Some scholarships support students whose parents have handicaps or disabilities.
When a student's parents have a handicap or a debilitating medical condition, the student might qualify for scholarships to support families coping with ongoing disabilities. Students can apply for financial support through general scholarships, programs for a specific handicap or disability, scholarships for veterans' families, school-specific scholarships and other opportunities.
Scholarships with Broad Criteria
While many scholarships designate a particular handicap or disability in their criteria for financial assistance, the Through the Looking Glass scholarship program provides college aid to students whose parents face a variety of handicaps and disabilities. Through the Looking Glass accepts applications from students who can discuss their experiences in growing up with parents who have disabilities and the effect of their experiences on their lives.
Parent with Specific Physical Handicap
Some scholarship programs give financial aid to students whose parents have specific handicaps. A nonprofit organization or scholarship program may selectively offer assistance to only students whose parents have one particular handicap such as blindness or deafness. The Children of Deaf Adults organization, for example, helps hearing children whose parents are deaf through its Millie Brother Scholarship. The Blinded Veterans Association assists the children of blind parents as long as their parents also have records of military service. A student should search for scholarships that fit his family's circumstances.
Parent with Specific Illness
Some scholarship programs provide support for families dealing with the long-term illnesses or medical conditions of parents. A scholarship program might choose to focus its resources on students whose parents suffers from one specific illness. For example, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society has a scholarship program to fund college for children with parents who have multiple sclerosis. In addition, the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center Scholarship Fund supports college students who have parents with hemophilia.
Veteran-Parent
A student with a parent who served in the U.S. military might qualify for scholarships providing financial aid to the children of veterans. Some scholarships specifically support the dependents of veterans with specific physical conditions or handicaps. For example, the Blinded Veterans Association manages the Kathern F. Gruber Scholarship Program to support the dependents of blind veterans. In addition, the Paralyzed Veterans of America organization offers a scholarship programs for children of paralyzed veterans. To qualify, the paralyzed veteran's dependent must be unmarried and younger than age 24.
School-Specific Scholarships
A student should also contact the financial aid office or disability-support-services office of the college where she attends school or plans to enroll because many institutions offer school-specific opportunities or can direct students to local resources. For example, Gadsden State Community College in Alabama recommends the Children of Blind Parents tuition scholarship to support students who come from households with at least one parent who is blind. The scholarship opportunity comes through Alabama's Department of Education.
Tags: parents have, whose parents, students whose, students whose parents, scholarship program