DREAM Scholarship Blog |
For more tips and resources, please visit the Paying for College page in the NCCSD Clearinghouse.
Funding opportunities with deadlines in 2024 - early 2025
Scholarships.com - Scholarships for Disabled Students
Affordable College - College Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
Scholarships Open to All Students
Note that some general scholarship resources may ask you to register or pay a fee. Inclusion here does not mean endorsement by DREAM, the NCCSD, University of Minnesota or AHEAD. Note that some commercial sites may seek to add your email address or other information to their mailing lists; you don't need to give out personal information.
Nitro College - one of the largest scholarship search sites - https://www.nitrocollege.com/
Test Prep Insight (commercial test preparation site) offers a $1500. scholarship each year.
Microsoft DisAbility Scholarship. Microsoft’s DisAbility scholarship is open to students who want to pursue an undergraduate degree in a US university. The students need to have an interest in STEM, law, business, or any other related subject.
The Google Lime Scholarship program is open to differently-abled students from any country who want to study at a university in Canada or the United States. However, students must be studying a computer science degree or a degree closely related to the technical field.
Disability-Specific Scholarships
ADHD or LD
Scholarship listing from ADDitude magazine - https://www.additudemag.com/scholarships-for-adhd-and-ld-students/
Blind/VI
American Council of the Blind - https://www.acb.org/scholarships
The National Federation of the Blind of California invites you to apply for its 2024 college scholarship. The deadline for applications is Sunday February 18. Winners are expected to attend the NFBC state convention from March 14 to Marcch 17. All of those currently accepted or enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program are eligible.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17wAYk_dh-8gClYCIWTF1gOr5CAyb7zBFnPk_CaSyZrg/viewform?edit_requested=true
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
AG Bell - https://www.agbell.org/Connect#financial-aid
Setoma - https://www.sertoma.org/What-we-do/Scholarships
Cochlear - https://www.cochlear.com/us/en/home/ongoing-care-and-support/connect-with-us/scholarships
Physical, Psychiatric, Intellectual or Other Disabilities
Jack Scura - https://www.scura.com/jack-scura-fund
Powering Education Scholarship - https://www.pathwaystoscience.org/programhub.aspx?sort=MAI-AlphaOne-PoweringEdSchol
Scholarships for Autistic Students
US News and World Report has general information about funding your education plus links to many autism and neurodiversity-related scholarships.
The Neurodiversity Alliance has one of the largest scholarship programs for students with Dyslexia, ADHD, autism & other neurodiverse students. Information for the 2025-2026 year is available now.
Scholarships for Veterans and their families
Student Veterans of America
Disabled American Veterans Scholarship - for those who volunteer with DAV
Folds of Honor Scholarship
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship”
Scholarships for Students who are Incarcerated or Post-Incarceration (link to MS Word document) from Education Justice Project
Scholarships.com - Scholarships for Disabled Students
Affordable College - College Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
Scholarships Open to All Students
Note that some general scholarship resources may ask you to register or pay a fee. Inclusion here does not mean endorsement by DREAM, the NCCSD, University of Minnesota or AHEAD. Note that some commercial sites may seek to add your email address or other information to their mailing lists; you don't need to give out personal information.
Nitro College - one of the largest scholarship search sites - https://www.nitrocollege.com/
Test Prep Insight (commercial test preparation site) offers a $1500. scholarship each year.
Microsoft DisAbility Scholarship. Microsoft’s DisAbility scholarship is open to students who want to pursue an undergraduate degree in a US university. The students need to have an interest in STEM, law, business, or any other related subject.
The Google Lime Scholarship program is open to differently-abled students from any country who want to study at a university in Canada or the United States. However, students must be studying a computer science degree or a degree closely related to the technical field.
Disability-Specific Scholarships
ADHD or LD
Scholarship listing from ADDitude magazine - https://www.additudemag.com/scholarships-for-adhd-and-ld-students/
Blind/VI
American Council of the Blind - https://www.acb.org/scholarships
The National Federation of the Blind of California invites you to apply for its 2024 college scholarship. The deadline for applications is Sunday February 18. Winners are expected to attend the NFBC state convention from March 14 to Marcch 17. All of those currently accepted or enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program are eligible.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17wAYk_dh-8gClYCIWTF1gOr5CAyb7zBFnPk_CaSyZrg/viewform?edit_requested=true
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
AG Bell - https://www.agbell.org/Connect#financial-aid
Setoma - https://www.sertoma.org/What-we-do/Scholarships
Cochlear - https://www.cochlear.com/us/en/home/ongoing-care-and-support/connect-with-us/scholarships
Physical, Psychiatric, Intellectual or Other Disabilities
Jack Scura - https://www.scura.com/jack-scura-fund
Powering Education Scholarship - https://www.pathwaystoscience.org/programhub.aspx?sort=MAI-AlphaOne-PoweringEdSchol
Scholarships for Autistic Students
US News and World Report has general information about funding your education plus links to many autism and neurodiversity-related scholarships.
The Neurodiversity Alliance has one of the largest scholarship programs for students with Dyslexia, ADHD, autism & other neurodiverse students. Information for the 2025-2026 year is available now.
Scholarships for Veterans and their families
Student Veterans of America
Disabled American Veterans Scholarship - for those who volunteer with DAV
Folds of Honor Scholarship
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship”
Scholarships for Students who are Incarcerated or Post-Incarceration (link to MS Word document) from Education Justice Project
Resume.io a commercial resume-building site has suggestions for writing scholarship Thank You letters:
A well written thank you letter not only shows how much the recipients appreciate the financial support, but more importantly also helps to ensure that the donors continue to offer their scholarships to future students. Acknowledging the scholarship provider's generosity can also help build a positive relationship, potentially leading to future opportunities, such as internships, job offers, or additional scholarships.
A well written thank you letter not only shows how much the recipients appreciate the financial support, but more importantly also helps to ensure that the donors continue to offer their scholarships to future students. Acknowledging the scholarship provider's generosity can also help build a positive relationship, potentially leading to future opportunities, such as internships, job offers, or additional scholarships.