Scholarship Award and Process

Advertising Production Club of Detroit Scholarship Application Process

These guidelines are intended to serve as general information about the Advertising Production Club of Detroit (APCD) scholarship application and selection process.

About the APCD
The objective of the Club is to study advertising production challenges across all media; to provide educational programs that will grow knowledge of members; to develop the professional, creative, technical, business, and executive aspects of advertising production; and to collaborate with similar production clubs and other associations in order to promote and advance production standards in the graphic arts.

We strongly believe in growing and developing the next generation of students by awarding scholarships to students enrolled in a Graphics Arts Program in the State of Michigan when funding permits.

Scholarship Committee
The Scholarship Committee is comprised of individuals who are members of the club and work in the industry. The committee establishes policies and procedures for the program, reviews scholarship applications and selects final applicant(s).

Scholarship Applicants
The APCD will award scholarships to an individual currently enrolled in a college or university Graphic Arts program in the State of Michigan. Applicants must be taking at least 12 credit hours and scheduled to begin in September. Scholarships can be applied to classes taken between September and June 1^st.

Application
We partner with the Printing Industries of Michigan (PIM) and obtain our applications through them.   All interested applicants should visit the PIM website http://www.print.org/Documents/PIMScholarshipFund.pdf to download the application.

Applications should be mailed to:

Printing Industries of Michigan, Inc.
Attention: Scholarship Committee
41740 Six Mile Road
Suite 105
Northville, MI 48167

The Printing Industries of Michigan forwards all applications to the APCD for review.

Please note: it is not guaranteed but is possible for applicants to receive a scholarship from both organizations: PIM and APCD.

Application Deadline
Applications are due no later than April 1^st at 11:59 pm EST. Any applications received after this time may not be considered.

Additional Materials for Consideration
The Scholarship Application is mandatory and must be completed for all scholarship applicants. We do take additional materials into consideration such as:

• Transcripts
• Resume, if applicable
• Letters of recommendation
• Essays
• Volunteer experience or community activities
• Leadership activities
• Research experience
• Work or internship experience
• Honors, awards, and special recognition

How We Evaluate Scholarships
It is our desire to create a common set of guidelines that could be shared among committee members to simplify the process and ensure students a selection process that is as fair and unbiased. We recognize that each individual scholarship program has its own purpose and mission, but the APCD’s selection criteria is outlined below.

Each student must complete a Scholarship Application in order to be considered. This is the primary focus when evaluating a student’s ability and commitment. We are looking for intellectual, ambitious students eager to learn, grow and give back to the industry.

Intellectual excellence can be demonstrated in numerous ways, and is not always GPA driven.  A candidate’s research background, the strength of commitment to public service or depth of leadership activities can play an integral role in the selection process.  We review all aspects of a student’s profile so that grades are not overshadowed by extraordinary achievements represented in other parts of the overall application.

However, a student’s academic transcript can play a crucial role in the selection decision. Transcripts can provide a way of understanding the student’s academic potential and can demonstrate the consistency of course work over a period of time.  It can give the selection committee a way to look at the level of education, the amount of preparation, and the quality of achievements to date in their program and/or department.

In evaluating a student’s transcript, we consider the following:

• Trajectory of the GPA. What is the pattern?  Is it increasing, decreasing or consistent?
• Is the student taking challenging course content?
• Number of credits taken within the graded period in addition to grades earned.
• Grades in the major discipline(s).

Individual scholarships differ in focus from research experience, leadership activities, or a particular academic or career path.  However, the resume is useful beyond providing information about particular activities related to the scholarship.  The Resume can offer additional details about applicants’ experience and accomplishments, as well as outline timelines.

It is not necessary for students to provide any information other than the Application. On the other hand, any additional information provided does add to the strength of an applicant.  The credentials we take into consideration are:

• Background – Is the student activities geared toward the industry
• Length of participation and hours contributed

How does the activity relate to the student’s stated academic/career goals?

How does the activity relate to the scholarship’s requirements or goals?

Letters of recommendation from any source may be provided: faculty, community members, supervisors, etc. We understand that some writers may be from different cultural backgrounds or may not speak English as their native language. We will not hold any writers’ grammatical errors against the applicant.

Despite the amount of information provided, no student is guaranteed a scholarship in this process, as we have many more applicants than scholarships available.

Awarding Scholarships
The Scholarship committee will select the applicant(s) by June 1^st. An award notification will be mailed no later than June 1^st, at 11:59 pm.

The number of people selected and the amount awarded will be determined each year and will be based on APCD funding availability. The APCD Board Members and officers will vote each year at the first quarterly meeting to determine whether the club will award a scholarship. If it is determined the Club has appropriate funding the Board will vote on the number of scholarships to award and the amount of each.

Method of Payment
Checks for the scholarship will be issued directly to the student’s school.

For Further Information
Please contact Donna Nobles at Donna.Nobles@evpconsulting.com or call 586-469-1692 with additional questions.