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Scholarships for minority students are financial aid for college created specifically for minority students. Minority scholarships can help students attain higher education opportunities that otherwise may be out of reach due to financial reasons. All scholarships are free money for college that you don’t have to pay back.
There are minority scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students. There are even scholarships specifically for first-generation minority students (minority students whose parents haven’t earned a 4-year college degree).
Before you apply to minority scholarships, make sure you check the eligibility requirements to see if you qualify. Some common eligibility requirements may include your GPA, community service, citizenship, plan to attend an accredited program, leadership potential, and submitting a FAFSA®. Scholarship eligibility requirements vary, so don’t assume you won’t qualify. Check them out!
Some scholarships are quick and easy to apply for. Others require time and effort. Typically, fewer students apply to scholarships that require work which means you could have better odds of winning.
Pro tip? Don’t skip over minority scholarships with smaller award ($) amounts. There’s typically less competition for them—and they add up!
There are many resources to help you find minority scholarships.
Your high school guidance office is a great place to start when looking for local scholarships. You could also try doing a search for your city’s name and “community foundation," or the county you live in and “foundation."
Easily search through hundreds of college scholarships based on your background, major, state you live in, and more.
Hot tip! Smaller scholarships may have less competition, increasing your odds of winning.
If you’re a minority student, there are specific scholarships available that can help you pay for college. These are examples of scholarships for minorities to help with college costs like books, on-campus housing, tuition, and more.
These are scholarships for students who have demonstrated a financial need. There’s no universal number or set income level that tells you if you qualify. How each scholarship defines what financial need means varies. The federal government as well as specific organizations, corporations, and colleges/universities/schools offer need-based scholarships.
Merit scholarships are for students who have shown high academic, athletic, or extracurricular achievement over their high school careers. Not all schools/colleges offer merit-aid—highly selective schools typically don’t. The process for applying for merit scholarships varies. For merit scholarships offered through colleges and universities, you generally don’t have to do anything other than complete the application to the school itself. For some schools, you need to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA ® ) to be eligible.
These are awarded to students who know they want a career in a specific industry. Maybe they know they want to be a teacher, a nurse, or an engineer. To be eligible for grants, students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). To find career-specific scholarships, try searching for your major and “association.”
Nonprofit and community organizations often receive funding from donors to create scholarship programs for students who need them.