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College and Career Center → Financial Aid → Minority Scholarships

Scholarship Information

  • Introduction
  • Learning About Scholarships 
  • Frequently Used Scholarship Websites 
  • Qualifying for Scholarships 
  • Applying for Scholarships 
  • Additional Information 

Introduction

Scholarships provide money that can help students pay for their college education. Different from loans, scholarships provide money that students and their families never have to pay back. Some scholarships are provided by private organizations while others are provided by colleges and universities.

Learning About Scholarships

Each MCPS high school has a College and Career Center that is open twelve months per year. These centers contain resources to help students and their families learn about scholarships.  Some are print resources such as The Guide To Federal Student Aid. Other resources are found on the Internet.

Frequently Used Scholarship Websites

MCPS Financial Aid Workshops

www.fastweb.com

www.mhec.state.md.us

www.finaid.org

Qualifying for Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded to students who meet a variety of criteria.  Some are awarded to students and families with limited financial resources.  Some scholarships are awarded to students who have pursued rigorous coursework while in high school and earned high grades and scores on tests such as the SAT or ACT.  Other scholarships are awarded to students with special talents such as athletic or artistic ability.  Some scholarships are awarded to students who have extensive volunteer experience or who are planning to enter certain careers.  Still other scholarships are awarded to students with specific ethnic or religious affiliations.  You can maximize your chances to qualify for scholarships by taking challenging classes (including honors and advanced placement), earning good grades, maximizing your SAT and ACT scores by preparation and practice, and getting involved in extracurricular activities.

Applying for Scholarships

It is important that students file scholarship applications by the scholarship deadline. The application forms for many scholarships can be obtained in the College and Career Center in each high school. Many others can be downloaded from the website of the scholarship.  Typically students need to provide a copy of their transcript.  A transcript is a document that lists all of the courses a student has taken in high school and the final grades earned in those courses.  Students need to work with the registrar at their high school to have transcripts sent with their scholarship applications in the same manner that transcripts are sent with college applications. Often students also need to write essays to accompany scholarship applications.

For Additional Information

Students should talk with their counselor or the college and career information coordinator at their high school if they need assistance in completing scholarship applications.