Minority College Grants

Because minorities often face a number of obstacles on the road to a college education -- perhaps they live below the poverty line, come from single-parent homes or large families, have parents who don't speak English, or have any number of other problems -- there are a wide variety of college grants that are available to them, both ethnic and non-ethnic. Regardless of the reason for your hardship, many agencies do their part to make sure you will have an equal opportunity for education by providing grants for college. Many of these grants are specifically for a certain minority, though others are for minorities in general.

The federal government provides grants for Native Americans, Mexicans (and other Latin American and South American cultures), African-Americans, Asians, Cubans, Arabs, and other ethnicities. These grants provide access to funding based on need and hardship. Aside from ethnic background, other minorities are also assisted because of setbacks they may have faced. These minority groups include women. There are also grant opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students. The Actuarial Scholarships for Minority Students, the American Bar Association Legal Opportunity Scholarship Program, and the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program all have significant grant opportunities for minorities. Of course, there are also many private businesses and entities that assist in providing grants to less-privileged individuals of minority distinction, based on need and specific criteria determined by the awarding party.

List of Minority College Grants

• Gilbert Rios Memorial Award — $5000 awarded each year to 1 male and 1 female Puerto Rican/Latino undergraduate students.


• Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund — $2000 awarded each year to 63 Hispanic-American students.


• Sons of Italy National Leadership Grants Competition General Scholarships — $4000 to $25,000 for 10-13 Italian descent undergraduate and graduate students.

Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.