The New York Times recently published a piece on the ; click bait in part, but also an interesting examination of a significant amount of data. In this article, weā€™re going to look at that same data and the New York Times’s conclusions with a more critical eye, to try and formulate the best advice for students and parents trying to decide on the right college education to invest in.

What Does the New York Times Say?

The New York Times is itself analyzing and reporting on data from the , an organization which does statistical research into higher education. The point of their research was to compare the average earning from majors at colleges with benchmarks set out by the Department of Education. These benchmarks are meant to ensure a reasonable rate of return; that is that graduates from programs earn a reasonable amount. 

The HEA Groupā€™s findings are quite positive; almost all college programs (~98%) meet the set benchmarks; almost all majors at almost all colleges outearn their high school graduate peers. Approximately 14% of programs perform exceptionally well, outearning their high school peers by at least $50,000 annually. 

This data is all in a very large excel file; what the New York Times did is make it much more easily searchable, so that you can check out the average salary for a particular major at a particular college. This is a useful tool, though there are some limitations in the data. 

The largest is the limit of sample size. The data only comes from students who graduated in 2017-18 and 2018-19; this is a snapshot, not a long-term trend chart. The data also only comes from students who received financial aid form the federal government; thus the wealthiest students and international students arenā€™t represented in these datasets at all. In spite of this, the data is quite useful, as is the New York Timesā€™ tool for exploring it more granularly. 

What Does the Data Say ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų College Majors?

Some of the data is completely unsurprising. If you simply sort the universities by which schools have the top earners, institutions like Caltech, UCLA, Duke, MIT, and Harvard top the list. Indeed, all of the top ranked universities in the US do quite well in terms of the average salary of graduates. 

The top earning majors list is also full of the usual suspects. Computer science, mathematics, and electrical engineering hold the top spots. Math may surprise some people, but recent trends in hiring show that firms on Wall Street prefer math majors over business or economics majors. The more quantitative the field of finance becomes, the more valuable a deep understanding of math is. 

Some fields are harder to parse; any major with fewer than 15 graduates from a school is not included in order to preserve student anonymity, so less-subscribed fields like languages and area studies are harder to gauge. Other fields, like biology, may lead to high paying fields for doctors eventually, but that wonā€™t be shown in this data because those one-day doctors are still in medical school, not yet earning. 

The New York Times has also helpfully provided a full list of the majors and institutions with the highest overall average salaries. These are: 

1. Mathematics, Duke University: $297,029
2. Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, $268,121
3. Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, $250,168
4. Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, $241,380
5. Statistics, Harvard University, $230,867
6. Computer Engineering, UCLA, $228,705
7. Computer Science, MIT, $225,141
8. Computer Science, Cornell University, $223,309
9. Computer Science, Princeton University, $217,973
10. Computer Science, Pomona College, $217,051

Again, this is merely a snapshot, but the pattern in the data is hard to miss. Going to college generally does offer students good earning, but some majors and schools do far better than good, while a few schools and majors underperform expectations. The most surprising of these are music; even top ranked music schools often have remarkably poor earnings. Several of these are even at risk of running afoul of the new Department of Education rules.

What This Data Means for College Applicants

We do want to caution against using this data to decide what you want to major in. This is employment data from only two years of graduates, and reflects a very particular market trend; computer science majors graduating in 2018-19 were entering right into the start of the AI boom, and an incredible windfall for many Silicon Valley companies.

It is impossible to predict what the financial or jobs market will look like four years from now when you are graduating college, or if youā€™ll be entering into a boom or bust cycle for any particular field. There are some overall trends which are more useful to consider however, and which we do think students should look at. 

The first is the relative value of different colleges. Top colleges are more costly (though often not by much), and offer generally higher salaries across the board; the highest earners from top ranked colleges outearn their peers, and even in less popular or well-paid majors students who attend higher ranked colleges still have higher average salaries. 

The next tier of colleges for earning tend to be the top performing state schools. They donā€™t always have the same prestige, but graduates from UT Austin, Michigan, UIUC, and Purdue all do quite well in terms of their earnings. They tend to be a bit more lopsided; certain programs at these schools do better than others, but they do a solid job preparing students for successful careers. 

What this data doesnā€™t factor in, and what should be a major part of your own considerations, is the cost of attending these colleges. College is an incredibly expensive investment; this data shows that it often pays off quite nicely, but you still want to be cognizant of how much youā€™re investing and what youā€™re getting for that. 

How to Make College Pay Off for You

So how should you apply all of this data to your own college applications? We recommend factoring it in most when building your college list, considering not just the price of schools, but how much attending a particular school is likely to benefit you. Hereā€™s some key tips for doing so.

Always Consider Top Schools

Not every student is qualified for, or wants to attend, Harvard. That said, if you have the kind of application profile that makes you a legitimate contender for top universities, then you should consider applying to them. Colleges claim they arenā€™t job training centers, but top rated schools are consistently the best at this thing they claim not to do. 

Top universities often also have the most generous need-based aid, so even middle class and upper middle class students can get a better deal on college tuition at these schools than at other institutions. This makes them even better as an investment, since you will be paying less and likely earning more. 

Public Colleges Offer Good Returns for In-State Students

Public colleges may not top the list of top earning alumni, but many of them arenā€™t that far behind the top private universities in how much their students earn. More appealingly, many of them have far lower tuition costs for in-state students. While they tend to have less generous financial aid, the overall cost for many students is low, and acceptance rates are more forgiving than top private schools. 

For out of state colleges, however, the tradeoff is often far worse. Out of state public colleges often charge nearly as much as private universities, acceptance rates for students are lower, and there is far less financial aid available. In certain cases, this can still be a good idea, but this should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

Lower Ranked Private Universities

There are many private universities which are lower ranked. These are still good schools, and you will get a good education from them, but they often have worse financial aid. The pay rates for alumni at these schools are somewhat lower on average than top schools, but not by much, and getting a degree from them will still lead to good career outcomes for most students. 

Instead, what you need to be aware of for these schools is how much youā€™re paying. These schools often have high tuitions and far less financial aid available, as they do not have the large endowments many top universities enjoy. These can be fine schools to have on your list, but you should consider cost when deciding where to attend. 

Choice of Major

Almost across the board, students who attend college outearn their peers who donā€™t. Your choice of major does matter, but we caution you against choosing a major based solely on this data. Many students donā€™t end up working in the field they major in, and many different major paths can lead to gainful and enjoyable employment. Your choice of major should reflect your profile, in order to maximize your chances of admission to these schools. 

Final Thoughts

Students and parents are rightfully concerned about the rising costs of college tuition, and want to be sure that they pick a college to attend that will be a good investment, and set them up for the future. The article by the New York Times provides some helpful data, but that data only tells part of the story. We hope that this article has helped you understand some of the nuances of choosing a college, and how the right choice can help set you up for success in the future. 

If youā€™re looking for advice building your college list, or finding the best schools to prepare you for the future, ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors specialize in helping students find schools that will support them, and in guiding you through the overly complex application process. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, weā€™re always happy to hear from you.

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In this article, weā€™re going to explain what this scholarship is, who itā€™s for, and how you can apply for it. Weā€™ll also look at some of the nuances of Stamps Scholarships compared to other scholarship programs on offer at top universities. Letā€™s jump right in!

Understanding the Stamps Scholars Program

Founded in 2006, the Stamps Program partners with universities to offer annual awards that recur for all four years of an undergraduate education. They partner with universities in both the US and UK. Award amounts vary by university, from $20,000 to $98,000 per year. 

In addition to tuition support, Stamps Scholars are also given access to funds for enrichment and summer programs. This too is disbursed through the universities students attend, rather than through the program directly. This is how the STamps Scholars Program works; while they provide the funding, the scholarships are applied to through and awarded by the universities they partner with. 

Stamps Scholars has a number of throughout both the US and the UK. You can see the full list on their website, but it is remarkable in large part because they work with both large public universities and elite private institutions, small schools and large ones, top rated institutions and ones which, while still excellent, are more pedestrian. 

The size of the award you get is determined by the college you are attending, as awards are processed through individual colleges, rather than centrally. Most, but not all, Stamps Scholarships are full tuition awards; this too is determined by partner universities. 

How to Apply for a Stamps Scholarship

The Stamps Scholarship is one of the easiest merit scholarships to apply to, since at most partner schools there is no additional application requirement. You do not apply to the scholarship organization, instead applications and decisions are all handled at the partner school. 

What this looks like, and how itā€™s handled, depends on the school in question. Some schools include Stamp Scholarships in another of their programs; includes Stamps in the Carolina Scholars scholarships. They are also notable in that only students who are residents of Carolina are eligible for the award. Some schools do have these requirements; these are set by individual schools, not by the scholarship itself. 

The scholarship itself is looking to develop future leaders, and to give leadership development to students. The scholarship has no limits on who can apply, but certain colleges do. To help break this down, hereā€™s a table of every partner college which offers a Stamps Scholarship, and what they require from applicants, both in terms of materials to apply, and eligibility. 

Should You Apply for the Stamps Scholarship?

An important thing to note about all of these schools is that Stamps Scholarships are rare and selective. Two to five students per school receive one; some schools which combine Stamps funding with other sources offer more; University of Oregon offers up to twenty; ten for Oregon residents and ten for all other students. Even that, however, is a very small number compared to how many students attend the school. 

At many of these schools (though certainly not all of them) these are the most generous scholarships available, a full ride; tuition, fees, housing, plus supplemental funding for extracurricular expenses. Thus only the very best students who apply to these schools meaningfully compete for these scholarships, regardless of what eligibility requirements exist (or donā€™t, as is more often the case).

For many of these schools, there is little to no barrier to apply for the scholarship; sometimes there is, but much of the time you simply have to apply to the school itself, and whichever honors program the Stamps scholarship has been siloed under. A better question to ask is what a good applicant for the Stamps scholarship looks like. 

What Colleges Are Looking for From Stamps Scholars

Each college sets their own criteria for these students, with some general guidance from the Stamps Scholars Program. While each has their own evaluation criteria and methods, they are generally quite consistent in what they want from students, even if some schools are more explicit about it than others. This is what they want to see: 

• Academic excellence. You should have very high grades, and high test scores for those schools which require them. They want to see that you have succeeded academically, and that you have a high potential to continue to do so.
• Leadership potential. A significant portion of what the STamps Scholarship is looking to do is to nurture future leaders. Thus when awarding the scholarship, schools are looking for students with significant leadership experience, who have worked to do something meaningful, with the potential to do even more.
• Community involvement. The Stamps Scholarship is an investment in the future, finding and supporting students who will do great things for their communities. As part of that, they look for students who have meaningfully contributed tot ehir communities in the past.
  

Each school evaluates students differently for this, but generally, students who are competitive for the Stamps Scholarship are top applicants to the school. After all, if only five students get it each year at a college, itā€™s likely to go to the five best students. This isn’t to say you shouldnā€™t apply, we think you should in many cases; just that this is a very competitive scholarship.

Finally, this is usually a conditional merit scholarship. Once you receive it, you need to maintain good academic standing and a minimum GPA in order to continue receiving the scholarship. This is not so high nor as competitive as receiving it in the first place, but another check to make sure that their investment in you is on track. 

Final Thoughts

With the cost of college rising each year, even at state schools which have until recently been affordable, scholarships which offer to cover the full cost of attendance are incredibly valuable. The Stamps Scholarship is doing an amazing thing, and while not every student can benefit from it, hundreds do each year. We hope that this article has given you a good sense of what this scholarship is, and how you can benefit from it. 

If you are looking for help finding colleges with scholarships that you can qualify for, or are earlier in high school and want to shape your experiences to set you up for scholarships like this, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors our experts at college admissions, and helping students like you make the most of their time in high school when preparing for college. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, weā€™re always happy to hear from you.

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Understanding the Robertson Scholars Program

The goal of the program is to find and support future leaders. It is funded by community members and businesses in North Carolina, and so focuses its scholarship on the two best universities which are close to it; Duke and UNC Chapel Hill. The scholarship program was founded in 2000 by Julian Robertson, from whom it takes its name. 

The program is operated in partnership with both UNC Chapel Hill and Duke, and students in the program receive a number of special privileges. Most notably, they are allowed to take courses at and major in both schools, even if they were admitted to one or the other. Thus a student can be admitted to UNC Chapel Hill and have their primary major there, but add a secondary major at Duke, so long as they are part fo the Robertson program. 

Sophomores in the program switch campuses; instead moving to the school they are not a member of, to experience courses and classwork there for a semester, to expand their worldview. There is an express bus provided by the program for participants which links the campuses. 

Robertson Scholars provides a full scholarship to whichever of the two schools you are admitted to. They offer a number of additional benefits to awardees as well. There is a community of scholars on campus; participants are invited to dinners with faculty, leadership seminars, retreats, and special colloquia. There are grant opportunities to allow students to pursue summer programs or research, and seniors in the program get to network with alumni, to aid them on the next step of their career journey. 

How to Apply to the Robertson Scholars Program

Both high school students and current students at Duke or UNC can apply for this program. We will focus on the application for high school students in this article. Note that the application is separate from your application to Duke and/or UNC; you must apply to both to be considered for the scholarship.

The program is associated with the schools, but has its own application, criteria, and selection process. The application must be done , and follows this timeline: 

• August 15: Applications open
• October 15: Early Notification Deadline
• November 15: Regular Notification Deadline
• December-February: Group Activity
• February: Semi-Finalist Interviews
• March: Finalist Interviews
• March 31-April 3: Recipient campus visits

This is a rather involved application, so we will go through each aspect of it in detail. First, however, you should be sure you are eligible for the program. Students from any country and of any nationality may apply for the program. The scholarship has the following eligibility criteria:Ā 

• You must apply for admission to Duke and/or UNC Chapel Hill in the same year and admissions cycle as you apply for the program; you may apply for either the early or the regular decision deadline
• International students must be able to attain a visa to study in the US
• Students who are on a gap year who have already been admitted may not apply until they matriculate; then they may apply using the process for current students at either school

The Roberson Scholars Online Application

The application has several core pieces. First is demographic information. While this is a fully merit-based scholarship, they do still need to know who you are and how to contact you. This is easy enough to enter; it will be redundant with what you did for the Common App in large part. Note that at this stage, they will only ask for your self-reported GPA. They will ask for your full transcripts later in the process, they do not ask for standardized test scores. 

The application asks for two letters of recommendation from teachers. You can ask the same teachers who are writing your letters of recommendation for colleges. While the Robertson Scholars program will gain access to your Common App later in the admission process, they wonā€™t see it at this stage. Your initial application should therefore be as impressive and well-crafted as possible, to help you stand out in the field.

There are several essays required as part of this initial application. The exact prompts change every year, but there are similar questions and topics they often return to, even if the wording changes. These are: 

• A personal statement where you describe your situation and goals, and how the scholarship program would help you accomplish them
• A description of your leadership, with examples of how youā€™ve shown these skills
• A description of your commitment to your community, and how you have been shaped by it and given back to it

When answering these essays, you want to fully answer the question, and speak to your past experiences, highlighting your most impressive achievements. This application is all the information they have about you; they are looking for students with significant leadership potential, and look to your past experiences to see your potential here.Ā 

You always want to be as specific as possible in these essays. What you did and why you did it; what you learned, the magnitude of impact you had. These details are important to your story; you donā€™t want to get bogged down in them, but you need to include enough of them for those reading and reviewing it to understand who you are. 

Group Activity

This is the first of three rounds of interviews, and is a group interview conducted virtually for a group of students with committee members for the Robertson Program. The goal of this is to get to know you better, and to see if your values are a good match for the program, and if you match the way you present yourself in your application. This is the first stage of winnowing; it is less in-depth yet, but mostly a confirmation step, to ensure that the person who impressed them on paper continues to impress them when they meet you. 

Semi-Finalist Interviews

At this stage, the panel will have received and reviewed your application to Duke or UNC, along with your application to the program. The goal here is to better understand you as a person, and to make sure your values align with what the program is looking for in students. These are virtual interviews, structured like a casual conversation. They donā€™t want to overwhelm you, but do wish to understand you.

Be prepared to speak about aspects of your application, how the Robertson Program will support your goals, and how you will make use of the resources it provides. Be ready to talk about past experiences youā€™ve had with leadership, and to show off your values. They are looking for passionate and dedicated leaders, and are looking for passion and curiosity in these interviews.

Finalist Interviews

These work much the same as finalist ones, and serve a similar purpose. There are a limited number of scholarships available each year, and they want to fully evaluate and understand each applicant. They are not looking for reasons to exclude you, but to find the candidates which best fit with the ethos and mission of the scholarship program. These can be stressful, but you should try to be relaxed and personable for these interviews, to show off the best side of yourself.

Should You Apply for the Robertson Scholarship Program?

While this is not a perfect fit for all students, if you are looking to apply to Duke or UNC Chapel Hill, even if they are not your top choice schools, then this can be a good scholarship to look at. Unlike many merit scholarships, your grades are less important than your character, values, and potential for leadership. They do still care about grades, but this scholarship is a great opportunity for students who may have difficulty competing for purely academic ones. 

If you have significant past experiences with leadership, and have been a dedicated leader of and contributor to your community, then you are exactly the kind of person this scholarship is geared towards. The application is rather involved, more so than for many other scholarships, but for the amount of funding and resources the program offers, that is entirely reasonable. 

We do advise all of our students who are looking to apply to Duke or UNC Chapel Hill to consider this scholarship. Not all of them apply for it, but it is always worth looking at if these schools are on your list. If you match some or all of the criteria they look for, then we definitely encourage you to apply. 

Final Thoughts

College is very expensive, so programs offering full ride scholarships (and a bunch of extras!) are quite worth looking into. While it is quite competitive, more so than either school is for admissions, plenty of students join and benefit from the Robertson Scholars program each year. We hope that this article has helped you better understand this scholarship program, and whether or not it is something you may want to avail yourself of. 

If you are looking for help finding scholarships particular to the colleges you are applying to, or want guidance on navigating the complex college application process, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. College applications are hard, but our mentors excel in making the complex minutiae they require feasible. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, weā€™re always happy to hear from you. 

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At UVA, the most generous scholarships are awarded by the (named after Thomas Jefferson, the universityā€™s founder). In this article, weā€™re going to cover the two main awards offered by the Foundation: the Jefferson and Walentas scholarships. Weā€™ll cover what each one offers, who theyā€™re for, and how you can apply for them. Letā€™s jump right in!

The Jefferson Scholarship Foundation

The Jefferson Scholarship Foundation is separate from but attached to the University of Virginia. The application process for the scholarships is fully separate from the application process to the university. The two scholarships are quite similar, but have distinct features. 

Both of the scholarships are full-tuition, covering the full cost of attendance to UVA, along with providing supplemental funding for enrichment experiences. This means the scholarship covers tuition, housing, and fees, additional funding for study abroad or research opportunities, and networking and development programs hosted by the Foundation. 

Both scholarships are also only open to students who are nominated; you may not apply directly to either scholarship, but must be nominated by your high school. You must gain admission to UVA separately from your consideration for the scholarship; once a nominated student has been admitted by UVA, they let the scholarship commission know. 

Both scholarships allow students of any nationality to be nominated. Note that for Walentas scholarships, only high schools in the US may nominate students. There is no citizenship requirement for the scholarship, nor is it need based; both scholarships evaluate applicants on merit. The one additional requirement the Walnetas scholarship has is that all nominees must be first generation college students. They specify that your siblings may be in college, but your parents cannot have college degrees in order to be nominated for it. 

The Nomination and Selection Process

The nomination and selection processes for these scholarships are similar but separate, running in parallel, with different committees reviewing nominations and making decisions. They both follow the same timeline: 

• August: The nominations portal opens for eligible schools
• December 1: Counselor and nominator materials are all due
• December-January: Admitted students are referred to the Foundation
• December-January: Regional review and interviews are conducted
• February: Final virtual interviews are conducted

The review process is done first regionally, and then overall to select the final recipients of the scholarships. First, all nomination materials are considered by the regional committee; they select students from this group to participate in regional interviews. The students who pass this become finalists, and are invited to a final virtual interview in late February.Ā 

The nominations require letters of recommendation, transcripts, a description of your extracurricular involvements, and essays. The essay questions are not available online; they purposefully only make these available to nominees during the process. One of the essays is on leadership, the other is a more general personal statement. As they donā€™t have access to your college application, you can reuse material from that when writing these essays (though we advise not reusing them in their entirety, but shaping them to fit the prompts). 

You may only be nominated for one of these scholarships. The Walentas Scholarship is slightly less competitive than the Jefferson Scholarship; this is because fewer schools are eligible to nominate students, and because the requirements are slightly more restrictive. If you qualify for both, we advise asking your counselor to nominate you for the Walentas Scholarship. 

What the Jefferson Scholars Foundation is Looking For

This scholarship is specifically looking for students with a history of and a talent for leadership, those students who will go on to be future leaders and difference-makers. They are not prescriptive about what this looks like; many different approaches to leadership exist, and they are looking to see how you have expressed it in your community. 

They do, of course, also want to see academic excellence, but this is more of a bar to clear than a major factor in selection. They want students who have shown they can excel academically, because those kinds of students will do well at UVA. You should have high grades in your courses and be an excellent student; though to be fair, you are likely to need this if your counselors are going to nominate you in the first place. 

In terms of leadership, they are looking for students who have shown responsibility. They accept both students who have been directly in charge of something (a team, a club, an organization they founded) and students who have shown responsibility by stepping up in an unofficial capacity. This can include family responsibilities, but there is an emphasis on helping out and contributing to your broader community. 

To review this, they look at two things: your resume, the overall list of the activities you have done; and an essay specifically asking about your leadership style. While they do not provide a full prompt for the essay, we do know the general subject they ask about, and this is your best chance to tell the committee what you have done to be a leader in your community. 

In this essay, you should be very specific. Point to actions you have taken, and focus the essay on a few discreet examples of leadership from your extracurriculars. There is no ā€œrightā€ topic for the essay, but you should unpack how and why you make the decisions you do as a leader, and what you have learned from the experience. Their goal is to admit students who will make great leaders in the future, and the best way to look for that is to see what you have done thus far. 

The Interviews

The interviews are structured as casual conversations, meant for the committees to learn more about you; your interests and passions. Their goal is to confirm the impression they have of you from your application, and to see if you are a good fit for their program. 

They do not give examples of interview questions on their site, but based on comments from former interviewees, they are comparable to other college interviews. If you are looking for general advice on preparing for college interviews, check out our article on the subject.

The committee may reference materials from your nomination during the interview; they will have access to it and will have read it. You should be ready to discuss your extracurricular activities, your leadership style, your community involvements, and any past experiences you have had with leadership. 

Should You Aim for the Jefferson Foundation Scholarships?

If you are interested in attending the University of Virginia, then yes. These are generous, prestigious scholarships, adding substantially to your resources while attending college, and not detracting anything from it. While these scholarships are only applicable to UVA, it is a great school, a top college in the US, and one which many students would benefit from attending. 

These are very competitive scholarships, and UVA is quite competitive for admissions, but if you are an excellent candidate for UVA, then you also likely have the background these scholarships are looking for. If you are applying to UVA, then you should look into these scholarships. 

To get nominated, you must speak with your counselor at your high school; they are the only one who can nominate you. Not every high school can nominate students, but most accredited high schools in the US can. We advise approaching your counselor at the end of junior year or the start of senior year to speak with them about this nomination. Schedule an appointment and speak with them in person if possible; emails are easy to miss.

Final Thoughts

College is expensive, but scholarship opportunities are out there, as colleges try to ensure that the best and brightest students can still afford to attend, and to draw the attention of the kinds of students who they think match their mission. We hope this article has given you good insight into one such scholarship, and let you decide if itā€™s a good fit for you. 

If you are looking for help finding scholarships at the colleges you are applying to, understanding financial aid, or are daunted at the thought of applying to one of these hyper-competitive colleges, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors are experts of every aspect of the admissions process. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more; weā€™re always happy to speak with you.

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Why Parents Turn to AI Tools for Financial Aid Appeals

Every college and university is required by law to allow students and parents to request a re-evaluation of their financial aid award in light of changing personal circumstances. Thai is tied to being able to access federal aid dollars, which no school wants to lose. Each school has their own specific process for this, but they generally involve reaching out to the financial aid office in question and submitting a letter detailing whatā€™s gone wrong, and documentation supporting the claim.

The novel twist in this arrangement is that interested parents and students are increasingly using AI tools to compose their appeal letters. The reasons for this are multifaceted; each person who uses the tools has their own. Broadly, however, they make writing text easier and faster, even if the text thatā€™s created has significant holes in it. If parents are expecting a rejection for their appeal anyway, then there is a ā€œwhy not?ā€ sort of approach. After all, whatā€™s the worst that can happen?

This is somewhat sensible on face value, especially for those parents who did not attend college themselves, and who see AI tools as a legitimate source of knowledge; something the companies which make these tools are quick to promote. Faced with an overly byzantine system, why not turn it all over to machines and hope for the best.

This, unfortunately runs into many of the problems inherent with these generative tools. Just as essays written with generative AI tend to have significant structural and quality issues, so too do these appeals often lack core components that financial aid officers need; weā€™ll examine how that happens next.

The Issues With AI-Generated Financial Appeal Letters

Anyone who has used AI generation tools knows that it can make some very flowery language, but often has a tenuous connection with reality at best. This is one of the primary issues when asking these tools to write a letter for you. These letters need to be direct, cover all necessary information, and clearly specify how your changed circumstances require more aid.

The letters financial aid offices are getting now, in contrast, are frequently extremely vague. They are written to convey urgency, but donā€™t include the needed details; what exactly happened, what sort of funding is no longer available, and just how much more aid they might need. 

In addition to these, AI does have a known issue of inventing information. Even if all of the information a family puts in is correct and complete, the AI can change it, sometimes drastically. This is due to how the generative AI works; it isnā€™t a malicious thing, but an inevitable result of how it processes and outputs data. In these cases, however, where every detail matters a lot, this can lead to incorrect assessments, or even fully incorrect data going to aid offices.

Because aid offices are obligated to process these requests, and because financial aid officers mostly want to help students, this leads to a significant increase in back-and-forth communications between these offices and families as they try to clarify this information. What may have been resolved in a single well-written letter can now take two or three, each of which must be parsed; and if AI is used in subsequent letters as well, issues can grow and compound upon each other. 

The ease of using AI to generate letters is also inducing more students to send them in, hoping for some extra aid. This is an understandable impulse, especially given how expensive college is, but creates even more work for an already overstretched aid office. 

How much any particular college is impacted depends on their own methods of handling aid appeals. Those who have dedicated forms to fill out with needed attachments have seen a much smaller increase in appeals, while those who accept requests via email have seen far more come in.

Those colleges who have seen a marked increase in appeal volume are now dealing with significant delays answering these appeals, both those written with the help of AI and those which arenā€™t. This can be quite stressful for students and parents, since the choice of which school to attend is quite often impacted heavily by how much aid is forthcoming, and until an appeal is answered, thereā€™s no way to know the number.

How This Impacts You

It is entirely understandable why you may want to appeal your financial aid offer, and why so many turn to AI when doing so. We hope that the above sections have highlighted the issues that arise from doing this; while AI can save time in the short term, in the long run it just makes more work for both you and the financial aid office. 

Here are the steps you should take if you are interested in appealing your financial aid award, and want the best chance of having it granted. There are no guarantees of course, most appeals are denied, but these are the steps we follow with the families we work with: 

Read each schoolā€™s guidelines. What each college accepts as reasons for an appeal, and the documentation they need, differ slightly. While the broad strokes are the same, the specific information you need to get them matters. You can generally write one letter and edit it for each school, but you will need to edit it, sometimes substantially, if you are appealing your aid awards at multiple schools.Ā 

Be clear and direct in your letter. Colleges will outline exactly what information they need to complete an appeal. Provide them with that information; what has changed in your circumstances, or not been considered, and why does that warrant a reconsideration of your aid award. Be explicit with what you want and what you need from them.

Include supporting documentation. Most colleges explicitly require this. If you want your appeal to be granted, you will need to include documentation for what has changed in your financial circumstances. These can be submitted as pdfs, but any point you make in your appeal letter should have proof to back it up.

Anticipate failure. Most financial aid appeals are rejected. This is especially true if you are just sending out appeals in the hopes that they reconsider, without significant new material to report. The financial aid offices want to help students, but at most colleges there is only limited aid available, and they are unable to assist everyone, even though they want to.Ā 

Communicate promptly. If you followed the above steps, then the office should have all of the information they need to process your appeal on the first review of it. On the chance that they do not, be sure to communicate with them promptly to supply any additional information they may need from you.

Final Thoughts

Colleges are expensive, and so appealing the financial aid awards they provide is often a final hope for families, a chance to escape some of the crushing costs of tuition. It is understandable that parents may turn to AI for assistance in this, but we hope that this article has shown why this is a mistake, and what measures you can take instead to improve your chances.

If you are looking for advice on applying to universities generally, or building a list of schools which maximizes your chances of getting an aid award, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors are experts at every aspect of the admissions process, and are highly skilled at finding the right schools to fit each studentā€™s particular needs, from desired major to need for aid. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you.

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This scholarship is somewhat unique, as it is solely based on merit, not need, and it is a full-tuition scholarship. This is something many of the students we work with, and students generally, are looking for. In this article, weā€™re going to break down how the Posse Scholarship works, how you can apply for it, and whether or not this is a good opportunity for you to pursue. Letā€™s jump in!

Understanding The Posse Foundation Scholarship

This is a merit-based full-tuition scholarship. The foundation partners with a list of ; the scholarship only provides funding to those universities. Now, this includes a number of elite colleges and universities, everything from Cornell to Texas A&M to the University of Virginia. 

Unlike the Questbridge scholarships, the Posse Scholarship is not a university application in and of itself. You apply for the Posse Scholarship and university admissions separately, and they are judged separately. If you are awarded the scholarship, and admitted into the university, then you receive the tuition funding, and the additional programmatic support of the program. 

The program provides during the spring of your senior year of high school for students admitted to the program. This is designed to help students bridge the gap between high school and college, and hit the ground running. Once in college, Posse provides additional , primarily through mentorship on campus. Finally, they have the , which gives students development and networking opportunities as they continue through college, with the goal of helping them land a career once they graduate. 

The stated goal of the program is to prepare a next generation of leaders, both in public life and in business, and the entire program is built to support students in this. This is quite an advantageous program; while the schools they partner with already have strong student supports, this goes the extra mile, and students in the program often have very impressive results post graduation. 

How to Apply for the Posse Scholarship

This scholarship requires that students be nominated for it, either by their school, or by another academic organization. These must specifically be a , though the majority of nominations for these scholarships come through high schools. 

Note that in order to be nominated, students must live in or near one of their ; these are spread out across the US, and represent a range of urban areas. This is a unique limiter on this scholarship compared to many others, in that it is geographically limited, but simultaneously has a fairly broad spread. You must also be a US citizen or permanent resident to be nominated for this scholarship. 

They do have subsidiary programs for or , but these follow the same nomination process. There is an additional program for ; these students may come from anywhere in the country, but this is only open to post-9/11 US veterans. 

For many schools, there is a specific application process to become a nominee. Schools and community organizations only have a certain number of nominations they can make, and thus have their own internal winnowing process before nominating students. These are set by the school or organization in question, and are unconnected to the broader Posse Scholarship. Once these are passed and you are nominated, you can deal with the scholarship directly. 

For the scholarship itself, you must complete an online form. This asks about your activities and coursework, and requires you to write an essay. This essay is on leadership; this is unsurprising, since the entire purpose of this program is to identify and nurture the next generation of leaders in this country. 

Writing the Posse Essay

When writing this essay, you should focus on a past experience you have had with leadership, be that an official leadership position you have held, or a way in which you have taken on responsibilities in your school or the broader community. You want to highlight what you have done, and why you did it. 

Note that this essay should be different from your college application essays. The Posse process works through what they call the . Your essay and application are read by a team, consisting of members of the Posse foundation, and admissions officers from the partner university. Ten students are selected for admission and a scholarship award from each partner university. 

Since you are also encouraged to apply to these universities separately from the Posse Scholarship, this leadership essay should be distinct. You can touch on the same activities and experiences, but you should go deeper, and highlight how you demonstrated leadership and gave back to your community through your involvement. The foundation and universities are looking to see your drive, and how you will impact their school for the better should you be admitted. 

Posse Access

While your Posse Scholarship is submitted to specific schools, you can also make it more broadly available. All partner schools may then browse this pool of applicants, and see if any match what theyā€™re looking for in students. This is akin to how Questbridge operates, though is distinct, and a scholarship is awarded by the program, regardless of how you are matched with a school. 

Is the Posse Scholarship Right for You?

As with all programs, this scholarship has a very specific intended audience. In this case, the main limitation is geographic, with only students in and near certain urban centers being eligible to apply for the scholarship. That said, the fact that this is not a need-based scholarship opens it up to a far wider field of applicants than many similar ones on offer, and makes it quite attractive to many students. 

This scholarship is best suited for students who are middle class; those whose parents earn too much to be able to apply for Questbridge, but who will still struggle to afford the high cost of college tuition. Due to the focus on leadership and community impact, this scholarship is also an excellent choice for students who have reasonable grades, but who really stand out through their extracurricular involvements. 

While only so many universities are partners with the scholarship, they still represent a remarkably broad cross-section of institutions, certainly enough options that some of them will appeal to you. As there also are no limits on what majors you can apply to, this scholarship is a good option regardless of your intended area of study. 

How to Get Nominated

The biggest barrier for this scholarship, especially when compared to Questbridge, is that you must be nominated for it. Most nominations come through schools, so you should begin by seeing whether or not your school has partnered with Posse, and if they have their own internal form or application needed to become a nominee. 

Schools can only nominate so many students, so those who do generally have some form of internal selection process. If your school is not already partnered with Posse, it is , but they must take that step to nominate you. If you are interested in this, then you should speak with your counselor early; we advise by no later than the end of your junior year. This gives them time to navigate the forms and system. While it is a straightforward process, it does still take time. 

You can also get nominated by community based organizations or by Posse alumni. These are rarer than nominations by schools, but if you are working with a community based organization which is helping you with college applications, or if you are friends with a previous beneficiary of the program, they too can nominate you.

Final Thoughts

Many students look for and need scholarships, especially as the costs associated with college continue to climb. Posse Foundation offers something unique, a lesser version of Questbridge which is open to students in the middle class. We hope that this article has helped you understand the opportunities presented by the Posse Foundation, and whether or not this is a scholarship you should take advantage of. 

If you are looking for advice on your college applications, or trying to find the right scholarship opportunities to match your situation, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. We have a deep understanding of how college admissions works, and excel at helping students find the right resources to meet their needs. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can make your life easier, we always love hearing from you.

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Indeed, the cost of some private high schools is comparable to that of college, especially state schools. This is a bit much for many parents, and leaves some curious as to whether or not any scholarships exist for private high schools, the way they do for colleges. The answer is yes, sometimes. Thatā€™s not very satisfying, so in this article, weā€™ll dive into all of the nuances, so you can understand when and how you can earn scholarships from private high schools.Ā 

The Kinds of Aid at Private High Schools

For colleges, there are multiple sources of aid, from need-based grants offered by the schools, to government funding, to third party sources. High schools have far fewer options, in large part due to the existence of public high schools. Most funding goes there, and so the options for aid are more limited. 

Need Based Aid From Schools

The most common kind of financial aid available at the high school level is need-based, and offered by individual schools. How each school calculates what counts as need depends on their own particular metrics, and how generous they are with it depends on how large their endowment is. Most private schools rely on tuition for funding, and so scholarships are only offered to a few select students each year. 

The amount of need-based funding can be partial, or can cover up to the full tuition of the school. This is most generous, and most prevalent, at the more competitive schools. Wealthier schools have more funding to provide aid with. In spite of that, most of the students at all boarding schools will be full-pay. 

Merit Based Aid From Schools

Most boarding schools do not offer any form of merit aid. This is in stark contrast to colleges; while there are a small number of colleges without any merit aid, most offer a great deal of it. No matter how high your test scores or how impressive your grades, private high schools donā€™t offer merit aid. 

In some rare cases, certain schools do offer merit aid for athletes in particular sports, but this is not the norm for private schools as a whole. 

Government Aid and School Voucher Programs

There is no federal aid for private high schools; federal education funding goes to states, and from there is distributed to school districts, with all of the money being set aside to fund public schools. Some states have created voucher systems where parents who are sending their children to private schools may receive a tuition voucher funded by the state. These rarely cover the full cost of tuition, but can make schools more affordable. 

Some schools do raise prices when voucher systems come into effect, but this depends on the school in question. Voucher systems are hotly debated politically, and so are unlikely to be widely adopted across all states; whether or not theyā€™re available to you depends on where you live.

Third Party Aid

There are a great many third party scholarships for colleges, everything from charitable trusts to scholarships offered by local banks. There is no such assortment for high schools. Once again, the assumption is that if students struggle to afford tuition, they may always attend a public school. The major exception is the , which we explain in great detail in an article here, and which is one of the only scholarships available for private high schools.Ā 

How to Apply for Financial Aid at Private High Schools

For most private schools, you apply for aid when you apply to the school itself, on a separate but related application. This is designed to understand your financial need; as we covered above, these schools generally only provide need-based aid to students. 

Most private schools will take your ability to pay into account when making admissions decisions. There are a small number of need blind schools, but these are limited to the oldest and wealthiest private schools, in New York and New England primarily; most are far too reliant on tuition funding for that. 

For this application, you will need to enter your income, assets, and investments. How each school calculates need differs; schools with more funds tend to be more generous when deciding whether or not you have a need for funding. In some cases, you will be asked to provide tax returns to verify the information you have entered. 

As with colleges, each school has their own internal calculations for how aid is awarded, and they generally donā€™t allow for appeals. You will need to reapply for aid each year, and changes in your financial circumstances will be taken into account. Note that getting an aid award from one school does not mean aid will be forthcoming from others. 

How to Afford Private School

The overall theme thus far is that financial aid for private schools is limited, competitive, and not an option afforded to most students. Thus the task of affording private school is one that falls most often to parents. The simple fact is that in most cases, private school is only an option if you have the disposable income to afford it. If you donā€™t have a significant income or other source of financing, private school may be out of reach. 

There are some things you can do to try and make it more affordable, but that is always going to be a relative term. Weā€™re going to go through each of these, to explore how they can help. 

529 Savings Plans

529 saving plans are a form of tax-advantaged savings accounts meant for college savings for families, with any money put in needing to be spent on educational expenses. While these are meant to pay for college, you are able to withdraw up to $20,000 per year from these accounts to pay expenses connected with K-12 education. This was previously capped at $10,000 per year, but the limit increased in 2026.

This is an excellent option if there are people in a studentā€™s life, such as grandparents, who want to contribute to their educational expenses. They may pay into the savings account in a tax-advantaged way, money may be withdrawn from the account to pay for tuition expenses, and it isnā€™t taxed as a gift. Note that how different states regulate 529 accounts differ, and some of them do assess taxes on funds withdrawn from these accounts for K-12 education. 

The major con of using a 529 plan to pay for private school expenses is that the amount of money saved in the account to pay for college later will be reduced, and there will be less money in the account to accrue interest over time. We recommend speaking with a financial planner to make the most advantaged use of these plans when paying for education.

Less Expensive Schools

Not all private schools cost the same amount, and how much they cost does not necessarily correlate with their quality. You can compare how expensive schools are in your area to the academic results they provide, and find ones which are more (or less) worth the price. Note that in areas like New York, which are simply more expensive, private school tuition is higher across the board. 

In some cases, Catholic schools are less expensive than their peers, as they receive funding at the Diocesan level. This is not universal however, and there are plenty of Catholic schools which are quite expensive (once again, especially in cities like New York).

Voucher Programs

There are some states which have implemented voucher programs. These can be in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), which are accounts with a certain amount of funding parents are given access to to use for educational expenses, or in the form of vouchers which are paid directly to private schools to defray tuition costs. These are only offered by a small number of states, but are something to consider if you live in one of them. 

Final Thoughts

Private school is a major investment, one which can give great benefits, but isnā€™t guaranteed to. We hope this article has helped you understand how financial aid works at private schools, and what you can do to make the high cost of it more manageable. The high school you attend has a major impact on your college applications, from the courses you are able to take to how well it supports you. Private schools may not be the right choice for every student, but considering all of your options is always the right choice.

If youā€™re looking for help evaluating your high school options, and deciding if a private school is best for you, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. We know what colleges want to see, and we have a lot of experience helping students find the right high school to support them on their educational journey. If you have questions about which high school is right for you, or advice on applying to a private high school, then schedule a free consultation today. Weā€™re always happy to hear from you.

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Texas State Scholarships

These are scholarship programs funded by the state of Texas itself, for students who are going to attend a college in Texas. Most are for students who live in Texas, and most are only applicable to public colleges in Texas.

This scholarship is for students from other nations in the Western hemisphere to attend a public college in Texas. This is available to students from any country in the Western hemisphere besides the United States and Cuba. You must be a citizen of that country, and not have dual citizenship with the US. 

This scholarship provides a tuition waiver at select public colleges in the state of Texas. Note that this only covers the cost of tuition; housing and other costs associated with attending the college are the responsibility of the student. This scholarship is specifically for students who intend to return home after they have finished their degree. 

The scholarship has the following eligibility requirements: 

• Have resided in the Western hemisphere for the past five years
• Be nominated by the institution you are attending or will attend
• Not be a member of the communist party

As a tuition waiver, this scholarship opportunity lasts as long as you are attending the college in question. As you must be nominated by the school, each has their own requirements as well. This is worth looking into if you are an international student interested in attending a college in Texas. The scholarship lasts for 12 months, and is renewable.

This scholarship is funded by the purchase of license plates with a collegeā€™s insignia on them, with those funds going to the college to create a scholarship fund. This, understandably, means some schools have more funds than others, particularly larger schools or those with a more successful football team. 

How these funds are disbursed depends on the college in question, but they generally do not have a separate scholarship application. All you need to do is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and you will be considered for this funding by the college. These funds are only available at public colleges in Texas. 

The intention of this scholarship program is to incentivize students to join the armed services, either federally, or the Texas national guard. This scholarship is dependent on the student enrolling in an ROTC program at a public college in Texas while they are in school, in return, it serves as a tuition waiver for that school. 

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Graduated or be on track to graduate high school with the Distinguished Achievement Program
• Have a high school GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or higher
• Score a 1070 on the SAT or a 23 on the ACT
• Be ranked in the top third of your class
• Be registered with selective service, or exempt from it
• Agree to enter into a four year national guard contract or military service post graduation

If you do not meet the requirements, particularly the final one of enlisting post-graduation, you are required to repay the scholarship funding. 

This program provides funding for students to work on-campus jobs at both public and private universities within Texas, supplementing federal work-study funds. This is not a direct scholarship, but instead allows students to earn money to pay for tuition or other costs associated with attending college. 

In order to be eligible for this funding, students must be Texas residents, enrolled at least half-time in a university, show financial need, and not be receiving any form of an athletic scholarship (though this scholarship may be paired with other forms of scholarship funding). All that is required to apply for this scholarship is completion of the FAFSA, though certain colleges may have their own additional requirements. 

This is one of the largest scholarship programs in Texas, and exists to provide grant aid to students with financial need who are attending two year or four year public colleges, or technical schools. There is limited funding for this program, and not all qualified students will receive awards. The amount of funding provided by this scholarship varies, and is dependent on the amount of funding available. 

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Be a Texas resident, as determined by the institution you are attending
• Have financial need, and have applied for available aid
• Not already have a bachelorā€™s degree, nor have attempted more than 30 semester credit hours (Excluding dual enrollment courses in high school)
• Be registered for selective service if required
• Not have been convicted of any felony, nor concurrently receiving a TEXAS grant

In order to apply for this grant, you need only complete the FAFSA. This grant is renewable, but there is no guarantee of receiving it in subsequent years if you receive it one year. The amount of funding available to this scholarship varies from year to year, depending on legislative priorities. 

This is a scholarship available at public colleges in Texas. Each school makes their own decisions about who receives this scholarship, and awards funds from their own resources, though there is overall state funding for the program. The deadlines and methods of applying for this scholarship are set by each college, and the amount of funding available varies from school to school, though it cannot exceed the financial need of the student. 

The only requirements set by the state are that students be Texas residents, show financial need, and register for selective service (unless exempt). Note that individual institutions may have their own additional requirements for this scholarship. There are more eligible students than there is funding available. 

These are a collection of fee exemptions for students meeting specific requirements at public colleges in Texas. These are a kind of scholarship; instead of direct funding, these students have tuition or other fees waived by the institution. There are many categories of students who can qualify for these, we advise checking the full list and seeing if you are eligible. You should check with the specific college you are attending if you think you are qualified for one of these exemptions; individual schools have their own requirements to apply for them. 

This is one of the primary grants available to students in Texas, and was established via a grant from the Texas legislature. There is limited funding available, and not all students who are eligible will receive funds from this award. This award also cannot always cover the full cost of tuition for students. 

In order to be eligible for this award, you must be a Texas resident (as determined by the college you are attending), registered for selective service (or exempt), have financial need, and have applied for available aid. You also must not have been convicted of any felonies. Disbursement of this award is done through the financial aid office at the college you are attending. You must apply to this award via FAFSA; additional requirements may be set by specific colleges. 

This grant is specifically for students who are attending a private college in Texas. The purpose of the grant is to cover the difference in tuition between the cost of a private university and what the student would pay at an equivalent public college. There is limited funding available, and not all private universities in Texas participate; you should inquire with the financial aid office at your college if you are interested. 

In order to be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the following requirements: 

• Be a resident of Texas (as determined by the institution you are attending)
• You must be enrolled at least Ā¾ time in a degree program leading to an associateā€™s, bachelorā€™s, masterā€™s, or doctoral degree. Note that religious degrees are excepted from eligibility
• Have demonstrated financial need
• Not have already earned the degree for which you are currently enrolled
• Not be receiving an athletic scholarship (though other scholarships are available)
• Be paying more in tuition than you would at an equivalent public institution
• Be enrolled in selective service (or exempt)

There is a limited amount of aid available. You must complete the FAFSA and speak to the financial aid office at the college you are attending to apply. Certain colleges may have additional application requirements. 

Third Party Scholarships for Texas Students

There are additional scholarships which are available to Texas students attending college in Texas as well, funded by various third party organizations. We wonā€™t be able to go through all of these, but weā€™re going to highlight some prominent ones. Weā€™re not presenting these in any particular order. The amount of funding available varies between scholarships. 

This foundation exists to provide funding primarily to universities directly, but also offers scholarships to students. These take the form of interest free loans. These are not as good as full scholarships, but with many loans carrying high interest rates, the ability not to have to worry about that is valuable. 

The application for these is open from January 1 to February 28 each year. The loans are for up to $8,000; they offer approximately 800 of these loans each year. You must request an application form directly from the organization, this must then be submitted via mail. You must be in the top 10% of your graduating class or have a minimum 1100 SAT or 23 on the ACT. 

While in college, you must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. Note that the scores are the minimum; they do not guarantee you will receive this award, that is simply the bar you have to clear for your application to be considered. This loan is renewed, with another $8,000 each year, to a maximum of four years. 

This scholarship is specifically for students from Bexar County who attend one of five participating colleges in the county. This is open to all graduating high school students in the county, whether they attend public, private, charter or home schools. The fund covers tuition and fees for the completion of an associateā€™s degree, or for up to three years of study in pursuit of a bachelorā€™s degree. 

You must apply to one of the participating colleges in the county via ApplyTexas and complete the FAFSA in order to apply. This is quite a generous scholarship, though there are limited colleges you can attend with it. 

Every year, this foundation awards seventy scholarships to Houston area high school seniors. These awards are for $25,000, which is disbursed over four years. You must be in your senior year to apply; applications open in September, and can be completed fully online. You must have taken the SAT or ACT prior to applying, and the application requires you have a minimum SAT score of 1000 or an ACT score of 21. You must be a US citizen to apply. 

The applications are reviewed, and finalists are invited to interview. Based on the interview and application as a whole, awardees are determined. The decisions are based on academic merit and financial need. 

This foundation provides scholarships of $2,500-$5,000 annually to students whose parent suffered severe injury or death from their job. These can be reapplied to annually, for up to eight semesters of funding. You must be aged 16 to 25, and have been a resident of Texas at the time the incident occurred. 

You must apply for the scholarship online. This requires the online form, a resume, a current transcript, two letters of recommendation, documentation of educational expenses, and a written description of the workplace accident (along with documentation). Applications are due by June 1 for Fall semester and by November 1 for spring semester. 

This is a $5,000 non-renewable scholarship for women who are the first in their family to go to college. There is an associated scholarship for students of all genders who are entering a trade or technical school. The application for this must be done and submitted online. It is due by the end of March.

Final Thoughts

College is very expensive, even in-state schools which offer reasonable tuition. Different states offer different scholarship pathways; Texas has its own unique twist, and we hope this article has helped you understand what scholarships are available to you, and how you can avail yourself of them. They may not fund your entire college journey, but theyā€™ll certainly help.

If youā€™re looking for help applying to college, or want advice on any aspect of the process, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors have a depth of experience, masters of guiding students through every part of the admissions journey. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, weā€™re always happy to hear from you. 

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A Note on ā€œMinorityā€ Scholarships

While we will be focusing on scholarships which are aimed primarily at Hispanic students, there are some scholarships we will list here that are for minority students more broadly. Indeed, these are more common than those aimed at a particular race or ethnicity. 

In practice, some of these are truly wide open scholarships, while others are limited by other means. There are some minority scholarships, for example, solely for students attending a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). While non-black students can take advantage of these, there is definitely a demographic which is more likely to apply based on other aspects of the scholarship. This is often done geographically; if only students from a certain high school can apply, and that school is majority Hispanic (or Black, or Asian), then those students are most likely to receive the scholarship in question. 

We will note the specific requirements of each scholarship in our description of it. Note that while colleges cannot use race or ethnicity when determining who to admit, third party scholarships are still allowed to have race or ethnicity eligibility requirements, for now at least. While lawsuits may change this in the future, this seems less likely to be viable. Though of course, we arenā€™t lawyers.

Scholarships for Hispanic Students

These are presented in no particular order. For each, we will link to the page for the scholarship, and describe how much money the award is for, the eligibility requirements, and how you can apply for it. While we canā€™t cover every scholarship here, we hope this gives you a sense of whatā€™s available. 

The Hispanic Scholarship fund is the largest provider of scholarships to Hispanic students, and indeed one of the largest scholarship providers generally. Each year, 10,000 students are awarded a scholarship by the fund from among the applicants. The awards vary in size from $500 to $5,000, and are awarded directly to students to help with tuition and other college expenses. 

In addition to the scholarship funding, all students who are awarded these scholarships gain access to mentoring and support services, and the chance to publish in journals which have partnered with the fund if they complete undergraduate research. There are also networking and career services offered through the fund, to help awardees gain employment opportunities during and after college. 

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be a US Citizen, permanent resident, or DACA beneficiary. You must have a 3.0 GPA, plan to enroll full time in an accredited program, and identify as being of Hispanic heritage (regardless of your race). All award selections are based on merit, while the size of the award is based on need. Awards are for one year, but students are able to reapply. Applications must be submitted online; they open in January and are due in February, requiring an essay, FAFSA forms, and a letter of recommendation.

Sponsored by McDonaldā€™s, this scholarship awards 100 students annually, with funding ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. While this scholarship is aimed primarily at Hispanic students, and did formerly require students to have a Hispanic background to apply, this is no longer a requirement. You must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or DACA beneficiary; you must have a GPA of 2.8 minimum, a high school senior, and enrolling in an accredited institution. 

The application must be submitted online, and requires a transcript, personal statement, a letter of recommendation, and a list of your community service projects. Finalists are asked for their FAFSA information. Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, need, community involvement, and your personal qualities and strengths. 

This scholarship is organized by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), a group of colleges which traditionally serve Hispanic students. There are a total of 25 awards each year, each of which is for $5,000. This scholarship is offered in partnership with Cafe Bustelo, a nonprofit organization. You must be attending (or going to attend) a HACU institution to benefit from this scholarship.

You must have a GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, have applied for and received financial aid, and be a first generation college student to be eligible for this scholarship. The application must be submitted online; this requires the online application, including three short answers and an essay response. This is due in May. Finalists are required to provide a transcript, proof of enrollment, financial aid documentation, and attestation of first-generation status.

Sponsored by the California Farm Labor Contractors Association (CFLCA), this scholarship is specifically for farm laborers and their children to help pay the costs of college tuition. The scholarship awards between $1,000 and $5,000 of funding per award. Note that higher funding amounts go to students who are studying agriculture or related fields. 

In order to apply, you must have a GPA of at least 2.5, must be enrolled in an accredited college, and need to be a farmworker or child of a farmworker who was employed by a California Farm Labor Contractor within the last 12 months. Note that administrators and management are not eligible for these scholarships. Applications must be submitted online, and are due in June. Note that you do not need to be Hispanic to receive this scholarship.

Offered by the Maestro Cares Foundation (as you might expect), this scholarship is specifically intended to support Latino students throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and Latin America. These scholarships are offered both in partnership with universities, and to individual students. The amount of money offered by these scholarships varies. These are recurring scholarships, renewed each year so long as you maintain a GPA above 3.0/4.0. 

In order to apply, you must have proof of working to better the hispanic community (through documented volunteering or community involvement, be enrolled in college in the US, and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Note that certain scholarships offered in partnership with universities have additional requirements. You must apply for the scholarship online. This requires the application itself, four essays, your most recent transcript, proof of past and current community service, and two academic letters of recommendation. Applications open in March and are due in May.

Organized and distributed by the Hacemos organization, this scholarship provides awards of $1,000 to students attending a two-year college, and awards of $2,000 to students attending a four-year college. This is open to students going for their first or second undergraduate degree, though you must be under 25 to apply. While you do not need to be Hispanic to apply, the award is intended to primarily benefit Hispanic students. 

In order to be eligible, you must demonstrate your commitment to helping your community, particularly an underserved community. You must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or DACA recipient, and have a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applications open in January, and are due in May. Applications must be submitted online. 

Organized by the Catalino Tapia Scholarship Foundation, this scholarship exists to specifically help underrepresented first generation college students with the cost of tuition. The award itself is for $2,500-3,000, which is for tuition; there is an additional $250 technology stipend as well. Students whose parents are gardeners, janitors, landscapers, or farm workers are eligible for an additional $1,000 reward with their scholarship. 

In order to be eligible, students must live in certain counties within California. They must be first generation students with demonstrated financial need, and must have a minimum GPA of 2.5. They must maintain full time enrollment for the duration of the scholarship. Students who are selected are expected to complete ten hours of volunteering during the course of the year. The application must be submitted online, and requires financial documentation, an essay, and two letters of recommendation. The application opens in February, and is due in April. 

Not to be confused with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium is specifically for Hispanic students in Texas. It offers twenty awards each year, which range in value from $1,000-5,000. Note that these are a range of scholarships, each with their own criteria, but which all share an application. These scholarships are generally all renewable. 

Certain scholarships under this umbrella have additional requirements, but all have the same core eligibility. You must be a Hispanic student who lives in Texas, and you must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. While you do not need to be first generation, first generation students are encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted online. You must include the online form, financial documentation, and a letter of recommendation. Applications open in January and are due in April. In addition to scholarship funding, students who are awarded scholarships gain access to mentorship opportunities.

This scholarship, as the name suggests, is meant to support Latino students who reside in Idaho. This can be used with any college in Idaho, though a trio of public colleges in Idaho have committed to matching scholarship funds for recipients who attend those particular colleges. The amount of each award, and how many are awarded, depends on the level of funding available; they are generally in the range of a few thousand dollars. 

The application opens in November, and is due by the end of March. In order to be eligible, you must be an Idaho resident who is Latino, have a GPA of 2.5, demonstrate financial need, and must be a student in good standing, enrolled in or planning to attend an accredited school. The application requires a personal statement, a resume, a transcript, two letters of recommendation, your FAFSA, and a three to five page essay on one of their possible application questions.

This is a foundation of Latino college graduates who have the aim of helping first generation Hispanic students access a college education. They offer a number of different scholarships, all of which may be applied to through their webpage. The amount of these varies, from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars worth of funding. 

The foundation is based in New York; while students from around the country are encouraged to apply, two scholarships each year are set aside specifically for Latino students who are residents of New York state. You may be a current undergraduate or graduate student, or a high school senior to apply. The awards are based on both merit and need. You need a minimum GPA of 2.8, an unofficial transcript, and a letter of recommendation to apply. 

Generally abbreviated to CALAHE, this organization seeks to promote higher education among Latino residents of Connecticut (as you might expect from the name). This is a one-year scholarship for $1,000, but students who receive this award may reapply for it. The scholarship is open to both graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students. 

The application is due on June 20. To be eligible, you must have been a resident of Connecticut for at least the past 12 months, demonstrate financial need, have a minimum GPA of 2.75, and have demonstrated a commitment to community service in the Hispanic community. The application requires the online form, and an essay of up to two pages in length. The award is based on both need and merit. 

This is a collection of community and philanthropic groups based in or with branches in St. Louis, all dedicated to the academic success of the Hispanic community. Each of these groups has their own scholarship, but they are available collectively through the allianceā€™s website. The amount of funding for these scholarships varies, but is generally a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Each group oversees its own scholarship. There is a single application for all of them; you are then judged for different scholarships based on your eligibility automatically. Some of these scholarships are only for students attending college in St. Louis, while others will support students who venture across the country. You must be a resident of St Louis to apply for any of these scholarships.

Final Thoughts

Paying for college is quite a challenge for any student, and third-party scholarships like these are made in recognition of that fact. These rarely cover anything like the full cost of tuition, but a few grand here and there can really help, especially for the first generation students or those with financial need these scholarships are aimed at. We hope that this article gave you a sense of what scholarships are available to the Hispanic community in the US, and how you can take advantage of them.

If you are looking for help with your own college applications, or finding scholarships which align with your background and goals, then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors are masters of every part of the application process, from choosing the right schools to apply to to finding the perfect scholarship opportunities. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, weā€™re always happy to hear from you.

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A Note on Discrimination Lawsuits

Traditionally, a number of colleges have offered scholarships, generally endowed scholarships, which include race or ethnicity as a factor in who is awarded these scholarships. Over the past few years, there have been over these scholarships, most launched after the Supreme Court decided that affirmative action in admissions was unconstitutional. 

While these are still ongoing, a number of colleges have . While they may win in court, the price of fighting it was not seen as worth it overall. These scholarships have generally been reconstituted to instead be for students from poor socio-economic backgrounds generally, rather than those of a specific race. 

These lawsuits have generally targeted colleges and institutions of higher education. There are still many third party scholarships which are designed specifically for black students, but many of the ones previously offered by colleges are no longer available in the same form.

A List of Scholarships for Black Students

These are not presented in any particular order, and many have additional requirements beyond race. We will explain who each scholarship is for, and how you can apply to them. 

This is a $1,000 scholarship which is open to African American students who live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or Camden County New Jersey. There are two scholarships awarded each year. You must have a GPA of 3.0 and be a high school senior planning on enrolling in a two or four year college to be eligible to apply. The scholarship favors students who have been impacted by gun violence, but this isnā€™t a requirement to apply for it. 

Applications open on September 1, and are due by April 10; you must apply online. The application requires demographic information, a list of your activities and honors, test scores, a note on your financial circumstances, and a one-page essay on why you want the scholarship, and how it would benefit you.

This is a last dollar scholarship, founded and funded by the Gates Foundation, which provides funding to high school seniors from low-income households. As a last dollar scholarship, it exists to fill any costs not covered by other scholarship sources. Note that this aid is applied to full cost of attendance; not just tuition, but fees, housing, books, food, and in some cases personal costs.

Note that this scholarship is not specifically for black students, but we thought it worth mentioning here, as many of the students who are awarded this scholarship are from minority communities. The be eligible to apply for the Gates Scholarship you must: 

• Be a current high school senior
• Be eligible for a Pell grant
• Be a US citizen or permanent resident
• Be in good academic standing at your high school, with a minimum GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0 (unweighted)
• Plan to enroll full time at a non-for-profit college or university in the US

You may apply for the scholarship online. They are looking for students with an excellent academic track record, demonstrated leadership, and skills which lead to personal success. While race is not technically considered, minority students are heavily encouraged to apply for this scholarship.Ā 

This scholarship is for African-American students who are pursuing the fields of computer science, aviation, nursing, or music. The scholarship provides awards of between $1,500-$4,000; these are for one year, but the scholarship is open to both high school seniors and current college students. The scholarship prioritizes students at Oakwood University, and also gives preference to students attending other HBCUs. 

Applications for this scholarship are open from May to June. The application must be submitted online; it requires demographic information, two letters of recommendation (which must be submitted on official letterhead), and an essay. They note that you are not allowed to use AI at all in completing your application. 

This scholarship is specifically for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are studying scientific or technical fields. This scholarship provides funding of up to $3,000 a year for up to four years of undergraduate study. To be eligible for this, you must first be identified and nominated by the faculty in a science or technology department at an HBCU you are attending.

Applicants are evaluated based on their academic potential and achievement, a personal essay, two letters of recommendation, and financial need. Financial need is used as a tiebreaker between otherwise equally qualified candidates. These awards are renewed annually so long as you maintain a 3.0 GPA and maintain your major in the technical field. 

This program is specifically for students who attend public high schools in Columbus; one to two awards are given out annually, these are for up to $7,000 in total, though are disbursed in portions on an annual basis to help with tuition costs. You must have a minimum GPA of 2.75, have a demonstrated history of community involvement, intend to major in the sciences or social sciences, and provide proof you have been accepted to an accredited college or university in the US. 

This scholarship is open to all students, though minority students are encouraged to apply. The application is open from February 1 to May 31 each year. You must submit your application online. 

Disbursed by the Texas Baptistsā€™ Association, this scholarship is specifically aimed at minority students interested in attending universities with a faith-centric purview, and who are part of the Baptist faith. The scholarship specifically requires students to attend a college in Texas which is part of the Baptist ministry; there are a number of universities in Texas which meet this requirement.

These scholarships are for a maximum of two semesters, and award $1,000 per semester. Note that you may apply for a renewal of this scholarship, for a maximum of four years of undergraduate study. Applications must be submitted online, and require a letter of recommendation from both a teacher and your pastor, along with an academic transcript. 

This scholarship is run via the Council for Great City Schools (CGCS), a professional group for education leaders in major American cities. Funded via philanthropy, this scholarship is for four students each year, two black and two hispanic, who attend school in any CGCS member district, and who are planning to attend college to study in a STEM field. 

All applications must be submitted online in April. The minimum requirements for applicants (beyond residential) are to have a 3.0 GPA and to be enrolled in a STEM field in a four-year accredited institution. The scholarship looks for students who have demonstrated academic excellence, and who have shown leadership skills and dedication to their community. The award is for up to $5,000.

This scholarship is specifically for LGBTQ students of color who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism, and who are attending undergrad in furtherance of that goal. The scholarship is open to students who are already enrolled or who are incoming. The application opens in April, and is due in May each year. There are scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students; the scholarship for undergrads is for up to $3,000.

You must apply to the scholarship online. You do not need to be a journalism major (though it is desirable), but must show a devotion to journalism through your work. Your application requires a resume, a transcript, and five samples of your journalistic work; these samples are what determines who receives the award. 

These are a range of scholarships offered by Kappa Alpha Psi, an academic honors fraternity aimed at African American men, and which offers many different scholarships for African American men. These scholarships have a range of awards amounts, and many are targeted at scholars in different academic fields. They all share a single application, which is done through the organizationā€™s website. 

Most of these scholarships are one year and non-renewable, but some disburse over the course of your undergraduate career. The application requires the FAFSA confirmation page, three letters of recommendation, a transcript, and an essay. Note that certain scholarships have additional requirements, but by applying, you will be entered into consideration for all scholarships you are eligible for based on your field of study. 

This is a very large collection of scholarships, primarily for students who are attending HBCUs. While these are not specifically for black students, because of the requirement to be attending an HBCU, there is some self-selection in who applies for them. These are a variety of scholarships for students of varying backgrounds, all under the same umbrella. 

To apply for these scholarships, you must first create an account on the site; this requires demographic information, and where and what you are studying. Once this is entered, you are able to apply for scholarships for which you match the profile of what they are looking for from applicants. The amount of money per scholarship, and what it can be used for, varies. You are encouraged to apply to all scholarships you are eligible for. 

Offered by the Gaines-Jones foundation, these are scholarships for African American students from a number of counties in Georgia and the San Francisco Bay area. These scholarships are for one year and do not automatically renew, but you can keep reapplying to them. Note that you can reapply for these scholarships even if you take time off or away before finishing your degree. 

These scholarships require an online application, the most important component of which is the essay response. The scholarship looks for students with clear financial need, strong academic potential, and a history of community service and leadership. Applications open in February, and are due in March. The number and amount of awards varies year to year, but is generally a few thousand dollars.

This scholarship is offered by the Chapel Hill Carrboro Public School Foundation, and is open to students who attend a public school in that town. It is open to graduating seniors planning on enrolling in a two-year, four-year, or vocational college. In order to be eligible, you must be a minority student, have demonstrated financial need, have an overall GPA of at least 2.5, and have a registered IEP with the school.

This application must be submitted online, and requires an essay, your FAFSA form, and an academic transcript. If you are interested and attend a school in the district in question, talk with your counselor about applying for the scholarship. They do note that essays which use AI will not be accepted.

The Southern Scholars Initiative exists to improve educational outcomes for students in the rural South, particularly those from minority backgrounds. As part of this, they offer a pair of scholarships, one for $18,000, one for $12,000, both disbursed over four years. There is a single online application which you may use to apply to both of these scholarships. 

These scholarships are specifically for students graduating from specific high schools in North Carolina, and are for minority students specifically. You must be Pell Grant eligible, and have a minimum GPA of 2.5. You must be accepted into and planning to enroll in a two-year or four-year college, and have a history of leadership and community service. Applications are due in April each year.

Final Thoughts

Niche scholarships are a classic thing, especially third party scholarships. Those who create them often do so with a certain goal in mind, one which can be incredibly niche, usually giving back to a group they are part of. Ethnic groups arenā€™t the only choice for this, but they certainly are a common one. While we havenā€™t been able to list every single scholarship for black students, we hope this article gave you a sense of some of whatā€™s out there, and what they want from students.

If you are looking for advice on finding the best scholarships to match your unique circumstances, or finding a college thatā€™s the right fit for you (academically and financially), then ³Ō¹Ļ¹ŁĶų can help. Our mentors are skilled at helping students navigate the admissions process, from finding the perfect college, to figuring out what scholarships will help you pay for it. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can help you.

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