The new Student Enrichment Services’ (SES) One Form application is now open for all Northwestern undergraduates. The SES One Form allows Northwestern students to apply for multiple funding opportunities to assist with co-curricular activities through a single application.
SES has partnered with 13 campus organizations including Chicago Field Studies, NUDM, and the Student Activities Scholarship Fund to offer financial assistance to students in an easy and succinct manner. Christina A. Smith, Administrative Assistant for SES, explained the need for the SES One Form. “[It] opens up a lot of opportunities” and “assists students with finding ways to feel more like part of the campus.”
The SES One Form has been in the works for the past two years as an effort to increase transparency and inform students about all the opportunities available to them outside of the classroom. Financial Operations in Central Budget provided the seed money which moved this initiative forward. One of the goals of the SES office, according to Smith, is creating ties to the campus and building friendships through these unique opportunities. “A lot of youth identity is developed in college, and if you can’t access these opportunities, this identity can be even more challenging to discover,” Smith commented.
Applications are open to all undergraduates, and students can apply to as many opportunities as they want to. Students only need to submit their information once into the form instead of repeating it for each application, and funding is determined by each individual program with some programs taking financial need into consideration in determining who receives their grants.
Madisen Hursey, Vice President of Northwestern Quest Scholars Network, commented on the SES One Form’s benefits for low-income students. “Most low-income students have to explain why they need funding for something, and if you have to explain why to many different places, it’s cumbersome to have to tell your story over and over again; to explain yourself over and over again.”
The SES One Form is now open online, but each application has its own timeline so students should research each funding opportunity in detail for more information. More information can be found on the SES website.