Before we start, allow us to congratulate you and your determination! Being a disadvantaged student can be a bit hard, but it is highly commendable that you are striving to get that degree! Rest assured, many people feel the same about it and have realized the need for grants and scholarships for disadvantaged students.
Grants and scholarships are the ideal solutions to help every student covering the tuition cost of college education. They are much better than getting yourself a loan that you will have to pay for years to come. Grants and scholarships help undergraduate and graduate students reducing their student loan.
Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students Grants
When searching for a scholarship or grants, it is important to know that –unlike grants– scholarships are given based on merits or your score. However, many of the scholarship providers prefer to give the scholarships to those who are in need. Therefore, no matter in what financial condition you’re in or in what disadvantageous situation you are, you should still complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA is a standardized application form that will determine your eligibility for the Pell Grant. If you are eligible, it is widely accepted as a fact that you come from a low-income family that needs the financial aid. The Pell Grant is based on your data, calculated based on the supportive family income, number of members in a family, etc.
The HRSA Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students
The HRSA scholarships for disadvantaged students program is a federal program in the form of grants available for schools. The school then converts the money as scholarships for disadvantaged full-time students.
The selection process and requirements differs from school to school, but in general the money will cover the tuition, educational and living expenses. The student must also be enrolled in a school of health related fields, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine, public health, optometry, or chiropractic.
The HRSA scholarships funding is a whopping $43 million per year, and it is divided into up to 99 awards. Each recipient will receive up to $650,000 per year, which will be distributed as scholarships-related programs for the students in need. According to the official site of HRSA, the scholarship given by the school must cover at least 50% of the annual tuition cost.
Since this program is only available for schools, students wanting to gain benefit from this program should contact their respective school or college to see if the school provides scholarship funded from the federal program. Contact the college or school’s financial aid office for more information.
Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students – Department of Health and Human Services
This program offers scholarships to full-time students who need financial help and come from disadvantaged backgrounds. These scholarships are for students in health professions and nursing programs. The scholarships are sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, and participating schools choose the recipients and decide how much money each student needs.
Students can only apply for these scholarships through schools that take part in the Scholarships for Disadvantaged program. To apply, students must contact the financial aid office at their current or future school. Eligible students include those in graduate programs for behavioral and mental health, such as clinical social work, professional counseling, clinical psychology, and marriage and family therapy. Students cannot apply directly for this scholarship; they must go through their school’s financial aid office.
Non-Government Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students
There are, of course, many other sources of scholarships for disadvantaged students aside from the ones from the government. Many of them come from organizations and foundations, including:
National Medical Fellowships Need Based Scholarship Program
This scholarship program is available to help needy medical students who are in their first and second year of attending college with the financial need of the student as the main consideration. Merit-based scholarships are also available for third and fourth-year medical students. This program has been around for quite a long time, with more than 30,000 scholarships awarded since 1946.
Unmet Need Scholarship Program
The Unmet Need Scholarship provides free money between $1,000 and $3,000 for each recipient. This is a great way to lessen your burden of college tuition. To be eligible the student has to enroll as a full time student at an accredited college, come from a low income family with the annual income of less than $30,000, and have at least 2.5 grade average. But of course, since this is a scholarship, the better your grades means that you will have a better chance in getting it.
Gates Millennium Scholars
There’s also a prestigious scholarship program coming from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. By far, this is the most advantageous program available and everyone who thinks that they’re eligible should submit their application. Minority students are preferred, but they still have to proof their excellence by having a cumulative high-school GPA of at least 3.3 and can proof that they are indeed need financial assistance to get the degree (the student must be selected as a Federal Pell Grant awardees).
Moreover, a teacher or an administrator must nominate the student for the Gates Scholarship. Some recommendation letters highlighting the student’s leadership skills and contribution for the school and the society.
The scholarship from this foundation has pretty strict requirements indeed, but the reward is also great! The foundation will cover the full tuition cost for 1,000 selected applicants, which basically means that you get to go to college for absolutely free!
Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students – Touro University
Contact: eric.levine@touro.edu
The Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program is now accepting applications for the spring 2022 semester. This scholarship covers at least 50% of your educational costs, and you don’t have to pay it back.
We are looking for students who need financial help and who want to work with underserved communities. The SDS program aims to increase diversity in health professions by providing scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are active as a full-time student in a social work program.
To be eligible, you can meet the requirements by visiting this link.
There are many other scholarsip opportunities available for disadvantaged students. The most important thing is to keep trying! Carefully read the requirements and do your best to complete them. I hope this post help!
References:
- Scholarships for Disadvantaged Student – https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/875
- Scholarship Criteria, Deadlines, Scams, and Other Sources of Money – http://www.thesalliemaefund.org/financial-aid/scholarships/
- National Medical Fellowships – https://www.nmfonline.org/
- Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund – http://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/diversity_pipeline/projects_initiatives/legal_opportunity_scholarship.html
- The Gates Millennium Scholars Program
- Image: bostonglobe.com
