7 Scholarships for African American Students (+5 Tips on How to Win) – In a country, there are millions of people who live but it does not mean that they all are the same and belong to only one religion or region. And some of the people are don’t able to do their study because of their financial condition and lack of resources. But for helping those students we take out some scholarships which can help them. So that, they can continue their study and make their place in the community.
February is Black History Month. This is the month for the African Americans to celebrate their achievements and their role in shaping the history of the United States and Canada. They give their best role and contribution to the United States and Canada, that’s why numerous scholarships help them to pay their college fees.
At Scholly, you see that we appreciate the hard work, sacrifices, and accomplishments of the Black community all year round. So that they can get the opportunity to take their place in the community and also be a part of the important areas of education, research, hospitality, and other businesses. And Black History Month is the best time to share our special scholarships to help African American students. Therefore, they will also part of an important part of the community.
In this post, you will see that there are 7 most important scholarships for African American students which help them to study in their desired field and college or university. And can apply for the scholarships before their deadline.
Along with the scholarships, we are also sharing 5 tips that can help you to increase your chances to win the scholarships. You can apply for those African American scholarships and get help to cut down the costs of your college. Let us look at those scholarships and use the tips to win the scholarship. So continue to read the article and get proper information about the scholarships, and for more information, you can click on the name of the scholarship and get full details about them.
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7 Scholarships for African American Students
As there are lots of students who need financial help to get enter college or university, or they need financial assistance to pay for their college so that they can continue their studies and fulfill their dream. That’s why we take out the 7 most important scholarships for African American students. So that they will come forward and get a chance to get a degree in their desired course. The students can apply for those scholarships and get a chance to make their future. If you want to know more about the scholarships then you have to just click on their name and you will redirect to a new page.
#1 Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship
As different scholarships are available for different students same as this scholarship is available for students who have an interest in technology. Microsoft feels proud to offer this scholarship. They offer this scholarship to students of African descent interested in pursuing a degree in a technology-based field. So that a student comes forward and makes their dreams come true and give their impact on the whole world by their work and their passion.
Application deadline
For this scholarship, you have to apply before March 31 at 11:59 PM pacific time. After that, you can’t apply for it.
Award amount
For this scholarship, the award amount is varied for different levels. Such as:
- From this scholarship, 4 students can win the amount of $20,000. And this amount will be distributed to them over 4 years ($5,000 per year).
- 8 students will win the scholarship amount worth $10,000 and it is distributed to them over 2 years ($5,000 per year).
- And up to 15 students can win this scholarship as a one-time scholarship worth $1,000.
So, this scholarship has different levels to distribute money to the scholarship winners.
Eligibility Requirements
There is an eligibility requirement if you want to apply for the Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship. The eligibility criteria are mentioned below:
- The applicant has at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA.
- They have to show their passion for technology.
- They need financial assistance to attend the college or take admission in the college.
- You have to be a US high school-based senior of African descent (e.g. Nigerian Ethiopian, African American, etc.)
- After their high school graduation, the applicant has the plan to join a four-year course in a college or university.
- They have a plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree which may be from these: engineering, computer information system, computer science, or any of the business programs which may include finance, marketing, or business administration.
All these are the eligibility criteria for a student or applicant who has to fulfill this to be eligible for this scholarship.
Application Materials
When you are thinking about applying for the Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship, you have needed to submit some important documents along with the application form, and those documents are mentioned below:
- You have to give 2 personal essays.
- Your academic transcript.
- 2 letters of recommendation for you.
- A color photo of yourself.
- Your resume.
All these are necessary to attach with the application form while submitting the form.
#2 National Black McDonald’s & Dr. Pepper Scholarship
As there are several scholarships to apply for but one can apply for this scholarship as well. This is the scholarship that is funded with the combined financial efforts of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association, and Dr. Pepper. This is the scholarship that is an award to only those students who enrolled in historical black colleges and universities (HBCU). Here are some helpful information is also mentioned below if someone wants to apply for this scholarship.
Application Deadline
If you want to apply for this scholarship then apply before its deadline which is March 22.
Award Amount
This scholarship will be winning by 12 students worth $5,000.
Eligibility Requirements
If you want to apply for the National Black McDonald’s & Dr. Pepper Scholarship, then it is necessary to match with its eligibility requirements, which are:
- You have to be enrolled in a full-time course as a sophomore, junior, or senior at an HBCU.
- You are a U.S. citizen or a legal resident of the U.S.
- You have leadership experience or you did work as a leader in some field.
- You show that you need finance for completing your education.
- You have scored a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above.
- You are open to being a Sales, operations, marketing, entrepreneurship, and other business-related majors.
If you match all these eligibility criteria then you can apply for this scholarship and win it as well.
Application Materials
You have needed to submit many documents which are important for an applicant if they are going to apply for National Black McDonald’s & Dr. Pepper Scholarship. That may include:
- You have to submit your FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR).
- A copy of your recent or last transcript.
- An email address of the person who can complete the character reference.
- Also, you have to submit a one-minute video that states your experience with leadership, your thoughts on diversity at the workplace, and your career interests within business management or in hospitality management.
All these are important as well as necessary to submit along with your scholarship application form.
#3 A. Grace Lee Mims Vocal Scholarship
The students who have an interest in vocal performances or in music for those students this scholarship is very helpful. The Cleveland Foundation offers this A. Grace Lee Mims Vocal Scholarship to helping African American students. They help the students who are pursuing graduate-level study in vocal performance or music education, with an emphasis on voice.
There is some important information is given below to help the students if they are going to applying for this scholarship.
Application Deadline
March 15 is the last date to apply and submit the application for this scholarship.
Award Amount
This scholarship provides money worth $10,000 (which will be renewable for up to 2 years).
Eligibility Requirements
There is the eligibility criteria are given to qualifying for this scholarship:
- You must be an African American student who enrolled in an accredited college or university, institution, conservatory, etc. for full time. A student who takes admission in a college for pursuing a graduate-level course to work towards a master’s and a doctoral degree in vocal performances or music education. With the importance of a voice, to perpetuate the singing of the Negro spiritual by performance or teaching.
You have to fulfill this eligibility criterion to be eligible for this scholarship.
Application Materials
To apply for the A. Grace Lee Mims Vocal Scholarship, you have to submit some important documents with it which make you qualify for the scholarship. Such as:
- A personal statement
- 3 letters of recommendation
- A photo of yourself
- A recording of the recent performance
- Also, you have to submit a detailed budget for your academic year education expense which includes loans, scholarships, grants, and fellowship.
All these above-mentioned documents are necessary to submit along with your scholarship application to win the scholarship.
#4 Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
If you are a student who wants to pursue the course of health care then you can apply with the Mae and Mary Legacy Foundation. Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation is a non-profit educational organization. This is committed to unifying communities and giving back to African American students to enter the healthcare and medical profession. They allow them and help them to complete their dream to become doctors, researchers, etc. in the field of healthcare and medicine. So, if you have a dream for it and need help then you can apply for this scholarship. But you have to make sure about some things which are related to this scholarship like the last date, eligibility criteria, documents, and others. And all these are mentioned below to help you.
Application Deadline
This scholarship’s deadline is April 30 at 11:59 PM EST. So, try to submit your application before this deadline.
Award Amount
The award amount for this scholarship is varied annually.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship, you have to fulfill the eligibility criteria which is given below:
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must have an African American graduating high school senior.
- You have the plan to pursue two years or four-year college or university program in healthcare and for this, you are attending college or university.
You have to fulfill these eligibility criteria and you will be eligible for this scholarship.
Application Materials
For applying for the Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship, you have needed to submit some of the important documents which may include:
- Your resume
- A cover letter
- One personal essay
- 2 letters of recommendation
- Your academic transcript
- A recent photo of yourself
- If available then attach a copy of a college acceptance letter.
All are important to attach with the application form of scholarship.
#5 BLM2 Scholarship Foundation College Scholarship
The BLM2 Scholarship Foundation offers this scholarship for outstanding high school minority graduates from Illinois. They provide this scholarship to the students who are planning to earn a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university for a four-year program with the need of financial assistance. With this scholarship, students get help to pay for their four-year degree program in an accredited university or college. So they can apply for this scholarship and get financial assistance to pay for their college or university. Some important information is given below related to this scholarship
Scholarship Award Amount
This is the scholarship from that one can get the help of $1,000.
Application Deadline
The application deadline for this scholarship is July 03. So, try to fill out and submit the application form before the deadline.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for the BLM2Â Scholarship Foundation College Scholarship, you have to fulfill all the eligibility requirements which are mentioned below:
- You are a permanent resident of Illinois.
- You have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
- You are a minority (e.g. African American, Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific American, or Alaska Native).
- In the year of the award, you are a graduating high school senior student.
- You are planning to attend or enroll in an accredited college or university within the United States.
- You are enrolled as a full-time student during the fall academic semester of the award.
If you fulfill these eligibility requirements then it may sure that you are qualifying for this scholarship and get an award.
Application materials
To apply for the BLM2Â Scholarship Foundation College Scholarship, you have needed to submit an application that includes all the documents which are asked such as:
- An activity sheet
- ACT or SAT scores
- A personal essay
- Your official high school transcript
- 1 recommendation letter
- Your college’s office of admission contact information
- A copy of your college or university acceptance letter
- School information to sending out the scholarship check
You have to attach all the above-mentioned documents with your scholarship application, so you will qualify for this scholarship and increase your chances to win the scholarship.
#6 Carrington-Philbert Scholarship
This scholarship is found by Malcolm Carrington and Sherwin Bridgewater. With this scholarship, they help African American students to get admission in their first year of college. So, if someone needs help to enter college then they can apply for this scholarship and get help.
Application deadline
If you are an applicant for this scholarship then you have to submit your application before 1st May.
Scholarship Award Amount
The scholarship award amount is worth $2,500 (at least for one student).
Eligibility Requirements
For Carrington-Philbert Scholarship, one has to be eligible for its requirements which are as follow:
- You will be an African American high school senior student who is going to take admission in two years or a four-year degree course in an accredited college or university in the upcoming academic year.
If you fulfill this eligibility criterion then you are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
Application Materials
To apply for the Carrington-Philbert Scholarship, you have to submit the application form which includes the documents which are necessary to attach with the application, and these are:
- You have to give a personal essay.
- A headshot photo of yours.
- Your high school transcript.
- And, one letter of recommendation.
All these are the application materials that you have to attach with the application for the scholarship.
#7 KnowBe4 Scholarship for Black Americans in Cybersecurity
The KnowBe4 is an information security company. They provide this scholarship to the Black African students who are pursuing or planning to pursue a degree with a focus on cybersecurity or information assurance. So that the students who have a dream to make their career in this field can come forward and take advantage of this scholarship to fulfill their dream.
Application Deadline
For applying for this scholarship, one has to remember its deadline which is April 19. So, they can submit the form before the deadline.
Scholarship Award Amount
This scholarship distributes money for different expenses and on a different scale, like:
- They provide $10,000 for tuition fees, books, and electronics.
- Up to $3,000 for on-campus housing.
- Along with this, an (ISC)2certification education package.
These are different scales or levels for distributing money to the scholarship winners.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the KnowBe4 Scholarship, you have to be standing out on the given eligibility requirements which are:
- You must be a Black U.S. citizen.
- You have at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
- You must be a high school senior, college student, or graduate student.
- You are pursuing your degree on campus or on a part-time or full-time online schedule.
- You are planning to pursue a degree with a focus on cyber-security or information assurance.
You must have to complete all these eligibility requirements to be eligible for this scholarship and win it.
Application Materials
For applying for the KnowBe4 Scholarship, you will need to submit some documents along with the application form of scholarship:
- Your academic transcript
- Your resume
- You have to answer 6 essay questions.
- And, one letter of recommendation.
If you are considered for the scholarship award then you also need to do a 50minute interview on Zoom with KnowBe4. So, you must attach all the required documents with the application so that you can qualify for the scholarship award.
5 Scholarship Tips African American Students
As we all know that colleges are expensive now, as they have high fees for different courses. And it may be possible that to win the scholarship it will take some time and also it will take some work. For this, here are some tips are given and if you follow them then you can win a scholarship for $$$ and get cut down in your college costs to pay for. These tips can help you for winning the scholarship and get help to lessen the burden on your shoulders. Let us look at those tips:
Apply for many scholarships as you can
As you see that we have listed the most important scholarships for African American students for that they can apply and win a scholarship. But we suggest you apply for as many scholarships as you can because you will qualify for many of the scholarships as well apart from those 7 scholarships. So you have to apply for other scholarships as well and get a chance to win more scholarships to handle your educational expenses.
There are scholarships for students who are planning to pursue specific majors such as arts or STEM. Even there are scholarships for different levels. Scholarships for students of particular states. Scholarships for women and much more! So, you can check out them and apply according to your need.
But unfortunately, there are lots of scholarships that go unclaimed and the reason is that most of the students don’t know about those scholarships and that’s why they are unable to take advantage of those scholarships. Therefore, don’t limit yourself to just some scholarships. So, you have to use the scholarships search tool, find the scholarships for that you are qualified, apply for each of them. With that, you can win money as much as possible through scholarships for your college or handle your educational expenses.
Get good at writing scholarship essays
As you see that there are numerous scholarships are given and you noticed that each scholarship needs a short written essay as part of the application. Scholarship selection committees use these essays to analyze you or select you. They check through these essays that what are your thoughts, how better you are from others, and what makes you separate or special from others. And in all these things, these essays play a vital role to help the selection committee.
That’s why it is making sure that you know how to write the scholarship essay which will help you to win a big scholarship. If you don’t know how to write an essay or how to get a start then you can check for our guide for how to write a scholarship essay and get help to win a big scholarship by writing essay skills.
Prep your teachers and counselor on what to include in your letters of recommendation
Along with the essay, you also see that all of the above-mentioned scholarships need a recommendation letter as well. Even some of the scholarship needs up to 3 recommendation letters. But there is only one problem: you don’t know what your teachers or counselors will write in the recommendation letter.
But do not worry about this, because you can guide them that what to write in the letter which makes you special in and outside of the school. You can talk with them and also suggest some points about you in which fields you are special. How?
You have to prepare a document which mentioned all your most important likes, interests, goals, achievements, etc. This type of document is called the brag sheet. For this, you can use the Common app that provides the great brag sheet template that you can easily download and also use it.
Submit your FAFSA as early as possible
There are lots of things that are important to submit along with the scholarship application. And one of them is FAFSA. You have to submit your FAFSA with the scholarship application for that you are going to apply. But, if you did not submit your FAFSA yet then you have to submit it ASAP. As long as you are in college you have to make sure that you submit your FAFSA every year as early as possible. One some have a question about it WHY?
Well, you see that one of the scholarships which are mentioned above needs to submit the FAFSA Student Aid Report as part of the scholarship application. You have to make sure that you will be ready to get your FAFSA because it is very important for you when you are applying for any scholarship.
But most importantly, according to the U.S. News and World Report, that the best financial aid packages which include grants and scholarships are given to those students who submit FAFSA reports early than other students. If till now you did not apply for FAFSA and you need to refresh your money, then you have to take look at our guide on how to apply for FAFSA. So, you will get information on how you can apply for FAFSA and get it to apply for your scholarship and win it with the help of it.
Avoid scholarship scams
As we are trying to help the students with the scholarships to pay for their college, unfortunately, there are some people out there who want to scam the students who are looking for scholarships. Even you will know that the scholarship is a scam if you see that they are asking you to pay the application fee or ask for sharing your personal information such as your social security number, or to respond to the spammy emails for more information.
You have to avoid all these things and don’t respond to them, because those are the scholarships scams in which you may befall and face many issues. So, don’t fall for them. To more about this scam information you can check out our guide on scholarship scams and how to avoid them. So, you stay away from those scholarship scams and just focus on the real scholarships.
(For more scholarships and college financial aid tips like these, check out our guide on how to win scholarships and The Secret to Paying for $0 for College and Graduating Debt Free!) You can get help to win a scholarship and also know how to avoid those scholarship scams and stay free from the tension of paying college fees. So, always check for the details that how you can win a scholarship and stay burden-free.
Want to find more scholarship money for college?
The African American Scholarships that you see in this post are just a sample of the scholarships, you can find lots more scholarships for that you can apply and also win the scholarship. And that’s why there are lots of more scholarships that help you to pay out your college fee.
To find more scholarships, you have to use the buchananreform, this is the #1 scholarship finder app that helps you to reach the scholarship from that one can win hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships and which are according to their interests, achievements, and traits. So, you can easily apply for the scholarship and win it for paying your college fee and manage your educational expenses.
Along with this, you can also check for our blogs where we give tips and tricks on how you can find ways to pay for your college and win other scholarships like the National Merit Scholarships and The Full-Ride Scholarship.
The Bottom Line
As you see that there is 7 African American scholarship for the black students and they can apply for these scholarships according to their eligibility and their interests. They get financial help for their education and reduce the costs of their college. If they don’t know how to apply for a scholarship and how they can increase their chances to win the scholarship then they can use the tips that help them to win a big scholarship amount for their education. And they can continue their study and complete their dream of becoming something in their life.
