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The application program will be live on or after January 27, 2025.
Please return then to view the updated program information for the upcoming academic year!

 

O'Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust
Live application window: January 27, 2025 through April 8, 2025 3:00 pm Central Time

The O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust is intended to assist current undergraduate students in their sophomore, junior, or senior years, and graduate students. This program was established to assist rural Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan high school graduates who plan to continue their education in college. PNC Bank, N.A. is the trustee of the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust.

This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor, and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.

Eligibility
The applicant to the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust Program must:

  • Currently live or have resided in an approved rural county during high school. Eligible County List
    Note: Applicants who attended high school in DeKalb, IL shall be considered to have fulfilled the rural residency requirement.
  • Be an undergraduate student or graduate-level student, who plans to enroll in a full-time undergraduate or graduate course of study at an accredited four-year college or university for the entire upcoming academic year.
  • Have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).
  • Be actively involved in school activities and community service.
  • Have a family Adjusted Gross Income of $150,000 or less.
  • Approve the release of applicant contact information and all supporting documents to PNC Bank, N.A. as Trustee of the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust Program.

All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply. Applicants of the Catholic Faith, those who attend Catholic institution, and/or who participate in activities through the Newman Center at their college are given additional consideration.

Award
Number of awards and award amounts are determined by O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust. Minimum award amount is $2,500 per year. Awards may be renewed for up to two additional years or until a graduate degree is earned, whichever occurs first. Renewal is contingent upon maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in a full-time course of study and continuation of the program by PNC Bank, N.A. as Trustee of the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust Program.

Awards are for undergraduate or graduate study.

Notification
Applicants will be notified in late June. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. Nonrecipients may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.

Selection of Recipients
Selection criteria include consideration of:

  • Financial need
  • Academic achievement
  • Community service
  • Work experience
  • Two online letters of recommendation must be submitted on your behalf no later than April 11, 2025 3:00 pm Central Time.
    • One from a teacher, advisor or clergy on the applicant’s performance and character
    • One from a community service supervisor addressing the applicant’s service and leadership in the activity

Applicants of Catholic faith and/or attend a Catholic institution and/or participate in activities through the Newman Center at their college will be prioritized.

Scholarship America will evaluate and forward all eligible applicants to PNC Bank, Trustee. An outside scholarship committee will review applicant data, including all essays responses, and select recipients. Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.

As part of your application, you must upload the following documents:

  1. Official complete transcript of grades from all colleges which you have attended and/or are currently attending. Transcripts must display student name, school name, grades and credit hours for each course, and term in which each course was taken.
  2. If you will be changing schools, please provide a copy of your acceptance letter to the school you will be attending.
  3. Copy of the first two pages of the most recently filed IRS 1040 form(s) used for the Financial Information Page. If a student is being claimed as a dependent on another person’s IRS 1040 tax return, that student must submit the first two pages of that particular tax return with the application. Please black out any sensitive data including Social Security Numbers prior to uploading.

Also, as part of your application, you must assign two recommenders who need to upload letters of recommendation on your behalf by April 11, 2025 3:00 pm Central Time:

  1. A letter from a teacher, advisor, or member of the clergy attesting to your performance and character. Letter must be on letterhead and include the signature and title of the reference.
  2. A letter from a person responsible for coordinating community service attesting to your involvement. Additional weight is given for leadership roles. If the community activity included a leadership role, have the reference indicate so in the letter. Community service activities do not include school clubs unless specific community service was performed. Letter must be on letterhead and include the signature and title of the reference.

Your application is not complete unless all required documents are submitted electronically.

PNC Bank, N.A. as Trustee of the O’Brien-Vrba Scholarship Trust has partnered with Scholarship America. Selecting the button below will redirect you to the Scholarship America Student Hub!

Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address provided below in the footer as safe senders in your email contact list.