MyUCLA scholarship portal to centralize resources for students
Outgoing General Representative 1 Zoe Borden created a new scholarship portal on MyUCLA to provide students a consolidated source for donor scholarships, merit scholarships and alumni-
and UCLA-specific scholarships. Borden’s term ended May 9. (April Hoang/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Sharon Zhen
May 15, 2017 9:12 p.m.
Students can now find a list of available scholarships through a new portal on MyUCLA.
Undergraduate and graduate students can access the scholarship portal under the Finances tab, which opened Monday. It includes links to donor scholarships, merit scholarships and alumni- and UCLA-specific scholarships.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council General Representative 1 created the program with UCLA’s Information Technology Services and Financial Aid and Scholarships offices.
Outgoing USAC General Representative 1 Zoe Borden, whose term ended May 9, promised to establish a centralized scholarship portal as one of her campaign platforms when she ran for office last year. Borden said the project took longer than planned and required coordination from many offices.
General representatives typically have more freedom than other council members to create their own goals for the year because they do not have specified duties. They traditionally focus on programming, Borden said.
“This is the first time the General Representative 1 has reached out to scholarship centers,” she said. “(The) biggest challenge was the fact that previous General Representative 1 offices have not made connections with these resources on campus.”
Nephele Agrafiotis, General Representative 1 scholarship director, said the most time-consuming part of the project was visiting different campus organizations in fall to look for scholarships they provided.
“I would go to the Scholarship Resource Center in Covel, Financial Aid office, (Community Programs Office), LGBTQ center,” Agrafiotis said. “We wanted to see what students were already able to access.”
The primary stakeholder of the portal is now the Scholarship Resource Center, said Christian Spreitzer, director of the Undergraduate Education IT department.
“We will be working with them to make sure the information stays current,” Spreitzer said. “Most of the information will be in the forms of links.”
Some students said they felt optimistic about the idea of a new scholarship portal.
Carmen Li, a second-year anthropology student, said she thinks having an official portal on MyUCLA would be a reliable and helpful source students can refer to.
Sandra Nguyen, a third-year English student, said she would like to use the new scholarship portal.
“It seems convenient and it’s an accessible way for students to learn about existing scholarships,” she said.
