Formed in 1995, the ISSA Education and Scholarship Foundation has been supporting students from ISSA-member families since 1998. In 2024, the scholarship program awarded five scholarships. Applications for 2025 are available here. The deadline for applying is April 15. Winners will be announced at the ISSA Annual Convention in November. The top applicant is forwarded onto the international C.J. Ramstad Memorial Scholarship competition as well.
To qualify, the student or his/her family must be in good standing with the ISSA. The scholarship is based in part on need, and since 2012, each applicant is expected to acquire an Student Aid Index (SAI) rating number from the Iowa College Access Network at www.icansucceed.org. To get this number, the student will be required to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. After filling out the FAFSA, the applicant will receive a FASFA Submission Summary.
Applications will be judged for neatness, completeness, spelling, grammar and school and community involvement. Student applicants are also asked to write an essay on ‘What Snowmobiling Means to Me.’ Entries are judged anonymously, and all decisions by the foundation are final.
2025 ISSA Scholarship Application
Make a donation to the Scholarship Foundation
PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING STUDENT AID DEFINITIONS AND CHANGES
Due to the passing of the FAFSA Simplification Act, the FAFSA underwent a long anticipated changes that took effect with the 2025 award year:
EFC Now SAI
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will now be referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI). The new SAI formula removes the number of family members in college from the calculation.
Negative Score
Unlike the EFC under the old version, the SAI can be a negative number, down to –1500. This number can be used by schools for determining families with the most financial need. The new formula will require families to include the value of small business and family-owned farms on the FAFSA.
Contributor
The FAFSA is introducing the new term, Contributor. A contributor is anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FASFA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent or the parent’s spouse.
FASFA Submission Summary
Replaces the Student Aid Report (SAR) as the student’s output document providing a summary of data input on the FASA form.
Family Size
Replaces the term “Household size. It captures the number of family members and dependents in the applicant’s household.
Expanding Pell Grant Eligibility
The adjustments to the new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation will expand Federal Pell Grant eligibility to more students.
