Colleges, states and private groups set aside scholarships for students who are the first in their family to go to college. This article shows where to search, how to write about your background and what to tell the aid office once an award comes through.
Where to look
Start with your own college. Many schools have a scholarship portal where one application is considered for several awards, and some of those awards are set aside for first-generation students. Answer every question about your parents' education, since that answer can be what places you in the pool.
Look next at your state's higher education agency, which lists state grants and scholarships with their deadlines. Community foundations, local businesses, unions, religious groups and your parents' employers often fund awards for students from the area. A high school counselor or the college aid office usually knows the local ones.
Be wary of any service that charges a fee to find scholarships or to apply for you. Free scholarship searches exist, and the Federal Trade Commission warns about sellers who charge for lists.
Writing about your background
Many first-generation scholarships ask for an essay about your family and what college means to you. Describe specific moments, such as filling in forms for your parents or working through a problem with no one to ask, and say what you learned from them.
Keep your family's privacy in mind and write only what you are comfortable sharing. Ask a writing center tutor or a teacher to read a draft before the deadline.
Report every outside scholarship to your school's financial aid office.
How an award changes your aid
Report every outside scholarship to your school's financial aid office. Federal rules require the school to count it, and if your total aid would then go past the limits those rules set, the school has to reduce another part of your aid.
Schools differ in which part they reduce. Some lower loans or work-study first, and others lower grants, so ask the aid office how it handles outside awards before you accept one. Some scholarships pay the school directly and others send a check to you, and the award letter says which.
Keep a list of renewal rules. Some awards continue each year only if you keep a set grade point average or a full-time course load.
Steps to take
- Log in to your college's scholarship portal
- Check your state higher education agency's deadlines
- Ask your parents whether their employers offer awards
- Draft a short essay about your family's story
Who decides
Your school's financial aid or scholarship office
Search your own college first, never pay for a scholarship search, and report every award to the aid office.