SCHOLARSHIPS Dr Zvi Roth Interim co-Director Florida-Israel Institute

SCHOLARSHIPS Dr. Zvi Roth Interim co-Director Florida-Israel Institute

Contents • The State of Florida Higher Education System • What is the Florida-Israel Institute • What are the Florida-Israel Institute’s scholarships

Mission of the Florida-Israel Institute • The Florida-Israel Institute (FII) is a unique public organization, created by the State of Florida Legislature. It is administered jointly by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Broward Community College (BCC). • Its primary purpose is to promote the development of enhanced economic, cultural, educational and social ties between the States of Florida and Israel. • Implementation of this mission is achieved through the formation of cooperative initiatives in research, academic development, student and faculty exchange, cultural exchange, and technical assistance between FAU, BCC and cooperating Israeli institutions of higher learning, as well as with private sector commercial interests.

FII Out-of-State Tuition Exemption Scholarships • 25 full-time exemptions per year to Israeli students who study in any of the state universities or community colleges. • Exemptions allow the students to pay the same tuition rate as Florida resident students. • In 2005 -2006 about 60 Israeli students received full or partial scholarships through the FII.

How Does It Work? - 1 • Hypothetical Example: Say that 1 credit for “in-state” student = $100, and that 1 credit for “out-of-state” student = $400 (for exact rates see the on-line catalogs of the various schools) • You are an out-of-state student, and say that in a given semester you are enrolled to 5 courses, each has 3 credits.

How Does It Work? - 2 • Say that you receive a scholarship equal to an exemption of 12 credits. • That means that you pay 12 credits as “instate”: $100*12 = $1200. • You pay the remaining credits (3 in this case) at the “out-of-state” rate: $400*3 = $1200. • Altogether you pay $2400 per semester, instead of paying $400*15=$6000.

Merit Scholarships • FII provides 25 full-time (12 credits) scholarships every semester – Fall, Spring and Summer. • Of the 25 scholarships: Typically, 20 go to students who are already in the system, and 5 go to new students. • The number of applications exceed the number of awarded scholarships. The best students win.

FII Web Page: www. floridaisrael. org

Scholarship Requirements – New Students • Israeli grades (High-School diploma, both in Hebrew and English) • Two Letters of reference. • Essay. • Copy of your US visa. • Official transcript if already a college student or have graduated from a college. • Letter of acceptance from a public Florida college or university. • Submitting student updated contact information page through the FII website.

Scholarship Requirements – Students who are already in the system • • • Official Transcripts (minimum GPA 3. 0). Proof of community Service. Two Letters of reference. Essay. Submitting student updated contact information page through the FII website

Sample of FII Alumni – about 300 Israeli students got the scholarship in the last 15 years

Dr. Zvi Roth Address: Florida Atlantic University Department of Electrical Engineering 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431 Phone: 561 -297 -3471 E-mail: rothz@fau. edu Web: http: //www. floridaisrael. org