First in Family Scholarships
Are You the First in Your Family to Attend College?
For many students going to college is just as much about changing things for themselves as it is for their families. When no one before you in your family has gone to college, there are more than the typical challenges to overcome. Not only may everyone be hinging his or her hopes on your future, but you also have no one to lead you through the financial aid and college application milieu, which can be daunting to say the least. In many cases students who are the first in their family to go to college come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
We’ve found some scholarships specifically designed for you. While you are shopping around keep in mind that these are usually called first in family or first generation scholarships.
Scholarship Programs
The Sallie Mae Fund in combination with the Hispanic College Fund, offers the Sallie Mae First in Family Scholarship. This program is suited best to Hispanic students, one of the more scholastically disadvantaged minority groups in America. Applicants must have high academic scores and be pursuing a four-year undergraduate program. Awards are up to $5,000.
The J. Craig and Page T. Smith Scholarship Foundation is a philanthropic organization in Alabama founded by a wealthy textile family. The organization’s main objective is to make it possible to send more of Alabama’s disadvantaged kids to college. While the scholarship is not exclusive to first gen college kids, it does give preference to those that are. The Foundation has been quite vocal about the exclusivity of many scholarship programs when it comes to kids who may not be top scholars simply because their duties at home are just as overwhelming. Eligible applicants must be enrolling in a college in the state. Recipients may qualify for the full cost of tuition. Read more.
Catawba College in North Carolina considers its First Family Scholarship among their “most prestigious.” In fact this scholarship, of which there are two awarded, is a downright cutthroat competition. Candidates considered are culled from the new applicants for the incoming academic year then invited to compete. Competition includes an outstanding essay as well as letters of recommendation from former teachers. Winners may earn a free ride.
Talk about corporate philanthropy, Mercedes Benz Drive Your Future Scholarship was founded on the principles of providing opportunity where is most needed, among families whose members have never gone to college. Every year MBUSA awards dozens of these scholarships to academically motivated, financially needy kids who are about to be the first generation in their family to attend college. The program expects that recipients will return the favor by serving in their communities after graduation, as volunteers, activists or community leaders.
Everyone knows the name of Coca Cola is synonymous with worldwide entrepreneurship. The Coca Cola Foundation generously gives back to many world communities and college scholarships are one such way. The Coca Cola First Generation Scholarships are awarded to dozens of undergraduate and graduate students each year. Obviously the first requirement is to be the first in one’s family to go to college. Beyond this applicants must exhibit financial need and a reasonable academic record. Awards are up to $5,000.
California State University and the not-for-profit Valley Partners work to encourage college students to act as mentors for younger kids in promoting the advantages of a college education. Additionally the duo supplies generous scholarship opps to eligible students including the First in Family Scholarships. Students who receive the awards are asked to give back by serving as mentors themselves. Awards are up to $1,500.
The University of California-Santa Cruz sponsors the UCSC Alumni First in Family Scholarship. In order to continue giving to deserving, but disadvantaged students, UCSC vigorously solicits alumni contributions.
