Most of scholarship programs are opened for both genders, but there are many scholarships reserved exclusively for either male or female students. In fact, far more scholarships are available just for women than just for men. If you are a female student, don’t miss your chance to apply these scholarships which dedicated exclusive for you. Here are 5 resources to help you find these “Female only” scholarship programs.

Resource #1: America’s Junior Miss Scholarship (ajm.org)

This is a unique scholarship program which awards the scholarships as prizes and it is offered exclusive for female students. To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be a female student who have never married and must be a legal U.S citizen. There are over 200 colleges and universities offer this scholarship program, which award prizes with amount $1,000 to $40,000 to the winners.

Resource #2: AWIS Graduate Awards (fis.ncsu.edu) Association for women in Science (AWIS) Education Foundation is the sponsor of this award. If you have enrolled into any Ph.D program in the fields of behavioral, engineering, life, physical or social science, and you are a female student who pursues your degree in United State’s university or college, then you are qualified to apply it. This scholarship will award you $300 to $1,000 if you manage to win it.

Resource #3: BPW Scholarship (bpwusa.org)

This scholarship is for women who returning to higher education for an undergraduate or graduate degree and demonstrated the need of financial assistance. You must be 25 years old or older to be eligible to apply this scholarship. This BPW scholarship money is sponsored by Business and Professional Women (BPW) Foundation. There are more than 200 awards allocated for this scholarship, you stay a good chance to win this scholarship if you meet all the eligibility criteria.

Resource #4: Pennsylvania Outstanding Young Woman Scholarships (poyw.com) The scholarships are especially dedicated for Pennsylvania resident’s female high school students. Beside that, you must be a U.S citizen and never been married in order to qualify for application of this scholarship. The website provides a good and detail information that guide you on how to become the contestant. Remember to read the eligibility criteria and make sure you follow all the instructions to ensure you have the maximum chances of winning.

Resource #5: Society of Women Engineers Scholarships (swe.org)

For those female students who pursue computer science engineering degrees, don’t miss the opportunity to apply for this scholarship. It’s opened for high school seniors, college undergraduates, and graduate students. But before you decide to apply, check whether your college is one of SWE approved colleges because only female students from the SWE approved colleges are eligible to apply. There are about 90 awards with scholarship money of $200 to $5,000 available for competition, so if you are qualified and follow the instruction and application requirement, you should stay a good chance to win this scholarship.

Summary

There are many scholarships dedicated for female students, if you are a female and looking for financial assistance to support your college study, above 5 resources can help to get started, but remember there are still many scholarships available for you to apply, you just need to put some efforts to search and find the scholarships that you have the best chance to win.



Thanks to Amelia Turner for contributing this article to our Grants blog:

Educational Foundations

There is nothing like getting scholarship information directly from someone who has already had the experience. Here are a few tips that one parent shared about getting scholarship money for college. Her son went to a private college for four years on a full scholarship and her daughter earned a scholarship at a state school. Below are some brief thoughts to consider when looking for your scholarship.

Her words of wisdom, for getting the scholarship that you want, were to start early, start early, start early! There are two important scholarship dates to make sure that you stay ahead of the deadlines. One of the most important things to start doing early, is to study and sit for the ACT or FAT. Many students start in the seventh or eighth grade start studying for and taking the test. She says that it does not matter how many times you take the test so many people take the test several times. The most important thing in qualifying for a scholarship is your final test score.

It would be good to check to see what test is required in your state for scholarships. Because of making a 32 on the ACT, her son won the governors scholar award and received scholarship money from the state program called the academic challenge. Watching for test deadlines is very important because they missed one test that could have given them more scholarship money.

The second important date is the deadline set for applying to be eligible for the various scholarships. You will start testing at least in the eighth grade and it does not hurt to start learning what scholarships are available by the time you reach the tenth grade. For sure by the eleventh grade, you need to know the scholarship rules that you are interested in pursuing because the deadlines for applying for many scholarships can be nine months before the fall that you would enter college.

Another start early point for scholarship success is when applying for a scholarship, you would treat it like you would preparation for a good resume. You need to put as many scholarship enhancing details as you can about how involved you are in the community, how you are serving at the home for senior citizen, you volunteer at the hospital, you are a life guard at the pool in the summer, you have a part time job at the mall or anything that enhances your chances of being selected for the scholarship. A good idea is to document anything to use when applying for your scholarship that shows you are an asset to your family, your church, your school and your community.

Here is a Good Way to Start Your Scholarship Success!

Now you have one eye on the test dates and test scores and the other eye on the scholarships that you want and the scholarship application deadlines. Then you want to contact the college that you wish to attend to see what their scholarship requirements are. The college should be very helpful and interested in your success not only in applying for your scholarship but in your success throughout your college experience. They will be able to tell you what scholarships you will qualify to receive and the tests and test scores that will be required for that scholarship.

A good way to get a general idea and overview of what scholarships could be available is by searching the internet. This a great place to start to get a broad base scholarship information. The college that you are interested in attending should have scholarship information online and your state department of higher education should be a very good scholarship source online. You can do scholarship searches for free on some websites and get a feeling of what is available and what additional questions that you should ask about any scholarship. There are some sites where you have to pay for scholarship searches and there are government supported counseling services along with paid seminars that would give you more scholarship information.

When you are selecting a scholarship, be aware to consider the source of the scholarship funds and the organization that is behind the scholarship. The Federal Trade Commission warns students and parents to always be aware. If the scholarship sounds too good to be true, then you need to be careful. Below is one of their announcements.

Scholarships guaranteed or your money back! Beware of scholarship “guarantees.” Before you pay for a search service, get the refund policy in writing. Call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP to learn how to avoid scholarship scams.

Once you get a scholarship, the money should go directly to the school and they will take care of the details on your behalf. Something to be aware of after you get into school is the requirements to keep your scholarship. Once you get your scholarship, you do not want to loose it by not keeping your grade point to the required level or missing one of the other scholarship rules.

Here is one last point. Treat it like a business. Be serious. Be diligent. Treat your scholarship search like you are getting paid to do it. Actually, you are getting paid.



Thanks to Dewitt Shotts for contributing this article to our Grants blog:

Charitable Foundation Grants

Math is a subject you either love or hate it seems. For those of you who love math and excel at it, it is your turn to be rewarded for what you do best. There are many scholarships available for math majors nationally and through state universities.

Several scholarships are linked directly to a student’s performance on both the PSAT and SAT. The National Merit Scholarship program offers scholarships based on PSAT performance. Many colleges offer applicants’ scholarships based on high SAT performance. For example, one general requirement of a Benjamin Rush scholarship at Dickinson College, a colonial college located in rural Pennsylvania, is a combined SAT score of 1350 or greater. This scholarship provides qualifying students with $12,500 per year. Contact the financial aid office of the colleges you are interested in attending to determine what scholarships are offered to high-performing students.

Here are just a few National Scholarships Available:

• The Davidson Fellows Scholarship awards $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 scholarships to extraordinary young people under the age of 18 who have completed a significant piece of work. Application categories are Mathematics, Science, Literature, Music, Technology, Philosophy and Outside the Box. Davidson Fellows are honored every year in Washington, D.C. with Congressional meetings and a reception at the Library of Congress.

• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Fellowship Program is intended for students interested in pursuing the basic science and technology innovations that can be applied to the DHS mission. This education program is intended to ensure a highly talented science and technology community to achieve the DHS mission and objectives. Eligible students must be studying in a homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

• Science Talent Institute -Each spring, 40 finalists are selected from a nationwide pool of thousands to attend the week-long Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C. There, students have the opportunity to present their research projects to the general public and members of the scientific community at the National Academy of Sciences, meet with distinguished government leaders and participate in a rigorous judging process. Over $1 million is awarded annually to Intel STS participants and their schools. Awards range from $5,000 scholarship grants and laptop computers for all finalists to the grand prize of a $100,000 college scholarship.

• MATHCOUNTS, a national math competition, is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Participants are eligible to compete for college scholarships. The National Science Foundation is one widely recognized source of scholarships for qualifying students. Through their Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), talented students can qualify for up to $10,000 per academic year.

• Raytheon is offering several scholarships to middle school, high school, and undergraduate students as well as grants to math teachers and volunteers. Middle and High School students can earn $1000 scholarships and an additional $1000 for their school by answering questions related to their enthusiasm for mathematics and their own math programs. Undergraduates can earn $900 scholarships renewable for up to 6 semesters ($5400 total).

• The Siemens Westinghouse Competition is a leading research-based science and math competition for high school students. The competition awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. Students may enter as individuals or as members of a team. chance at admission to certain colleges and universities. New York University has consistently offered four-year scholarships to finalists of the Intel Science Talent Search who otherwise meet their admission criteria.

If you plan to attend your state’s university, check with them regarding math related and math oriented scholarships. It is most likely they will have something available.

For those of you who are interested in teaching math, scholarships are available for that as well. Math for America administers The Newton Fellowship Program, which trains individuals with exceptional math abilities to become high school math teachers. A five-year teaching commitment is rewarded with $90,000 (in addition to a teaching salary) and a scholarship covering full tuition to obtain an M.Ed. While this route might be unconventional for some, the $90,000 incentive could be used to pay off any student loans an undergraduate math student acquired during college.

Whatever your specialty or however you may apply your math skills, it is most likely there is funding in the form of scholarships available for you.



Thanks to Evelyn Saunders for contributing this article to our Grants blog:

Sample Grants

Most students who are planning to go to college will try to win a scholarship to fund their study. There are so many students are competing to win those scholarship dollars, scholarship scams have become a booming business. These fraudulent programs do their best to imitate legitimate scholarship programs sponsored by government agencies, charitable foundations, and corporations and try to take money from their victims without giving away any free money. Here are some common techniques used by online scholarship scams to take money from you; get yourself alert and avoid these common online scholarship scams.

Common Online Scholarship Scams Most scholarships scams will try to request money during the application process. You will usually ask to pay for all kinds of fees during the scholarship application process. The scholarship sponsors may charge what they call an application fee, entrance fee, reading fee, judging fee, or administrative fee. You may also ask to pay a processing or handling fee just to receive a copy of scholarship application form or to request more details information about the scholarship.

Other than those kinds of fees, scams may pile on the hidden fees after you have submitted an application. You may receive an email or mail notification saying that you have won a scholarship, but to collect it, you must first pay a “disbursement” or “redemption” fee. A warning alert should be immediate triggered once you receive the message asking you to pay money in order to receive your scholarship award, because no legitimate scholarship program will ask you to pay any money in order to receive money that you have supposedly won.

Do you know that most of scholarships are tax-free? If you do not know, you may fall into the trap of scholarship scam when you are asked to pay for taxes on your scholarship award. Be aware that you only have to pay taxes on a scholarship award if you use the money for other purpose than paying your tuition fee; for example you use the scholarships money to buy a new computer, to pay for room’s rental or spending in paying the cost of traveling from and to the campus. Even if you need to pay taxes for your scholarship award because of these reasons, you should never have to pay federal, state, or sales taxes to organization giving you the scholarship; instead, any required taxes should pay directly to IRS.

Another technique used by scholarships scam that may causes you expose to identity theft, you may be asked to disclose a bank account or credit card number in order to hold the scholarship. Never give out information like this, not even if the sponsor insists it is required to process the scholarship that you have already won. No legitimate scholarship programs would ask for it.

How to Avoid Scholarship Scams? While a few legitimate scholarship programs do charge an entrance or administrative fee, the majority do not charge anything at all. Hence, to be safe, limit your scholarship applications to scholarship programs that don’t charge any fees to apply. If you are asked to pay for any hidden cost after you have submitted your application form, turn your scholarship hunt to elsewhere because there are many other legitimate scholarship programs that are free of charge in application.

Summary To avoid getting taken by scholarship scams, watch out for offers that seem too good and ask you to pay an up front fee. You must approach every scholarship program with caution and limit your application for scholarships that don’t ask you to pay any fee to apply.



Thanks to Jullie Harvard for contributing this article to our Grants blog:

Low Income College Grants

Finding a college scholarship is important if you’re going to go to college. Going to college today is imperative if you plan on getting a quality job and being successful in life; however, the prices of a good college education have never been higher before. Today the costs of attending college are skyrocketing, making a college education an expensive investment that many are finding themselves unable to afford. However, there are a variety of college scholarships available to help students with college costs, but many are not even trying to apply. If you are looking for a way that you can afford college, then you may want to try applying for a college scholarship to help you afford your education.

 

Although you will find that there are many options to choose from when you are looking for a college scholarship, many of these scholarships are going unawarded each year, simply because no one has applied for them. There are actually thousands of different scholarships out there that one can apply for. Although many of these scholarships are merit based, there are different qualifications for each scholarship, and many are not based on just merit or financial need alone.

 

If you are looking for a college scholarship, you will find that many of them are based on financial need. This means that those who are having difficulties coming up with the money to go to college should definitely apply for these scholarships. Even if you are not financially needy though, there are other great scholarship opportunities that are not just based on need. You’ll find that there are many scholarships out there that are especially for people of particular heritages, some for those going into certain fields, and a whole lot more.

 

Many times you’ll find that you can easily find a good college scholarship in your area. More than likely there are local scholarships available. When you are competing for scholarships that are based on a small geographical area, you will have a much better chance of winning them. Consider talking to your guidance counselor to find out what local scholarships are available in your area. Of course there are scholarships that are offered on a national basis as well, including National Merit scholarships, Coca-Cola scholarships, ROTC scholarships, Robert Byrd scholarships, and very many more.

 

Chances are that your employer or your parents’ employer may also offer scholarships as well. If you are working already, find out if your employer has any scholarships programs. Ask your parents if their companies offer scholarships for the children of their employees. Also, you may find that your church may even offer some scholarships as well.

 

There are so many different ways that you can find a college scholarship today. There are online sites that provide listings of top scholarships, and books that you can check out of your library full of possible scholarships. One of the best places that you can find a great scholarship is online at scholarship search sites. These sites ask you specific questions and will then help to match you up with scholarships that you may be eligible for. So, why pay for college on your own? There are plenty of great scholarships out there that can help you get the education you need and deserve.

 



Thanks to Jon Arnold for contributing this article to our Grants blog:

Government Grants For School