Scholarship Criteria and Application Information
Recipients will receive a $2000 scholarship good toward attending a four year accredited college or university.
Program goals include:
- Providing funding to full time traditional students at four year accredited institutions of higher learning that are committed to fostering developing future scholars
- Recognizing achievement in scholastics and leadership potential
Purpose of the scholarship
The purpose of the scholarship is to recognize achievement in scholastics, leadership potential and initiative to make students aware of the potential for success through the continued pursuit of higher education.
The DiversityFIRST™ Scholarships will award scholarships to assist selected students with tuition, fees, books, and on-campus room and board. The individual award amount will be $2,000 per student and will be distributed in two $1000 payments; one for the fall semester and one for the spring semester. The first distribution will be given 3 weeks after the start of the first semester attending school pending confirmation of attending classes.
Scholarship funds will be distributed payable to the individual scholarship recipient(s) and the university/college with the understanding that the award will be used for the payment of educational expenses such as tuition, fees, books and on-campus room and board.
Candidate Eligibility
To be eligible for consideration, you must:
- Be a High School Student in the United States
- Be a traditional college student freshman entering a four year college or university for the first time in the 2008-2009 school year
- Have a GPA of at least 2.80 on a 4.0 scale (provide official high school transcript)
- Answer 2 essay questions in 300 words or less on the topics of Diversity and Leadership. (See online application for the choice of questions)
- Complete the DiversityFIRST™ Scholarships on-line application
Finalists for the scholarship must:
- Provide an official transcript from his or her high school
- Provide proof of registration at a four year college or university
- Provide one letter of recommendation from either a teacher, student advisor, community service organization or employer
Evaluation Process
All qualified applications will be reviewed and evaluated on all of the following:
- Successfully meeting the DiversityFIRST™ Scholarships criteria and eligibility requirements
- Academic achievements and extracurricular involvement
- All other information provided on the on-line application
Essay questions, transcripts, proof of registration and letters of recommendation will be part of the evaluation process for students selected as finalists for the scholarship.
Deadline for student applications
Priority consideration of applications will begin on January 21.
Deadline for consideration is April 2.
To be considered for a DiversityFIRST™ Scholarship, students must meet all eligibility requirements as detailed above and complete an on-line application.
Finalists for the scholarship will be asked to submit their official high school transcript, and proof of registration at a four year college or university and one letter of recommendation. DiversityFIRST™ Scholarship recipients will be notified of their award via letter no later than April 25 and will be asked to submit an individual headshot photo for publication.
DiversityFIRST™ Scholarships reserves the right to suspend or terminate this program at any time. Funds distributed to the recipient are to be used by the selected students for educational expenses such as tuition, fees, books and on-campus room and board.
The inaugural recipients of DiversityFIRST™ Scholarships were acknowledged at the Scholarship Dinner, held in conjunction with the 4th Annual Texas Diversity and Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas.