Good response to Pero Scholarships

Applications for the Mike Pero Mortgages Foundation, which opened on 1st June, have been coming in steadily, and Mike Pero Mortgages chief executive Sandra Pigram says they want more.

“The programme, which provides two scholarships of $5000 and one of $2500, is now in its third year and each year it seems to get more popular,” she says.

“We have been really encouraged by the success stories from previous scholarship winners and have seen that these awards have made a real positive difference to a number of young students and their families.

“One of the exciting things for prospective applicants is we are simply looking for outstanding and well-rounded young people in any field of tertiary study.”

Last year the programme proved very poplar. Around 560 applications, all of an extremely high standard, were submitted from around the country.

“We hope that this years’ scholarships will again help provide an opportunity for three promising students to excel in their chosen tertiary study,” she added.

The window for students to submit their applications is now at the half-way point. Ms Pigram suggests prospective applicants should allow plenty of time to prepare their material so as to give themselves the best chance of success.

“In the past two years we have experienced a flurry of applications as the submission period draws to a close, and we expect this year to be no different.”

This year, the application process has been streamlined. Students are now able to apply on-line and upload their application form and NCEA results to the on-line questionnaire.

The scholarships are open to prospective first-time tertiary students aged between 17 and 25. Any recognised programme of full-time tertiary study will be considered.

Applications for 2009 are open until Sunday 31st August, 2008.

Application forms are available on-line at: www.mikepero.co.nz

The successful recipients will be announced in October.