College Scholarships for Low Income Students

American Bar Association Legal Opportunity Fund

• The American Bar Association (ABA) Legal Opportunity Fund Scholarship awards up to $15,000 for low-income law school students. According to the ABA website, the purpose of the scholarship is to "encourage racial and ethnic minority students to apply to and attend law school and to provide financial assistance to ensure that these students have the opportunity to attend law school for three years." To qualify, students must be members of a minority group that is underrepresented in the legal profession, be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average, and be about to enter their first year of law school. Financial need is one of the most important criteria of the ABA Legal Opportunity Fund. Recipients receive $5,000 per year for each of their three years of law school.

  American Bar Association Legal Opportunity Fund
  321 North Clark Street
  Chicago, IL 60654
  312-988-5000
  abanet.org/fje/losfpage.html

National Medical Fellowships

• Since 1946, National Medical Fellowships (NMF) has awarded need-based scholarships to more than 28,000 students. National Medical Fellowship's goal is to improve the health of underserved communities by increasing the number of minority doctors, policy makers and researchers. The NMF website states that 68 percent of recipients have annual family incomes below $35,000. To qualify for need-based scholarships, students must be in their first or second year of medical school and be U.S. citizens. Preference is given to members of populations currently underrepresented in the medical community, including African-Americans, Alaska Natives, Hispanic/Latinos, Native Hawaiians, and mainland Puerto Ricans. Applicants must prove financial need by submitting evidence of taxable income. Scholarship amounts are determined by financial need.

  National Medical Fellowships
  347 Fifth Ave. Ste. 510
  New York, NY 10016
  212-483-8880
  nmfonline.org/programs.html

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offers a number of scholarships for low-income students. According to the Foundation's website, only one of ten low-income students will graduate from college, and almost five million low-income individuals won't even try to go to college, as their families can't afford tuition costs. The Foundation's goal is to help more than 27,000 low-income students go to college by 2016. The Foundation offers eight scholarship programs; all support low-income students but each has different requirements. Gates Millennium Scholarships (GMS) have the broadest requirements. Qualifying applicants are African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian- and Pacific Islander-American, or Hispanic-American, are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or have earned a GED, and meet Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria. Students must be enrolled full-time in their first year at an accredited U.S. college or university. One thousand GMS are awarded each year in varying amounts.

  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  PO Box 23350
  Seattle, WA 98102
  206-709-3100
  gatesfoundation.org/topics/pages/scholarships.aspx