Like most college students, you could probably use some free money for college. But there are so many different scholarship programs out there, where would you begin? Well, you can start by taking a closer look at big corporations. They often award some of the best scholarships and grants around. To help, here’s a two-part list of 14 of the more popular corporate scholarship programs. For part one, we take a gander at seven scholarships offered by giants from AT&T to Ford. Make sure to check back next week for part two, when we examine seven more popular scholarships from General Electric to Walmart.
1. AT&T
The AT&T Labs Fellowship Program awards a variety of scholarships and grants to women and minority students who are enrolled in post-graduate studies. The company also awards scholarships for African-American children or stepchildren of regular full-time employees of AT&T and its subsidiaries through a partnership between the AT&T Foundation and UNCF.
2. Bank of America
The Bank of America Joe Martin Scholarship is a competitive scholarship program for dependents of associates who have been employed by the company for at least one year. The program awards between $1,000 and $5,000 for each year of full-time enrollment at a college or vocational school. Awards are based on academic achievement, leadership, contributions to school and community, character, and financial need.
3. Best Buy
The Best Buy @15 Scholarship Program awards $1,500 to 1,000 students living in the United States and Puerto Rico who will be entering college on the fall after high school graduation. Awards are based on academic achievement, volunteer efforts, and work experience.
4. Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation awards various scholarships to graduating high school students pursuing four-year and two-year degrees. The company’s new Coca-Cola All-State Community College Academic Team program awards up to $450,000 in scholarships: a “New Century Scholar” award of $2,000 to the top-scoring student from each state, $1,500 to 50 “Gold Scholars,” $1,250 to 50 “Silver Scholars,” and $1,000 to 50 “Bronze Scholars.”
5. Dell
The Dell Scholars Program awards 250 scholarships of $20,000 each to high school students participating in an approved college readiness program. Eligible students must be U.S. citizens, graduate from high school with a 2.4 GPA, demonstrate financial need, plan to enter a four-year degree program at an accredited college or university the fall after graduation.
6. Exxon Mobil Corporation
Exxon Mobil, in partnership with SECME schools, awards a wide variety of annual scholarships to minority students nationwide who choose to enter math and engineering college programs.
7. Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company offers many different scholarship and grant programs and also contributes funding to many different scholarship programs outside the company. The Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies website provides details and links for the company’s scholarship programs.
These seven resources are good places to start when looking for corporate-sponsored scholarships. Make sure to check out part two for seven more corporate scholarship programs.
