provided below. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR FIRST OR LAST NAME IN THE FILE NAME.

• File name example: Nonteacher Recommendation_1234

If your recommendation letter writer provides you a printed, hard copy letter that includes your name, it is acceptable to black out your name and scan the updated letter. Please save the PDF with the file name format example above. The renamed PDF (with your name blacked out in text) can then be uploaded into Smarter Select as part of your scholarship application.

A list of tips for non-teacher recommendation letters is provided below. Please communicate the rules of the non-teacher recommendation letter to your writer. This will help to ensure your letter is the best it can be and that it represents you well.

Reminder: Failure to omit applicant name from all letters and/or file names will cause an application to be void and not considered.

4. Remember to save often as you complete your application. The “Save” button is located at the bottom of every page. It is very important to verify and proofread your application before clicking the “Submit” button. All applications must be saved as a .pdf file, and CANNOT include your name. We strongly encourage saving all documents you upload (personal essay, recommendations, etc.) using the last four digits of your Social Security number. Our Scholarship Committee will use this information when they make decisions so please make sure it is complete and accurate. If you do not click the “Submit” button your application will not be received by the Foundation and you will not be considered for a scholarship.

If you have any questions, please contact us at scholarships@mpef.org