Grants for Biracial Students

Many biracial students think that they are left out of minority scholarships and grants because they only have a certain percentage of ethnicity. Today there are an increasing number of scholarships that are tailored specifically to people of more than one race.

In addition, you only need to be a quarter or more of a certain race in order to apply for some grants. It is worth looking into minority scholarships tailored to people of one race; often they don't require applicants to be 100 percent of any one ethnicity to qualify.

Scholarships and Grants for Native Americans

Almost all scholarships available to Native American students only require a certain percentage of their heritage to be from a federally recognized tribe in order to qualify.

The American Indian College Fund provides scholarships to students attending both tribal and mainstream colleges. To qualify, the student must demonstrate tribal enrollment verification or proof of descent. One parent must typically be a member of a federally recognized tribe but multiracial students are potential applicants.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs also offers scholarships to students who are at least one-quarter Indian. The amount available ranges from $500 to $4,000 per year. You can go to The American Indian College Fund at www.collegefund.org, or Bureau of Indian Affairs at www.bia.gov

School-Specific Scholarships and Grants

Many colleges will offer further scholarships upon acceptance to students with a minority or multi-racial background. It is worth speaking with the financial aid department to find out if a student qualifies for additional grants.

Unlike many scholarships for Native American students, many racially-based scholarships determine eligibility based on self-identification. If a student is biracial but considers himself to belong to one minority over another, feel free to call the school in question to find out if there are any stricter requirements for eligibility.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities offers scholarships for a variety of students. Providing that applicants meet individual scholarship requirements, hispanic descent is not necessary.

HACU 8415 Datapoint Drive, Suite 400 San Antonio, TX 78229 210-692-3805 hacu@hacu.net www.hacu.net

Diversity and Multicultural Scholarships

Many schools offer grants and scholarships to students from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds. This can range from scholarships based entirely on ethnicity to those seeking students committed to diversity.

Scholarships and grants are available to students who come from mixed ethnic backgrounds as well as racial ones, giving biracial students another chance for help in funding their education. Ohio University offers a scholarship for both multicultural students and those from "disproportionately represented groups."

It is often easiest for people to find increased scholarship opportunities at larger schools or state universities which tend to have more grants available.