Through the Federation, one application provides numerous different community scholarship opportunities to Jewish students of higher education in the greater Pittsburgh area. This past year, 220 students took advantage of the painless process and were awarded a total of $400,000 for their enrollment in accredited institutions of higher learning.

On July 26, representatives from the Federation, the Central Scholarship & Loan Referral Service (CSLRS) committee, and Jewish Family & Children's Service were on hand at the Jewish Community Center to honor the local students.

CSLRS was founded in 1966 with the goal of providing financial support to as many deserving students in our community as possible. Demonstrated financial need is a primary criterion in evaluating applications as financial information is strongly weighed along with other pertinent background facts like family size and number of children/siblings in college.

Much of the funding awarded to applicants is made available through endowment funds in the Federation's Jewish Community Foundation.

With applications for the 2012-2013 academic year opening in November, now is the time when incoming students begin the process of gathering information about scholarships and subsidies for a quality education. For more information about eligibility, please visit www.centralscholarship.org or contact Alayne Lowenberger, JF&CS scholarship program director, at 412-422-7200.