The Moraine Park Technical College Foundation is offering Summer Start Scholarships to support students who start courses in the summer. Typically, Moraine Park scholarships are awarded in the fall semester. The Moraine Park Summer Start Scholarship was created to help ease the financial burden for students who start in the summer.

The scholarship, which awards $400, is available to new students that are enrolled in four Moraine Park summer programs: Gas Utility Construction and Service, Accounting, Business Management, and Leadership and Organizational Development.

To qualify for the Summer Start Scholarship, students must have a high school GPA of 2.75 or higher, be admitted for the summer term, enroll in at least 6 credits within their program, and submit their scholarship application with a reference by May 1.

The scholarship application link is emailed to students after they apply to one of the four qualifying programs. Scholarship recipients will be notified around May 17.

If you are interested in one of these summer programs and would like more information, please reach out to our recruiters at recruitment@morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park Technical College created a new scholarship, which provided 20 students with financial assistance for the spring 2022 semester. Typically, Moraine Park scholarships are awarded in the fall semester. To help ease the financial burden for new students who start in the spring, the College created the Moraine Park Spring Semester Scholarship. 

This scholarship, which awards $500, is available to new spring semester students enrolled in an associate degree or technical diploma program, taking a minimum of 6 credits, with a high school or college GPA of 2.75 or higher, and with a qualifying financial need. 

The recipients of the 2022 Moraine Park Spring Semester Scholarship are Mailia Bachleitner of Juneau, Gracie Bellin of West Bend, Jesse Durkee of West Bend, Diana Garcia – Pelayo of Beaver Dam, Natosha Kopmeyer of Beaver Dam, Jenna Maahs of Hartford, Emily Peschong of Fond du Lac, Luke Schroeder of Berlin, Sarah Wasley of West Bend, Luke Trochinski of Hartford, Abbigayle Gutknecht of Mayville, MaKenna Horness of Fond du Lac, Kasie Knoll of Mayville, Jamie Macisak of West Allis, Stacey Mack of Saukville, Maddelin McGovern of Hartford, Maiya Perez of Saukville, Madison Poole of Fond du Lac, April Tesch of Oshkosh, and Emma Williamson of Lusaka (Zambia).  

The Moraine Park Spring Semester Scholarship is only open to new students who missed the opportunity to apply for a fall scholarship. All established and new fall semester students should follow the standard scholarship deadlines. 

Applications for the fall 2022 Moraine Park Scholarships are currently open. The deadline for high school 12^th graders is April 1, and all other applications are due April 8. To be considered for a Moraine Park Scholarship, you must be enrolled in an associate degree or technical diploma program; have an MPTC cumulative or high school GPA of 2.75 or higher or a GED score of 169 or higher; enroll in a minimum of 6 credits each semester. 

For more information, visit morainepark.edu/scholarships. 

In an announcement on Tuesday, the IRS issued a warning of scammers impersonating the IRS claiming they needed to click on an embedded link to receive their tax refunds. Do not click on this link! Taxpayers who believe they have a pending refund can easily check on its status at “Where’s My Refund?” on IRS.gov.

Those who receive this scam email should not click on the link in the email but instead report it to the IRS. For those who may have fallen victim to the scam, the IRS recommends obtaining an Identity Protection PIN, which helps prevent identity thieves from filing fraudulent tax returns in the victim’s name.

For full details and important links read the full article.

Struggling to pay your internet bill? Good news – help is on the way.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced a program to help those struggling to pay for internet amid the pandemic, stating that a household is eligible to receive the benefit if one member of the household received a federal Pell Grant during the current award year, among other possible criteria for eligibility. Under the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, eligible households can receive up to $50 per month to help pay for broadband internet service. Written or electronic confirmation from a student’s school that the individual is a Pell Grant recipient will serve as verification for the program, or a student’s financial aid award letter documenting the amount of their Pell Grant award received for the current year. A copy of a student’s paid invoice that shows the student’s receipt of a Pell Grant during the current award year or a copy of the student’s Student Aid Report will all serve as proper documentation, according to the notice from the FCC.

For details, go to your internet provider’s webpage to see if they are participating in this national program.

Struggling and worried about your next meal? Good news – help is available!

College students are now eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits. In the past, there were several criteria which prevented students from qualifying; due to the pandemic, temporary relief will be offered to students through expanded SNAP eligibility.

To view if you may be eligible, go to the Wisconsin website: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/foodshare/index.htm
To apply, visit: https://access.wisconsin.gov/access/

Hard copy applications can be found here:

Spanish Application ~ https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/f1/f16019bs.pdf
English Application ~ https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/forms/f1/f16019b.pdf

Starting Jan. 25, 2021, Federal Student Aid will begin sending emails, SMS, and mobile application push notifications, when applicable, to 2020–21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) filers (and parents of dependent 2020–21 FAFSA filers) who have not yet submitted a 2021–22 FAFSA form.

The goal is to remind customers that the 2021–22 FAFSA form is available and should be completed soon for those going to school between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. Students and parents can complete and submit the 2021–22 FAFSA form electronically on fafsa.gov or via the Apple or Android version of the myStudentAid mobile app using the FAFSA feature.

Eligible students and parents who have a valid email address in the Central Processing System will receive an email sometime between Jan. 25, 2021, and early February. Students and parents may receive different messages based on certain factors. The specific email text is attached to this notice for your reference.

Eligible students and parents who have opted in to receive SMS and mobile app push notifications may receive a notification in addition to an email. SMS notification text and mobile app push notification text are also attached to this notice for your reference.

For more information on financial aid services at Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu/financial-aid.

It’s that time of the year where you receive multiple forms to file your taxes, and as they pile up you begin to wonder where to find the tax forms to file and how to figure out what information you really need? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get someone to help you through this cumbersome process? The good news is you can, and it’s free!

Here’s the information sent out by the IRS.

IRS Free File: Ideal for young and first-time filers

What is this?

Most Free File users are under the age of 30 with modest incomes. The Free File adjusted gross income limit for 2020 is $69,000. For those who want to do their own taxes, Free File means free tax preparation, free electronic filing and free direct deposit, which is the fastest way to get a refund.

How does it work?

1. Go to IRS.gov/freefile to see all Free File options.
    
2. Browse each of the 10 offers or use a “look up” tool to help you find the right product. Each Free File partner sets its own eligibility standards generally based on income, age, and state residency, but if your adjusted gross income was $69,000 or less, you will find at least one free product to use. Two products are in Spanish.
    
3. Select a provider and follow the links to their web page to begin your tax return.
    
4. Complete and e-file your tax return only if you have all the income and deduction records you need. The fastest way to get a refund is by filing electronically and selecting direct deposit. If you owe, use direct pay or electronic options.

For more information on free file, visit irs.gov/freefile.

Moraine Park has received notification that some past and present students have received phone calls from agencies claiming to be a student loan servicer, asking for personal information such as social security number and birth date, and attempting to gather bank/credit card numbers.

Our financial aid office has confirmed that these calls are coming from a non-credible source, and is likely a phishing scam.

As a reminder, a loan servicer will never ask for your personal identification information over the phone. If you have any questions, please call Triena Bodart, Moraine Park’s financial aid manager, at (920) 924-6347.

morainepark.edu

Looking to start your college career at Moraine Park this fall, or are you a returning student? As hard as it is to think ahead to next fall, now is the time to get prepared.

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There are two opportunities to get assistance with your spring 2019 textbook: The Berger Book Bag grant and the Textbook Scholarship. You can find information on both scholarships here.

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