Selective Scholarship Application

What is the Selective Scholarship Application (SSA)?

The Selective Scholarship Application (SSA) is an invitation-only application utilized by a number of departments across the Indiana University Bloomington campus. upon submitting their SSA. To be considered for invitation to the SSA, the student must submit their complete application for admission by the November 1st Early Action deadline.

Upon submitting their SSA, the student's application will be reviewed for select departmental scholarship opportunities by the department that invited the student. Listed below are the participating departments on the Bloomington campus:

FAQs about the Selective Scholarship Application (SSA)

We know the process of submitting multiple applications at one time can get confusing, so we have gathered some common questions and with answers to help you navigate the SSA from start to finish. 

The Selective Scholarship Application is an invitation-only application shared by a number of schools and programs at Indiana University Bloomington to award selective scholarship opportunities to incoming students. Incoming students must have a complete application for admission on file by November 1st in order to be considered for an invitation to complete the SSA. 

How to access and complete your SSA:

  1. Create your IU computing account.You will need your 10-digit university ID number provided in your admission email to create this account. Please note that it may take up to 24 hours to activate your account. Do not log in using your guest account.
  2. Complete the General (Scholarship) Application in the IU Scholarships task in One.IU.The General Application is used to determine eligibility for many scholarships at IU.. It includes a series of questions and one essay, which should take 60–90 minutes to complete. Log in using your IU computing account (IU credentials), then fill out the application and click "Finish and Submit." Please ensure that you answer all questions thoroughly.
  3. Complete the Selective Scholarship Application in the IU Scholarships task. Once you have submitted the General Application, you should select "IU Bloomington SSA", fill out the application, then click "Finish and Submit." You must submit the General Application before you can complete your SSA.

Yes. To access both the General Scholarship Application and SSA, you must first create your IU computing account

Please note that you must also submit your General Scholarship Application before you will be able to access and submit your IU Bloomington SSA in the IU Scholarships task in One.IU.

Yes. You must be admitted to Indiana University Bloomington before you will be considered for eligibility to apply for scholarships through the SSA. We do not provide SSA materials to students who have not yet been assigned the SSA.

The Selective Scholarship Application (SSA) has a submission deadline of February 1st at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. This is a hard deadline, so late submissions will not be accepted. 

If you are selected by a participating school and/or program, you will receive an official invitation to submit the SSA from the Office of Scholarships. The school and/or program you have been invited by and that will be reviewing your application will be listed in this invitation.

To submit files to your SSA, you must follow these instructions: 

  1. Your file must be in either a .pdf or .docx form.
  2. Your files's name cannot include any of the following:
    1. Commas, apostrophes, and non-alphanumeric characters outside of a-z, A-Z, and 0-9

If your files's name contains any prohibited characters, or it is not in an accepted form, your document will be rejected for uploading. Once you have ensured that your file meets the requirements above, you will be able to upload your file and submit your application.

We encourage students to write a new essay that specifically addresses the questions in the SSA. 

Yes. Many of the schools and programs utilizing the SSA plan to offer potential direct admission and scholarship opportunities to students who apply test-optional. For any additional questions or information on SSA invitation and/or selection criteria, students should contact the participating department directly.

All students who meet the November 1 early action (non-binding) deadline will continue to be assessed for additional SSA opportunities based on updated test scores through January 15, at which time all SSA eligibility review stops to ensure adequate time for SSA completion.

Your SSA will contain the most recent admission application information we have on file for you. If you submit updated test scores, your SSA will be updated to reflect the new scores. Once you submit your SSA, your application will continue to update with new test scores; however, we cannot guarantee that the reviewing department will consider any information that is updated after you submit your SSA.

For questions or technical issues related to the SSA, please email the Office of Scholarships at iussa@iu.edu. Please include your full name, University ID, and a brief description of what technical issue you are experiencing.

*Your 10-digit University ID number can be found in your Admission notification letter and begins with 000 or 200.

Want to be invited to complete the SSA? Students must submit their complete application for admission to IU Bloomington no later than November 1st to be considered for invitation.

Description of the video:

[Upbeat music plays]

[Video: The iconic IU Sample Gates are shown, with landscaped beds or red and white flowers in front. People walk both towards campus and away from the Sample Gates. The IU trident appears over the top of the video image]

[Words appear: What is the Selective Scholarship Application (SSA)?]

[Video: Cut to aerial footage of the IU Fine Arts Plaza with Showalter Fountain shown at center and the IU Auditorium in the background. Students are grouped around the area attending an outdoor event]

Voiceover: The Selective Scholarship Application, or SSA,

[Video: The screen turns white, then red as the video Zooms out to show an image of a laptop computer. The letters SSA appear with a typing indicator on the laptop screen]

Voiceover: is a straightforward application that is used to determine scholarship awards

[Video: The laptop moves to the left. An arrow appears pointing from the laptop to an image of a money sign in a circle over a diploma before disappearing]

Voiceover: offered by specific schools and academic programs at IU.

[Video: The images zoom backwards and disappear. An outline of 3 people’s heads and shoulder appears on the red screen. The IU trident appears on their shirts.]

[Words appear: Admitted students]

Voiceover: Admitted students who meet certain qualifications are invited to complete the SSA.

[Video: The images and words blur and disappear.]

[Words appear: 3 steps]

The SSA doesn't take long to complete in three simple steps.

[Words disappear]

[Words appear: 1 Create your IU computing account]

Voiceover: 1: Create your IU computing account in One.IU.

[Video: The words slide up and a screenshot of the One.IU task “Create My First IU Account” appears below. Cascading white and red bars wipe diagonally from up left to down right. The words and icon disappear. The screen turns red.]

[Words appear: 2 Complete the General Application]

Voiceover: 2: Complete the general application in the IU Scholarships task in One.IU.

[Video: The words slide up and a screenshot of the One.IU task “IU Scholarships: Blackbaud Award Management” appears below.]

Voiceover: Bonus: The general application is also used to find other IU scholarships you might be eligible for.

[Video: Cascading white and red bars wipe diagonally up from down left to up right. The words and icon disappear. The screen turns read]

[Words appear: 3 Submit the IU Bloomington SSA Essay. The words slide up and the laptop computer image appears below. The letters SSA and a typing indicator appear on the laptop screen]

Voiceover: 3: Submit the IU Bloomington SSA essay in the IU Scholarships task in One.IU.

[Video: Cascading circles appear in white and red. The words and icon disappear. The screen turns red. An image of a checklist on a clipboard appears]

Voiceover: Some scholarships require additional materials.

[Vide: A hand holding a pen appears on screen and the video zooms in slightly on the checklist]

Voiceover: Be sure to check your invitation to see if you need to submit anything else.

[Video: White and red bars wipe across screen from right to left. The screen turns red. A white outline of an analog clock appears. The hour and minute hands swipe around the clock]

Voiceover: And that's it.

[Video: The clock blurs and disappears. An image of a dollar sign in a circle behind a diploma appears. White sparkles appear intermittently around it]

Voiceover: It only takes a little time to complete, and then you will be considered for IU scholarships.

[Video: The dollar sign and diploma fly off screen to the right. A calendar icon and clock outline fly on screen from the left and land at center]

Voiceover: The deadline for the SSA is February 1st,

[Words appear: February 1]

Voiceover: but you should complete it as early as possible.

[Video: The words and icon blur and disappear.]

[Words appear: Learn more at scholarships dot Indiana dot e d u]

Voiceover: Learn more about the SSA and other scholarship opportunities on the IU Office of Scholarships website.

[Video: The words break up into letters. Each letter changes size and moves in a different direction before disappearing. The IU trident appears on a white tab at the top of the screen]

[Words appear: Office of Scholarships scholarships dot Indiana dot e d u]

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