Several national organizations, associations and foundations like the American Association of University Women, the Zonta International Organization and the Talbot Women's Scholarship Fund---part of the Talbot's Charitable Foundation---provide scholarship funds to qualified female students. Generally, the female student must be enrolled in an accredited university, be able to demonstrate enrollment and attendance at that university, and in some cases, hold a minimum grade point average and be registered within a specific academic program or major.
The AAUW offers scholarship aid to international female students as well as American female students pursuing career fields where women are generally absent. These fellowship and STEM Encouragement opportunities are available to female students who demonstrate high performance and leadership within her chosen academic program.
Zonta International provides a $5,000 scholarship that can be used at any accredited school with a business program. The scholarship aid must be used to cover the cost of tuition, books, and/or housing related expenses such as room and board. An application, letter of recommendation and 500-word essay is required.
The Talbot Women's Scholarship Fund awards five $10,000 scholarships and fifty $1000 scholarships to undergraduate female students in enrolled in a two or four-year accredited university. Applicants must demonstrate financial need and some level of academic achievement or high performance during her high school education. Students with a GED are also encouraged to apply.
Financial aid for women is divided by grade level (high school, undergraduate, graduate), aid type (scholarship, fellowship, grant), major (Business, Communications, Science, or other academic major), state (participating accredited United States universities or colleges), and ethnic background (African-American, Asian-American, Latin American). Additional areas include culinary scholarships, sports scholarships, and late-adult education scholarships, for applicants who earned their GED or high school education more than 10 years ago.
The largest electronic database for financial aid for female students is the Federal Application for Financial Student AID (FAFSA) website. Additional websites that offer financial aid resources include Fin Aid, Scholarships, and College Scholarships. Each site offers detailed scholarship information as well as an online application portal for easy filing. All qualifications and requirements are listed with each scholarship profile. In most cases, a link is provided for the sponsoring organization or foundation.
A change in grade point average, academic major or university may result in all or some of the awarded scholarship money being revoked or stopped. Some scholarship aid is only permitted for approved academic majors and any or all changes in academic standing may affect the applicant's ability to receive additional funding in the future or receive the remaining monies owed for the current academic term. All changes should be reported immediately to avoid a problem.