February is Black History Month. It’s a time to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and their role in shaping the history of the United States and Canada.
At Scholly, we honor the hard hard work, sacrifices, and accomplishments of the Black community all year round. And Black History Month is a great occasion to share a few of our favorite scholarships specifically for African American students!
So, in this post, you’ll find quick facts on 7 scholarships for African American students that, to date, are currently accepting applications.
Following those scholarships, we’ll also be sharing 5 scholarship tips for African American students who want to increase their chances of winning big and cutting down their costs for college.
Let’s get right to it!
7 Scholarships for African American Students
Here are 7 of our favorite scholarships for African American students that are currently accepting applications! For more information on each, click the name of the scholarship.
#1 National Black McDonald’s & Dr. Pepper Scholarship
This scholarship is offered through the combined financial efforts of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association, and Dr. Pepper. It is awarded to students attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Application Deadline
March 22, 2021
Award Amount
- 12 students will win a scholarship worth $5,000
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the National Black McDonald’s & Dr. Pepper Scholarship if you:
- Enrolled full-time as a sophomore, junior or senior at an HBCU
- Are a U.S. citizen or legal resident
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
- Are open to Marketing, Sales, Operations, Entrepreneurship and other Business related majors
- Have leadership experience
- Demonstrate financial need
Application Materials
To apply for the National Black McDonald’s & Dr. Pepper Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- Your FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR)
- The email address of someone who can complete a character reference
- A copy of your recent transcripts
- A 1-minute video statement about your experience with leadership, thoughts on diversity in the workplace, and career interests within business management or hospitality management
#2 Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship
Microsoft is proud to offer this scholarship to students of African descent interested in pursuing a degree in a technology-related field.
Application Deadline
March 31, 2021 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Award Amount
- 4 students will win scholarships worth $20,000 distributed over 4 years ($5,000 per year)
- 8 students will win scholarships worth $10,000 distributed over 2 years ($5,000 per year)
- Up to 15 students will win one-time scholarships worth $1,000
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship if you:
- Are a US-based high school senior of African descent (e.g. African American, Nigerian, Ethiopian, etc.)
- Plan to attend a four-year college or university immediately following your high school graduation
- Have at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA
- Require financial assistance to attend college
- Can demonstrate a passion for technology
- Plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, computer information systems, or certain business programs (e.g. finance, business administration, or marketing).
Application Materials
To apply for the Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- 2 letters of recommendation
- Your resume
- A color photo of yourself
- Your academic transcript
- 2 personal essays
#3 Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship
The Mae and Mary Legacy Foundation is an educational non-profit organization committed to unifying communities and giving back to African American students entering the medical and healthcare professions.
Application Deadline
April 30, 2021 11:59 PM EST
Award Amount
Varies annually
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship if you:
- Are an African American graduating high school senior
- Plan to attend a two/four-year college or university to pursue a career in healthcare
- Are a U.S. citizen
Application Materials
To apply for the Mae & Mary Legacy Foundation, Inc. Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- 2 letters of recommendation
- One personal essay
- A cover letter
- Your resume
- A recent photo of yourself
- Your academic transcript
- A copy of a college acceptance letter (if available)
#4 A. Grace Lee Mims Vocal Scholarship
The Cleveland Foundation offers this scholarship to help African American students pursuing graduate-level study in vocal performance or music education, with an emphasis on voice.
Application Deadline
March 15, 2021
Award Amount
$10,000 (renewable for up to 2 years)
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the A. Grace Lee Mims Vocal Scholarship if you:
- Are an African American student enrolled full time at a recognized and accredited institution (conservatory, college, university, etc.) for graduate-level course work toward a master’s or doctoral degree in vocal performance or music education, with an emphasis on voice, in order to perpetuate the singing of the Negro spiritual through performance and/or teaching
Application Materials
To apply for the A. Grace Lee Mims Vocal Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- 3 letters of recommendation
- A recording of a recent performance
- A personal statement
- A photo of yourself
- A detailed budget for your academic year’s educational expenses including scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans
#5 Carrington-Philbert Scholarship
Malcolm Carrington and Sherwin Bridgewater founded this scholarship to help African American students entering their first year of college.
Application Deadline
May 1, 2021
Scholarship Award Amount
$2,500 (to at least one student)
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the Carrington-Philbert Scholarship if you:
- Are an African-American high-school senior planning to attend a U.S. two-year community college or a four-year college in the upcoming academic year
Application Materials
To apply for the Carrington-Philbert Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- Your high school transcripts
- A headshot photo
- A personal essay
- 1 letter of recommendation
#6 KnowBe4 Scholarship for Black Americans in Cybersecurity
KnowBe4 is an information security company. They provide this scholarship for Black American students pursuing, or planning to pursue, a degree with a focus on cybersecurity or information assurance.
Application Deadline
April 19, 2021
Scholarship Award Amount
$10,000 for tuition, fees, books, and electronics, up to $3,000 for on-campus housing, and an (ISC)2 certification education package
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the KnowBe4 Scholarship if you:
- Are a Black U.S. citizen
- Are a high-school senior, college student, or graduate student
- Plan to pursue a degree with a focus on cybersecurity or information assurance
- Have at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale
- Pursue your degree on campus or online on a part-time or full-time schedule
Application Materials
To apply for the KnowBe4 Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- Your resume
- Your academic transcript
- 1 letter of recommendation
- Answers to 6 essay questions
If considered for the award, you may also need to do a 5-minute interview over Zoom with KnowBe4
#7 BLM² Scholarship Foundation College Scholarship
The BLM² Scholarship Foundation offers this scholarship for outstanding minority high school graduates from Illinois who plan to earn a baccalaureate degree from an accredited, four-year college or university with financial assistance.
Scholarship Award Amount
$1,000
Application Deadline
July 03, 2021
Eligibility Requirements
You’re eligible for the BLM² Scholarship Foundation College Scholarship if you:
- Are a minority (e.g. African American, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific American or Alaska Native)
- Are a permanent Illinois resident
- Are a graduating high school senior in the year of the award
- Plan to attend an accredited college or university within the United States
- Have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA
- Are enrolled as a full-time student during the fall academic semester of the award
Application Materials
To apply for the BLM² Scholarship Foundation College Scholarship, you’ll need to submit an application that includes:
- A personal essay
- An activity sheet
- 1 recommendation letter
- ACT or SAT scores
- Your official high school transcript
- A copy of your college/university acceptance letter
- School information for sending out the scholarship check
- Your college’s office of admissions contact information
5 Scholarship Tips for African American Students
College can be expensive. And winning scholarships will take some work. But if you follow these tips, you’ll be able to win some scholarship $$$ and cut down your costs for college!
Apply for as many scholarships as you can
We’ve listed here some amazing scholarships you can apply for as an African American high school student. But you qualify for so many other scholarships as well! There are scholarships for students who plan to pursue specific majors, like the arts or STEM. Scholarships for students of particular states. Scholarships for women. And so much more!
Unfortunately, so many of these scholarships go unclaimed because not enough students know about them. So, don’t limit yourself. Use a scholarship search tool, find all of the scholarships you qualify for, apply to each of them, and win as much money for college as you can!
Get really good at writing scholarship essays
You may have noticed. All of the scholarships we’ve shared in this post require short essays as part of the application. Scholarship selection committees use these personal essays to get to know you better and find out what makes you special.
So, you’ll want to make sure you know how to write scholarship essays that will help you win big. If you’re not sure how to get started, check out our guide for how to write a scholarship essay!
Prep your teachers and counselor on what to include in your letters of recommendation
All of the scholarships we shared here also require you to get letters of recommendation. Some even require up to 3! The only problem: you have no idea what your teachers or counselor will write!
But you can guide them to write about the things that make you special both in and outside of school. How? By preparing a document with your most important achievements, interests, goals, etc. This type of document is called a brag sheet. And the Common App offers a great brag sheet template you can easily download and use!
Submit your FAFSA as early as possible
If you haven’t submitted your FAFSA yet, get on that ASAP! And make sure to submit it as early as you can every year for as long as you’re in college. Why? Well, for one, you saw that one of the scholarships we listed here requires you to submit your FAFSA Student Aid Report as part of the application.
But more importantly, according to the U.S. News and World Report, the best financial aid packages, which include scholarships and grants, go to the students that submit the FAFSA early. If you’ve never filled out the FAFSA before or need to refresh your memory, take a look at our guide on how to apply for FAFSA.
Avoid scholarship scams
Unfortunately, there are people out there who want to scam students looking for scholarships. You’ll know a scholarship is a scam if it asks you to pay an application fee, share personal information like your social security number, or respond to a spammy email for more information. Don’t fall for it! For more information check out our quick guide on scholarship scams and how to avoid them.
(For more scholarship and college financial aid tips like these, check out our guide on how to win scholarships and The Secret to Paying $0 for College and Graduating Debt Free!)
Want to Find More Scholarship Money for College?
The African American scholarships we’ve shared in this post are just a small sample of all the scholarships you could win. There are so many more!
To easily find them, download Scholly Search, the #1 scholarship app in the world that instantly matches you with hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in scholarships based on your interests, accomplishments, and traits!
You can also check out the rest of our blog where we share tips on how you can find ways to pay for college and win other scholarships like the National Merit Scholarship and Full-Ride Scholarships.
Good luck!