Scholarships
Find money for school and make it count
Browse scholarships built for Hispanic, Black, Native, first-generation, and low-income students. But winning isn't just luck, it's where you look and what you ask before you say yes. Five things worth knowing first.
01 · Look closer to home
Check your local community foundation and clubs first
Rotary, Elks, Kiwanis, and your local community foundation get way fewer applicants than national scholarships. Which means real odds of winning, not lottery odds.
Over 900 community foundations exist in the U.S. — find yours at cof.org or candid.org.
02 · Ask before you assume
Ask a parent's employer or union about scholarships for their kids
Most people never think to ask and almost nobody applies. It's one of the easiest scholarships to win precisely because barely anyone enters.
Look for: Union Plus Scholarship (unionplus.org) · McDonald's HACER (for Hispanic students) · your parent's HR or benefits portal directly
03 · Built for you specifically
A short list of full-ride programs built for students like you
These aren't one-time checks. They cover full cost of attendance, renew every year, and often come with mentoring and career support, built specifically for OTCU's audience.
The Gates Scholarship · QuestBridge · Hispanic Scholarship Fund · UNCF · Dell Scholars
04 · Don't stop at senior year
Keep applying after freshman year
Most scholarship hunting happens senior year of high school. Way fewer people compete for scholarships open to sophomores and juniors, the field thins out fast.
Check your department's scholarship page and your school's internal portal, not just outside search engines.
05 · Before you say yes
Ask how an outside scholarship affects your financial aid
Winning money outside can quietly shrink what the school gives you. Some colleges cut their own grant aid, dollar for dollar, so you end up exactly where you started. A 2-minute check first can save the surprise.
Ask the aid office, in writing, how outside awards are treated before you accept. Maryland banned displacement in 2017 — check whether your state has too.