Southwest Texas Junior College is honored to announce that we have received an extraordinary $5 million unrestricted gift to support our mission to enrich lives and advance growth throughout the diverse communities we serve.
In response to the news, SWTJC President, Dr. Hector Gonzales, stated, “This is a transformational gift and the biggest in our history! It will provide us the means to expand our work in serving the students and communities of southwest Texas.”
The gift, which is the largest in the history of the college, is a portion of $2,739,000,000 gifted to 286 “high impact organizations” by MacKenzie Scott who describes herself as a mom, writer, and advocate. Ms. Scott’s contribution recognizes SWTJC’s transformative work in student success and its long-standing history of “educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved.”
In 2020, Scott donated $6 billion to organizations involved with COVID-19 relief, gender equity, and historically Black colleges and universities. In a blog post on Tuesday regarding her current round of donations, Scott wrote, “Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity, so we looked for 2- and 4-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have been chronically underserved… We chose to make relatively large gifts to the organizations named below, both to enable their work, and as a signal of trust and encouragement, to them and to others.”
SWTJC will offer scholarship opportunities for the 2022 -2023 school year via MacKenzie Scott's generous donation.
Fill out and submit an application by Friday, May 13, 2022 (can be emailed to advising@swtjc.edu - please place MacKenzie Scott Scholarship in the email subject line)
Apply for Admission at SWTJC
Apply for Financial Aid (School Code 003614)
Register for and complete at least twelve semester hours
Narrative: Using 250 words or less, submit a typed or pen-written statement of why college is important to you. Feel free to include any other personal statements which you think may be pertinent to your application such as honors, awards, school, and community activities. Be sure to attach your narrative to the application.
Notice: Southwest Texas Junior College students not applying as graduating H.S. seniors, need only to submit a scholarship application form and a letter of recommendation from a SWTJC instructor.
Scholarship awards will be authorized only to students enrolling on a full-time basis (twelve semester hours at any SWTJC campus). Scholarships are awarded for fall and spring semesters only.
ACT or SAT scores and high school grades are the primary criteria, used for scholarship selection, however, information provided on the application may influence selection. For serious consideration, applicant should have a minimum ACT composite score of 15 or the SAT equivalent.
This application does not request information on financial need. However, relevant information provided on the requested narrative may influence selection.
Scholarship applicants are also encouraged to apply for federal, state, or local student financial aid. To check for eligibility, completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is required.
FAFSA information can be found on the college website at www.swtjc.edu. Students can also contact the Financial Aid Office by calling – (830) 591-7368.
Will be distributed by the Scholarship Committee in the amount of $1,000 per semester (fall/spring) for a total of $2,000 per student
Will be distributed by the scholarship committee in the amount of $500 per semester (fall/spring) for a total of $1,000 per student
