Accepting Your AC Fellowship
Congratulations on being offered an Amherst College Fellowship!
Please respond to this offer by May 1st, so that we may proceed with issuing your funds. Even if your plans have changed and you must resign the award, we need to know. Note that while we are requesting this information now, no checks will be released until after the start of the new fiscal year, which is July 1st. Check requests will be sent to the Controller's office in August. The Controller's Office will send checks directly to you and made out to you for one-half of the amount of the award by September 15th, and the other half in January, by the 15th. Awards of $500 or less are sent as a lump sum in September. In rare cases, a check may be issued before August 1st. Please contact us if you need to request an early check. Kindly read the entire page below, and follow all instructions that apply to you.
If you will be studying outside of the United States, will be traveling for an extended period between July 1st and September 15th, or have another situation that you believe merits special arrangements for the timing of your check release, please contact Christine Overstreet (coverstreet@amherst.edu). In certain circumstances funds may be disbursed via wire transfer rather than on paper.
ALL Awardees (both accepting and resigning)
1) Complete and submit the AC Fellowships Response Form.
2) Share a bit about yourself with the donors who support the funds that make your award possible by completing the Fellows Questionnaire. The Amherst College Donor Relations Office will share your responses with the appropriate donor(s).
3) Read and follow the instructions below about reporting, renewing, and resigning your award.
Awardees entering a graduate program for the first time
If you are entering graduate school for the first time, even if you have received AC funds before, you must Provide Proof of Graduate School Acceptance. If you have received an official letter on letterhead or as a pdf version of the same, upload it to the form. If your acceptance came as an email, copy the text of the message so that the sender's name and email address is visible as well as the entire body of the letter, and paste it into the text window on the form.
If you do not know at this time which school you will attend, please submit the response form by May 1 and indicate when your letter of acceptance will be available in the comments section. Once you receive the letter, send it to Christine Overstreet via email.
Non US citizens who will be studying inside the US
If you are a non-US citizen and will be studying in the US, you must update your information in the Foreign National Information System (FNIS) website or we will be unable to process your funds. Log into FNIS to access the account that you established as an Amherst College student. Verify or update your current email and mailing addresses and visa/immigration status. If you need assistance with your user ID or password, contact Laurie Bouchard (lmbouchard@amherst.edu) and she will help you. In some cases, fellowship stipends for non-U.S. citizens may be subject to federal income tax reporting and withholding.
EXCEPTION: If you are a non-US citizen and will be attending a graduate program outside of the US, or if you were not required to complete the FNIS form while you were a student at the College, you DO NOT need to update this information.
Reporting, Renewing, and Resigning your Award
Reporting to the IRS: You are responsible for reporting grants and fellowships to the IRS. AC Fellowship funds are to be used for tuition, fees, books, equipment required for courses, and other educational supplies and are not intended for incidental expenses, such as room and board, travel, and optional equipment. Please refer to the IRS Publication 970 - Tax Benefits for Education. For further questions, please contact your local IRS office.
Reporting to your Graduate Institution: You must inform any other school or organization that grants you financial support for graduate school that you are receiving this fellowship. If you need an official letter on letterhead from our office, either on paper or as a scanned pdf, contact Suzanne Spencer (sspencer@amherst.edu) or Christine Overstreet (coverstreet@amherst.edu).
Amherst College Catalog Fellowships Listing: Your name will be included in the Amherst College Catalog with the name of the school you will attend. If your school is still unknown when we must submit this information, the listing will state "School not known."
Fellowship Renewals: Amherst alumni may receive up to three years of Amherst College Fellowship funding. Renewals are not automatic. You must submit an application each year. Funding decisions are made on the basis of academic merit and current financial need; awards vary from year to year based on the number of applicants in your field and on the fund amounts available in that field. Mark your calendar with next year's application deadline - FEB 10th.
Resigning Your Fellowship: If your plans change after you have accepted the fellowship and you must resign, notify us via email (rather than over the phone). You will be eligible to receive funds again, as long as you apply within six years of AC graduation.
Have questions? Please contact us.
Christine Overstreet, Director of Fellowships
212 Converse Hall
413-542-2536
coverstreet@amherst.edu