How to apply for the Isabella Curtis Scholarship
- Apply to FSW - Visit apply.FSW.edu and complete the admissions application as a degree seeking student. Students must be admitted to FSW and receive their student ID number before completing the FSW Online Scholarship Application.
- Submit your FAFSA - visit https://studentaid.gov to submit your FAFSA with FSW listed as a school selection, our federal school code is 001477
Complete the FSW Scholarship Application at https://fsw.awardspring.com/. To be considered for the Isabella Curtis Scholarship, you must select Labelle High School on the “High School Attended” question on the application. Eligibility will be verified upon submission.
- The 2025/2026 Scholarship Application which is valid for Fall 2025, Spring and Summer 2026 will be available soon. Please continue to check the website for more information and updates.
Isabella Curtis Scholarship Requirements
Students must:
- Graduate from LaBelle High School with a minimum high school GPA of 2.0 and attended LaBelle High School for at least two years.
- Be a Florida resident living in Western Hendry or Glades County
- Students must take advantage of the Curtis Scholarship during the academic year immediately following their graduation.
Student must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each academic year while attending FSW.
Students selected for a FAFSA verification must complete requested tasks at https://fsw.studentforms.com. Please monitor your student email account for updates and any additional tasks to complete. Students with outstanding verification documents will not be awarded.
- Students who receive Federal Financial Aid are eligible for Curtis Scholarship funds to make up any difference in approved costs not covered by federal aid.
- Awards are made to full-time, degree seeking students for up to five semesters. A minimum of 12 credit hours per semester (some health degree program hours differ) is required except during the final semester.
The Curtis Scholarship is available for up to 5 semesters provided the student maintains:
- A 67% completion rate, and
- A minimum overall GPA of 2.0 or above
- Students may take classes at any FSW location, including FSW online.
- Eligible students who come to Florida SouthWestern State College with acceptable college credit hours via dual enrollment, CLEP, etc. may use Curtis funds to pay for classes beyond their Associate's Degree. All eligibility requirements must be met.
Award Information
The Isabella Curtis Memorial Scholarship will only be used to cover the difference in approved costs (tuition, fees—excluding multiple attempt fees—and one set of textbooks per semester) not covered by a Pell Grant (federal aid). The number of scholarships awarded each year will be limited to the funds allocated from the Isabella Curtis Scholarship Endowment. In the event that available funds are insufficient to award scholarships to all eligible applicants, funds will be allocated as follows based on the priority scholarship application submission date of June 1st:
- Qualifying second year students will be funded first.
- Qualifying first year applicants will be chosen according to high school GPA, beginning with the highest and descending until all available funds are disbursed.
Students will receive an award notification via their Bucs (student) email with a link to view their award. Sometimes the email might be in your junk mail folder, so please add noreply@mail.awardspring.com to your safe senders list.
What do I need to do next?
- Set up your student Portal - visit www.fsw.edu and click the “portal” button at the top right side of the page. The next screen will ask for your user name and password, under the login button is a “New User” link, click on this and set up your portal for the firsttime.
Check your financial aid status - log into your student portal at a minimum of once a week. Additional information may be needed from you to process your financial aid awards, this is how our office will communicate with you. It is important that you familiarize yourself with and monitor both your BUC’s email and the financial aid section of your portal. To access the financial aid section of your portal follow the steps below
- Log onto your MyFSW portal
- Find your "Student Financials" tile
- Selected the three dots to go to your Financial Aid Dashboard
- The next screen will be customized to your individual aid package.
- Please ensure you click all tabs available to make sure no additional worksheets or requirements have been posted.
Appeal Process
Exemptions may be made to scholarship criterion if the student is unable to fulfill the requirements due to an extenuating circumstances. Determination of exemption to scholarship criterion will be made on a case by case basis. A formal request for exemption should be made, by email, to Foundation@fsw.edu and include a letter stating the reason for the extenuating circumstance. All requests for exemption must be substantiated with supporting documentation related to the extenuating circumstance.
The Isabella Curtis scholarship was established through the generosity of Mr. Kenneth Curtis who was sincerely interested in providing students with the financial means to further their education.