Numerous organizations are nowadays offering financial aid for various minority groups, among them scholarships for minority women. These programs all have the objective of widening access to higher education for women belonging to minorities, but they are very diverse when it comes to application deadlines and requirements, as well as in terms of the sum of money available – some provide one-time sums, while others will be paid over a period of time, and there are programs that offer small sums, while others are more substantial.

Scholarships for minority women are forms of financial aid that the receiver does not have to pay back at the end of the college course or any time later on. The term “minority” here can mean not only ethnic groups, but also ladies in a certain social situation or age group. Minority scholarships are offered to numerous categories, including, but not restricted to the following:

• Women belonging to an ethnic minority, such as African American or Native American women,
• Women who have interrupted their studies in the past and would like to return to college and continue their education,
• Single mothers,
• Divorced women,
• Women who have been the victims of abuse,
• Women belonging to a certain age group, such as ladies over 40 or 50,
• Women suffering from certain disabilities.

Some programs are available only to minority women who decide to study a certain major such as engineering or medicine.

Each program comes with its own set of eligibility conditions and requirements, but there are a few recurrent criteria (though not even these are required by all scholarship programs):

• The applicant needs to be a permanent resident or a citizen of the US,
• Many scholarships programs require applicants to prove that they belong to the minority that the scholarship is offered to,
• The applicant needs to prove that she needs the financial aid,
• Many scholarship programs have requirements regarding academic performance, such as GPA results for first-year students and grade transcripts for students in higher years.

Minority scholarships for women are available from colleges and universities, from the Department of Education, from state governments, from advocacy groups, foundations, associations, communities, even from private corporations – just conduct a quick online research and you will find hundreds of scholarships that you can apply for. Contact your school’s scholarship office, too – you will find lots of valuable details and guidance, too. Most scholarships for minority women are not exclusive, so you can apply to each program you find suitable.