College | June 7, 2023 | Kayla White
Access free money for college with LGBTQ+ scholarships
What you'll learn
- How to find scholarships for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and intersex students - Where to apply for LGBTQ+ scholarships for college and grad school
Did you know there are scholarships and grants for LGBTQ+ identifying students? Unlike loans, this is free money that doesn’t have to be paid back.
If you’re wondering where to begin, check in with your school to see what opportunities they may offer.
Where can you find LGBTQ+ scholarships?
College should be a place where you can flourish as an LGBTQ+ identifying student—but financial stress may affect your ability to thrive at your school.
Start by checking out the scholarships and grants page on your school’s website. If there aren’t any options that might work for you, speak with your school’s financial aid office representative. They may have the inside scoop on LGBTQ+ funding within your school and from outside sources. Even if you haven’t graduated high school yet, it’s not too early to apply for scholarships for college—your counselor will be a great person to help point you in the right direction.
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Scholarships for LGBTQ+ college students
Along with your college, there are plenty of external sources for funding, too—here are some examples of what’s out there:
- Point Foundation Scholarship: Point Foundation (Point) is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) students of merit. Point promotes scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development, and community service training to effect change.
- Pride Foundation Scholarships: Pride Foundation provides essential financial resources and community support to LGBTQ+ student leaders across the Northwest. Since their founding, they’ve awarded more than $7 million to more than 2,200 students in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.
- LEAGUE Foundation Scholarships: Since 1996, LEAGUE Foundation has awarded college scholarships to self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender graduating U.S. high school students and/or U.S. military base high school students based on grade point average, community service, and acceptance to an accredited U.S. junior college, four-year college, or university.
- Gamma Mu Scholarships Program: This program provides support to gay men who want to further their education at a college, university, or vocational or professional training program.
- #TransgenderFirst Scholarship: This is the first national scholarship exclusively dedicated to helping underserved transgender students get affordable access to a college education.
Scholarships for LGBTQ+ graduate students
As an LGBTQ+ identifying graduate student? Paying for grad school doesn’t have to be a struggle—check out these scholarships:
- Malyon Smith Scholarship Research Award: This fund annually awards up to $1,000 to selected graduate students in psychology to advance research on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).
- ROMBA Fellowship: This joint effort between prominent business school programs and Reaching Out seeks to develop the LGBTQ+ and active ally business leaders of tomorrow. Each fellow receives a minimum $20,000 scholarship and access to exclusive leadership programming, including a retreat.
Where to find scholarships for LGBTQ+ students
There are countless scholarships and grants for LGBTQ+ students. So, where are the best places to find them? Check out Nitro by Sallie Mae, which matches you to scholarships and helps you track your college funds all in one place. (By clicking this link, you’ll go to our trusted affiliate, SLM NitroCollege LLC. Any use of the site will be governed by SLM NitroCollege LLC’s terms of use and any information you provide will be governed by the terms of SLM NitroCollege LLC’s privacy policy.) You’ll answer a few questions about your demographics, interests, and academic goals, then get matched with scholarship opportunities that might be right for you.
The Human Rights Campaign Scholarship Database is another great starting point for LGBTQ+ students and their allies. Undergraduate and graduate students can use this resource to maximize their scholarships and grants.
You deserve to be supported while being your authentic self! And by using the available resources from your financial aid office, private scholarships, and scholarship databases, you can help make it happen!