Scholarships for Low Income High School Students

Gates Millennium Scholars Program

• Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Millennium Scholars Program is the largest scholarship program for minority students in the U.S. The foundation awards a large number of scholarships every year, and helped 1,000 students in 2010 to attend college. Recipients must be of Hispanic, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander or Native American extraction and have a minimum 3.3 GPA (or a GED) and have financial need. Also, scholarship winners must be enrolling in an accredited college or university as full-time students for the first time, and have "demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities," according to the foundation.

  Gates Millennium Scholars
  P.O. Box 10500
  Fairfax, VA 22031
  1-877-690-4677
  gmsp.org.

First in My Family Scholarship Program

• Students of Hispanic background who will be the first member of their family to attend university may apply for the First in My Family Scholarship Program, offered through a partnership between Sallie Mae and the Hispanic College Fund. Applicants must have financial need, be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and attending an accredited school on a full-time basis. The scholarship values range from $500 to $5,000 and applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to be eligible.

  Sallie Mae Fund
  12061 Bluemont Way
  Reston, VA 20190
  1-888-272-5543
  thesalliemaefund.org.

Unmet Need Scholarship

• Sallie Mae and Scholarship America offer the Unmet Need Scholarship, which it describes as "intended to supplement financial aid packages that fall more than $1,000 short of students' financial need." To be eligible, applicants must come from a household with a combined income of $30,000 or less, have a 2.5 or higher GPA and be enrolling as a full-time undergraduate student at an accredited school.

  Sallie Mae Fund
  12061 Bluemont Way
  Reston, VA 20190
  1-888-272-5543
  thesalliemaefund.org

National Medical Fellowships Need-Based Scholarships

• The National Medical Fellowships (NMF) offers Need-Based Scholarships to assist students in the first and second year of medical school. The scholarships are awarded to students with financial need, and described by NMF as "increasingly important due to escalating cost of medical school and spiraling student debt." Minorities are encouraged to apply, and awards range in amount from $1,000 to $10,000.

  National Medical Fellowships, Inc.
  Need Based Scholarship Program
  347 Fifth Avenue, Ste. 510
  New York, NY 10016
  212-483-8880
  nmfonline.org