If you have questions or need more information, please read through the writing suggestions below, then contact Emma Somers, Senior Donor Relations & Stewardship Coordinator, directly at 310.338.7850 or emma.somers@lmu.edu. You may set up a one-on-one meeting for help.
Learn more about the scholarship you received.
For more information on how this impacts your student account, please check your PROWL account through MyLMU.
Writing Suggestions
Format and Mechanics
- Please do not include a date, salutation, signature, or the name of the scholarship anywhere in your note. These pieces will be autopopulated by our system after you submit.
- Proofreading is encouraged, but spelling and grammar will be double-checked before sending to the donor.
- The recommended length for your note is 5-10 sentences; please see the sample submission link above to get an idea of length.
Donor Note Content
Donors enjoy hearing directly from students. Don't be afraid to let your personality come through! Here are some suggested topics to include:
- Tell the donor about yourself.
- Where did you grow up?
- Did you visit LMU as a high school student?
- What was it about LMU that appealed to you?
- How do your extracurricular activities enrich your experience?
- What are your greatest passions?
- What motivates you to excel at LMU?
- What has scholarship support meant to you, your family, and/or your educational goals?
- Tell the donor about your post-graduation plans. How has LMU influenced these plans?
Submission Process
- Typed Submissions: You can submit your letter through the link sent to your Lion email account from thankyou@lmu.edu.
- Please note that the submission page on PROWL has a timeout feature, and your letter will not be submitted if you spend too long on the page. We recommend composing your letter in a separate application like Word or Google Docs and copying the text into PROWL once it is complete.
Note for Prior Scholarship Recipients:
If you have received a donor-funded scholarship in the past, you may have written a thank-you letter to the donor of your scholarship. Beginning in Academic Year 22-23, we are sending student profiles that include a shorter note to donors instead of thank-you letters.
Frequently Asked Questions:
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Many students depend on scholarship aid to support their educational experience. At LMU, scholarships are often established by the generosity of private donors. This private support can directly promote innovation, quality, retention, stability, productivity and creativity, leaving a lasting legacy on the University and the students we serve.
Each year, over 1,000 LMU students receive one or more donor-funded scholarships, which provide significant financial relief to them and their families. The Financial Aid Office (FAO) works closely with Donor Relations and other campus partners to ensure that Lions with financial need receive as much assistance as possible.
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You are the recipient of a donor-funded scholarship with one or more living contacts. Those contacts wish to receive information about the recipients of their scholarship.
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In short, you deserve it!
Most of LMU’s donor-funded scholarships are auto-match, which means that there is no application process; you are matched by the Office of Financial Aid with a scholarship you qualify for based on the criteria of the award.
There are a handful of scholarships that are awarded using an application. There is an application cycle in the Fall Semester, when students can submit applications for an award in the current academic year. There is another application cycle in the Spring Semester, when students can submit applications for an award in the next academic year. Information on scholarships that require applications can be found here.
Please note that you must have an up to date FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on file in order to receive financial aid. If you need more information on the FAFSA, please click here.
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We are very careful to protect students’ privacy. Information that is protected by FERPA (address, phone number, award amount, etc.) will never be released without your explicit permission. When you have completed your profile, you will check a box that releases your profile to the Office of Donor Relations in perpetuity.
A member of the Donor Relations & Stewardship staff will read and lightly edit your profile for grammar and punctuation. Then, your profile will be added to the annual stewardship report, and it will be sent to the donor funding your scholarship. In most cases, the staff member and the donor(s) are the only people who will be thoroughly reading your profile.
In certain cases, a staff member will extract an exceptionally well-written quote from your profile to be used in other University materials that support scholarship fundraising at LMU. This quote may be accompanied by information not protected by FERPA, such as your name, graduation year, and major(s).
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We understand that things come up! To discuss a new deadline, please reply to the email you received or contact Emma Somers at emma.somers@lmu.edu.
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Yes. We ask that you submit a new profile each year that you are receiving donor-funded financial aid. Even if you are receiving the same scholarship as last year, donors still appreciate updates as your LMU career progresses.