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African American College Scholarships

According to the United States Census Bureau's Census of 2000, there were 281.4 million people in the United States in 2000 when the census was taken. Of the total population, 36.4 million or 12.9% of the total population was African American. As of a study done in 2005, only about 12% of the total population of the US was African American. While the number of total people in the US has risen over the years since the last census, the number of Hispanics has surpassed the number of African Americans in the last several years, making African Americans the second largest minority group in the US.

These statistics have a huge impact in the amount of money given to African American students in the form of scholarships over the last few years. As the second largest minority group, African Americans are eligible for many minority scholarships. This has the benefit of encouraging African American students not only to attend secondary education institutions, but also, in the case of certain scholarships, it has encouraged African Americans to join the job markets previously dominated by white males.

For example, the National Society of Black Engineers offers scholarship monies to students with high GPAs who are in need of financial backing for college, and who will, upon graduation, take a job with the sponsoring corporation for a predetermined length of time. Scholarships like this help to integrate African Americans into engineering and other fields. Other granting institutions, like any of the 39 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, give scholarships meant to assist African American women at both the undergraduate and graduate education levels. These institutions also give scholarships to African American men.

List of African American Scholarships

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.