Get Experience scholarships frequently asked questions
If you have questions not answered below, please reach out to LAS Career Services.
Applications
Not necessarily. If the payment you receive falls under Illinois minimum wage (currently defined as a rate of $13 per hour), we will consider your experience as being "underpaid" and apply a formula that considers the gap. This is why the application asks questions about the expected number of hours and weeks you will be dedicating to the role, as well as compensation you will receive.
This question does not apply to enrollment in LAS 199 Internships and Professional Experiences that supports scholarship recipients. If LAS 199 will be the only academic credit you receive related to doing this experience, then please answer "no."
No worries. We know it can be hard to coordinate things and we are willing to work with you. Do the best you can and reach out to las-careerservices@illinois.edu with the issues you need time to help resolve. However, it is important that you communicate with us. Let us know where you are in the process so that we can help you and plan ahead. We do not want to reject your application due to a misunderstanding about missing information.
Finances
The scholarship funds should go into your student account during the period of your experience. We are able to release funds once we have received your Professional Experience Verification Form, and have acknowledgement of whether you will be participating in the LAS 199 or individual career coaching opportunity.
You can, but you can only accept one LAS-sponsored or funded scholarship per experience. Therefore, if you accept another LAS scholarship and both are credited to your account, we will need to rescind the Get Experience Scholarship retroactively.
Other considerations
The Get Experience Scholarship will be rescinded if the experience is not successfully completed. Be aware that if you withdraw after you have signed a contract with a provider, you are still liable for those program fees.
We are not able to role a scholarship award over from one semester to another. However, you are welcome to reapply as long as you have not previously received funds from the scholarship.
Yes. Your advisor or supervisor should confirm what your work experience / duration / hours will be in the verification form. If we have any questions or concerns, we'll contact you. Generally, though, a change in hours would not change the award amount unless other factors related to your expenses have changed or the experience hours drop drastically.