Just checked the link for my state out of curiosity - wopping $250 and $750 scholarships…
It seems that for a lot of those scholarships the main requirement is promoting diversity – sexual orientation of the applicant is not a factor.
@Madison85 are you really saying kids shouldn’t apply to “small” scholarships that they are are eligible for???
My D applied and was awarded several small outside scholarships and they added up! $8050 for the freshmen year in outside scholarships is nothing to thumb your nose at. My white, straight, non disabled, girl was not eligible for many scholarships I found but she was eligible for other niche scholarships (woman’s club, Girl Scouts, German club, major specific…) I think the OP’s point is that there are several niche scholarship that his child doesn’t qualify for and it’s frustrating, what he needs to do is focus on scholarships that his kid is eligible for and not worry about the ones that don’t apply.
You asked for a list to help others, which I provided and then complain that it’s not enough $$$. I’ll bet kids that are eligible would be happy to get them!
I did not say people shouldn’t apply and I did not complain, @3scoutsmom.
My reference to ‘wopping’ was regarding the OP’s comment that if her child were gay/trans (or other things) she could get scholarships, and it had nothing to do personally with you or your list.
If you compare yourselves to others, you’ll be bitter and it won’t improve your financial situation. That’s a waste of energy and probably not helpful for your daughter. There aren’t buckets of money running around that everyone else is getting, so it’s pointless anyway. Low income families certainly aren’t raking it in. Even if you quit your jobs and gave away all your assets it would only make you eligible for a ~$5k/year Pell grant, and that won’t help much.
Divorced people don’t seem to get any financial perks either. CSS profile schools require info. from both parents, whether or not they intend to pay. If there’s a stepparent, the EFC can increase even though the stepparent can’t contribute because they have to pay for their own kids’ education. I wouldn’t begrudge what little funds may go to gay students or to those in prison who are trying to improve their lives either. I’d rather have the $70k/year income and the situation you have now.
I don’t understand why you think your situation is so horrible. You have a cc and a 4-year school within commuting distance of your home. It doesn’t sound like you’ve taken much/any loans and your daughter is a semester away from an associate’s degree. She may have to devote less time to the volunteer position so she can work to raise some money, but a lot of kids have to work so their families can afford college. If you’ve been able to make it through 2 years without taking any loans, that’s really good.
How much more do you need to be able to pay for the 4-year college? Can you afford it if she takes the loan and gets a job? If not, your daughter may need to take a class or two at a time until she graduates. Plenty of students do that too.
In the OP’s defense if his kid was “other things” they would be eligible for a different set of niche scholarship, the point is he needs to focus on finding scholarships that apply to his kid’s situation. My son won’t be eligible for the same set of scholarships as my daughter simply based on his sex (women’s club, Girl Scouts) but it is what it is. If my children had a parent that was a veteran, and a parent that perished in 911, was hearing impaired, left handed and worked at Sam’s Club they would be eligible for many other scholarships but they are not any of those! That’s not to say those that do qualify for those scholarships shouldn’t apply for them - just that if the scholarships don’t apply to you then move on and work on finding scholarships your kid does qualify for.
If your brother got $7000 in grants and left school soon afterwards he might be owing the school money.
Has anyone mentioned the American Opportunity Tax Credit? That’s ~$2500 right there if you qualify.
^ this family should qualify indeed.
An issue may be that the state may not give state grants, or may reserve grants to the state’s high school graduates …
Since the daughter has a 4.0 now, it’s possible she didn’t apply as a senior to the colleges where she may have had the best financial aid, perhaps due to u knowledgeable guidance counselors or health issues or not wanting/being allowed to apply far from home…
However that 4.0 will be a powerful tool for admission, as is the fact she’s applying for a less-requested major (= academic diversity). She should contact the 4-year university 's honors college right now.
How about becoming a leader in the area of interest (// museum internship)?
That was my exact question to my daughter…
Isn’t that a credit on your taxes?
Just to get this off my chest: the very, very few scholarships out there for LGBTQ+ students are mostly for those who have had significant hardship in their lives (kicked out of homes, beaten, etc). You don’t just show up, say “I’m gay!” and get handed a check.
Now, with that said, you said your daughter has health issues. Is it “just” the anxiety (not being dismissive of anxiety in the least here, I’ve just never seen scholarships for anxiety)? I ask because there are organizations that do offer (generally competitive) scholarships for various illnesses. When my cousin applied a few years ago, I know she applied to some for Diabetes. I occasionally see ones for things like Juvenile Arthritis and Lupus come up in my newsfeed.
Your D really, IMO, should be working at least a part-time job and not volunteering full time. There are very, very few museums (with the exception of the super big ones) who are going to say “no” if a competent students wants a non-paid internship with them. I have a certificate in museum studies and worked for our state museum. I can’t think of anyone I know who wanted an internship and didn’t get one somewhere.
Also, if that 7k was from the feds or state, you can bet he owes it back.
@Madison85, Do you know how the AOTC works? I think part is a tax credit but part is a refund.
Up to $1000 (40%) can be refundable. This means if the taxpayer has a $0 income tax liability, he/she may get a $1000 refund.
The AOTC is a tax credit of up to $2500, part of it reduces your tax liability and up to 40% of it, or $1000, is refundable
@romanigypsyeyes I have to disagree with you. There are many scholarships for the xxx community many are for activism to promote the acceptance of the LGBTQ community, others state you have to be “publicly identified” as LGBTQ or “identify as” LGBTQ.
Have you looked through the link to the data base I posted?
Here’s a general national list http://www.hrc.org/scholarship-database/c/national
Here’s a CA list http://www.hrc.org/scholarship-database/c/california
No one is saying you get a scholarship just for being gay, but there are a lot of scholarship where promoting the LGBTQ or being LGBTQ is a component of the scholarship. I didn’t see any that mentioned suffering discrimination or abuse as a criteria (doesn’t mean that they aren’t out there just that I didn’t notice any) Many seem to be looking for “leadership” in their community. I’m sure there is competition for these and like most scholarships have very specific criteria, must be a deaf and lesbian, must be openly gay and in your second year of law school, must be LGBTQ Pacific Islander graduating from a Bay Area high school… but they are out there, far more than for specific medical conditions.
Students that qualify for these types of scholarships should be encouraged to seek them out. You are doing a disservice to those that do qualify for these types of scholarship saying there are only very, very few and only for extreme situations. Of course not everyone that is eligible for a specific scholarship will get it but if you don’t seek them out and apply for it you certainly won’t get it.
California is a unique state both in terms of progressive politics and sheer size. Don’t use it as the standard for most students.
That’s why I posted the National link too.
No, the $7,000 wasn’t from the state or feds–it was pure grant money…with basically no strings attached:(
And sorry if I did not specify, she is looking for a paid internship…which is getting set up at this museum, as we speak. She works 4 days a week and sees a therapist on the 5th weekday.
I have not looked for any Anxiety scholarships, sure they don’t exist. Her other medical issues do not have scholarships (without getting too personal). And the museum helps her anxiety, which is kind of paramount at the moment…school does too, and that starts again in several weeks. I will share that her anxiety stems from being bullied for her health problems, starting in 2nd grade (by her teacher) and continuing health issues.
I love whomever said we are in the “doughnut hole”, at least it has a name.
It’s also very hard when we see scholarships for “xxxxx” and you MUST have a gpa of 2.5, for instance. 2.5???
Thank you. The problem/s we have run into are similar to this; there ARE many scholarships at the CC but most academic ones state that you must have come from a high school in this state…which we did not! We moved here from another state-sigh.