California Senate Fellows Application

Carefully read and follow these directions when completing your application to the California Senate Fellows program. You are competing within a highly qualified pool of applicants. A neat, thorough and complete application will make a good first impression and will increase the likelihood of your being invited to interview with the selection committee. Failure to comply with any of the application guidelines may result in an application being disqualified.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Your application packet must be postmarked no later than February 25, 2009. There are no exceptions to the deadline. If delivered in person, complete applications must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 25, 2009, and delivered either to Room 405 (Senate Rules Committee) of the State Capitol or to the Center for California Studies (Tahoe Hall #3046) at California State University, Sacramento. Applications sent via fax or email will not be accepted.

Enclose your signed application, written statement, college transcript(s) and letters of recommendation in one envelope and mail to California Senate Fellows, Center for California Studies, Sacramento State, 6000 J Street, Tahoe Hall-room 4061, Sacramento, CA 95819-6081. (If there is a need to send recommendations and/or transcripts under separate cover, include a notation with the name(s) of the reference or college/university. Please note, however, that transcripts and letters of recommendation are subject to the postmark deadline.)

Please do not staple any part of your application and do not include a resume. Resumes will NOT be forwarded to the selection committee.

It is recommended that you request a Certificate of Mailing (PS Form 3817) from the U.S. Postal Service. If you do not receive e-mail or U.S.P.S. notification acknowledging receipt of your completed application by March 16, 2009, you should contact the program assistant at (916) 278-6906 or jgarcia@csus.edu.

WRITTEN STATEMENT:
Submit a personal statement, not to exceed three pages. The written statement is a vital part of your application packet and provides an opportunity to distinguish yourself from other excellent applicants. Your application will be strengthened with a carefully written and substantive personal statement. A hastily written statement with grammatical and/or typographical errors - or with mistaken references to other fellowship programs for which you are an applicant - will weaken your application. Be sure to proofread your statement for errors.

The selection panel is interested in learning about you, including your aspirations and why you are applying to the Senate Fellows program. Use your three pages to demonstrate your writing skills and to provide the selection committee with information that may not otherwise be apparent from your application. Do not simply repeat in narrative form the information that is already included in your application, and do not write a policy paper. Simply utilizing a one- or two-page statement prepared for another application is not the best use of this opportunity.

Written statements must be typed and double-spaced with a minimum font size of 12 points and margins of at least one inch. Your name should appear on the top of each page. Do not, however, include your Social Security Number.

TRANSCRIPTS:
Please enclose a transcript of record from each college or university attended. Copies of official transcripts are acceptable, as are unofficial transcripts downloaded from the Internet. Note, however, that Internet-generated transcripts must include the student's name in the printed document.

In order to ensure confidentiality of your personal information, please remove/obliterate your Social Security Number if it appears on one or more pages of your transcript(s).

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION:
Enclose three current letters of recommendation. At least two of the letters must be from persons who are not present Members or employees of the California Legislature. It is suggested that at least one of the letters be from a faculty member who is familiar with your academic work. Applicants who do not submit the required number of letters are ineligible for consideration.

Each person writing a letter must seal it in a separate envelope and sign his/her name across the seal. The sealed envelopes should be included with the rest of the application packet. Please provide a copy of the Instructions to Recommenders (Part 3) to each person asked to write a letter of recommendation.

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Application Details

The California Senate Fellows Application consists of three parts;

• Part 1 is an online form in which the applicant enters their contact and education information along with a
  Voluntary Background Survey and is then submitted to Sacramento State's secured web site. Proceed to Part 2 via the hyperlink. NOTE: Although Part 1 is electronically submitted; you will need to include a printed copy with the rest of your application packet.
  
  
• Part 2 is a PDF* that contains the applicant's school activities and awards, volunteer information and work experience. You can save the PDF to your computer with the latest version of Acrobat Reader, and you can enter information into the form.
  
  
• Part 3 is a PDF* of the Instructions to Recommender. You can either print the form, or email the hyperlink or PDF form to your recommender(s).
  
  

Mail (do not fax) the completed, unstapled application packet, which includes: the signed and dated Fellowship application (Parts 1 and 2), three page personal statement, three letters of recommendation, and transcripts to:

No application will be accepted beyond the postmark deadline.

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System Requirements:

• *Acrobat Reader (7.0 or above) is required and is available free from Adobe's Web site.



• Microsoft Internet Explorer® is recommended for best results.



• Continual internet connection needed during the completion of Part 1. This will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

 Click HERE to access the Part 1 of the California Senate Fellows Application 

      • Part 2 California Senate Fellows Application
      • Part 3 Instructions to Recommenders

      • California Senate Fellows Application (full)