Easy Scholarships

The Bill Gates Scholarship, also known as the Gates Millenium Scholarship, is designed for those from low income families and minorities who struggle to obtain a quality education. The goal of the scholarship is to allow these students to take part in higher education and change the course of their life. Specifically, the scholarship aims to help students in the fields of math, science, technology, medicine, and engineering.

To qualify for the scholarship, you must meet a number of criteria. For example, you must have exceptional grades and a high GPA, though there have been reports of exceptions to that rule for some students. There is no requirement that you be a U.S. Citizen, but you must at least have permanent resident status in the United States.

The fund was founded in 1999 by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The program aims to advocate the notion that highly academically capable individuals represent extraordinary promise, despite any setbacks that life may have give them. That is why the scholarship focuses on those from low income families and minority groups.

The scholarship also hopes that by propelling these students, their testimony and experiences will spark conversation and debate, which could lead to a positive change in public policies and philanthropic contributions from others so that an even greater number of academically successful students can work to make our nation more productive.

The Bill Gates Scholarship is unique because it does not simply give money to students to go to school. The scholarship contemplates that students will still have to work a part-time job; however, it aims to help students avoid working full-time or take money from their parents or other sources. Nonetheless, it is still a scholarship. Therefore, it never has to be paid back and you graduate from college debt-free.

Each year, a thousand students are awarded the scholarship, and each individually chooses the college or university they would like to attend. The Gates Foundation does more than simply cut a check for award recipients, however. Each recipient participates in an active leadership program while they take advantage of personal and professional development assistance throughout their time in college. Gates scholars are even offered academic support to ensure success in college with the opportunity they are given. This is a unique aspect of this scholarship that is not commonly found in other scholarship programs.

Another unique aspect is that the Gates Foundation partners with several other organizations that provide services to recipients of the scholarship. Scholars gain access to staff at the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the United Negro College fund. This provides students a wealth of resources from established programs as well as networking opportunities to ensure their success after college.

Applications are due generally in mid-January the year a student would matriculate to college the following autumn. This year, applications are due January 11, 2012 for those entering college in the fall of 2012. The application can be found at gmsp.org.

The application process requires the student to fill out a personal application and submit it, as well as the evaluation of the student’s academic record from an educator. Lastly, a recommendation is required that summarizes the students community service and leadership activities.

To be eligible, students must meet some criteria. For example, you must be African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American. You must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and you must have a GPA of 3.3 on an unweighted 4.0 scale; however, you may have earned a G.E.D. instead. You must be enrolling for the first time in a college or university located and accredited within the United States in the fall following your application as a full-time degree-seeking first-year student. The scholarship requires that you have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular, or other activities and meet the criteria for Federal Pell Grants. Lastly, of course, you must fill out the application and get the required educational endorsement and recommendation and submit it on time.

Past recipients have gone to a number of great colleges and universities, such as: Duke, Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, New York University, Emory, Cornell, and Wellesley.
Another unique aspect of this scholarship is that it does give students the opportunity to gain additional funding for graduate school if they desire to go and have done well as an undergraduate. Because the scholarship encourages students to go into highly technical and specialized fields, many of which require advanced degrees, the scholarship does not hinder students from obtaining them. Support for graduate degrees may be obtained in the following areas: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health, and science.

The amount of the award is not set, but varies depending on each student’s situation. The amount depends on the financial need of the student, as well as the cost of tuition, fees, books, and living expenses for the academic year. The scholarship may also consider the availability of other grants and scholarships.

The Bill Gates Scholarship provides an extraordinary opportunity to smart students who are willing to work hard, no matter what their background.