Minority Grants For College

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Nearly everyone fits into a minority category in one way or another. Many students require financial help to start or continue their education, particularly when times are tough.

How Minority Grants Work

Grants tend to be awarded on the basis of financial need and  scholarships are generally awarded for merit. Sometimes there will be a combination of the two. Grant programs can really address the challenges that face student from minority groups, e.g. for ethnic minority students there are grants for Hispanic students, African American, Asian, and Native American students. Leading sources for minority grants for college are government sources.

Types of Minority Grants

There are two main categories of minority grants:

• Ethnic minority grants are those designed to offer assistance based on ethnicity, such as grants for African American students, or Hispanics. Grant sources provide funds to create a percentage of educated and professional people from minority groups which reflects the existing population diversity.

• Non-ethnic minority grants offer aid based on need to individuals who, because of physical barriers, may be challenged or otherwise disadvantaged in the pursuit of an education or professional career. Grants for students with disabilities are for individuals with physical challenges as well as learning disabilities, like ADD, or autism. Women's grants make it possible for female students of all backgrounds to break into fields and educational programs that have historically been dominated by males.

Sources of Minority Grants

Federal and state government grant funds are most proactive in handing out need-based aid to minority and low-income students. In each case there are deeper socioeconomic and political purposes, but the intent is to build a larger, more self-sustaining economy, as well as nurture self-sustaining communities. Popular federal grants include:

• Pell Grants

• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

• Academic Competitiveness Grant

• National SMART Grant

You may not think that these are minority grants for college but these federal grant programs remain essential tools for minority students. Statistics continue to show that the majority of grant money goes to fund the education of members of minority groups, including disabled students. If you are a student from a minority group, from a low-income household, Pell Grants are one of your greatest opportunities.

If you don’t apply or qualify for a Pell Grant then you are automatically shut out of the FSEOG, the AC Grant, and the SMART grant—they all require students to be Pell recipients.

Next Best Sources for Minority Grants

Aside from government grants there are a few other very good resources for grant money:

• Put minority foundations on your grant program checklist. Well-known organizations such as the United Negro College Fund, the Hispanic College Fund, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or the American Indian College Fund, all maintain grant and scholarship programs for ethnic minority students.

• Learn how to identify grant programs that may be right for you from Corporate America. Competitive, but lucrative, grant programs are often launched by major corporations. Many stand committed to corporate diversity and spend millions of dollars supporting students,—just like you—ethnic and non-ethnic minorities.

The FAFSA is Key

The cornerstone to ANY grant or scholarship search is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You MUST complete the application and submit it to be considered for most government, public, and university programs. If you put off the FAFSA you risk missing the deadline and losing your chance of earning thousands of dollars of free college money. There is a Spanish FAFSA.

What are the FAFSA deadlines?

The federal FAFSA deadline is June 30 every year.

State deadlines vary. They may be earlier than June 30.

Bookmark the FAFSA site, download the form, fill it out completely, and submit it. The Department of Education publishes a step-by-step guide to completing the FAFSA—in Spanish and English—or you can ask your high school guidance or college financial aid counselor for assistance.

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