By Amy Johnson
Most scholarship and grant money for college comes from the university that the student chooses to attend and is awarded after the student completes and submits their application and the FAFSA. However, there are multiple sources of local or private scholarships to help supplement the student’s education.
Here are some local scholarship options for the Lehigh Valley area and state of Pennsylvania. Many local scholarships have very specific criteria, such as the parent or student belonging to an organization or the student intending to major in a specific area. Read carefully to see if you qualify, and then submit your application. Some applications are only available through your school’s guidance counselor.
Local Credit Union Scholarships:
Lehigh Valley Educators Credit Union (LVECU)
http://www.lvecu.org/ASP/home.asp
Ten $1,000 scholarship certificates will be awarded
Deadline: January 31, 2018
Applicants must: be a member of LVECU in good standing for 12 months
First Commonwealth Credit Union
http://www.firstcomcu.org/news-and-more/scholarships.html
Five $1,000 scholarship certificates will be awarded
Any graduating high school senior planning to attend a two- or four-year college or trade school full time and is a member of First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union is eligible to apply for a scholarship.
Deadline:January 31, 2018
Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU):
https://www.psecu.com/scholarships/
Six scholarships, each up to $8,000, to members graduating high school. Each recipient receives up to $2,000 per year for up to four years, providing scholarship requirements are met.
Be a current PSECU member (by December 30, 2017)
Deadline:February 28, 2018
Pennsylvania American Legion Scholarships
https://pa-legion.com/programs/student-programs/scholarships/
Several different scholarships available:
-Essay Contest with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards between $2500-$3500:https://pa-legion.com/programs/stiudent-programs/essay/
-$500 scholarship for a PA senior whose parent of grandparent is a Pennsylvania legionnaire in high school band going on to major in Music (Due May 1, 2018)
-$500 scholarship for a PA student whose parent or grandparent is a PA legionnaire or child of a PA soldier killed in action.Essay required. (Due May 31, 2018)
Parkland High School’s guidance department has an extensive list of local scholarships (not exclusive to Parkland students), including:
- $3000 scholarship from The East Penn Section of the American Society of Highway Engineers (Due March 2, 2018)
- $500 scholarship from The PA Association of Educational Office Professionals (PAEOP). It is for a PA High School senior who is pursuing higher education in a business-related field (secretarial, office technology, accounting, business education). (Due March 1, 2018) Find details here:https://www.paeop.com/page/71
- Three $1000 scholarships from the Pennsylvania School Public Relations Association for public school students planning to major in communications or public relations. (Due March 9, 2018). Details here: http://www.penspra.org/ScholarshipInfo.aspx
- $5,000 scholarship from the Society of Women Engineers of the Lehigh Valley for prospective female students enrolling in an engineering program. (Due February 11, 2018). Details here: http://lv.swe.org/scholarships.html
Allentown Rotary Club Foundation Scholarship
Allentown high school (Dieruff, Allen and Central Catholic) students are eligible. This is an annual award of $3,000 renewable for up to four years of college for a total of $12,000. Applications are available in the eligible high school guidance counselor offices.
Deadline: February 1, 2018
Allentown School District has an extensive list of local scholarships (not all are exclusive to Allentown students), including:
- $1,500 given to a high school senior that lives near Lehigh Valley Mall or a nearby community from Simon Youth Foundation. (Deadline: February 15, 2018). Details here: http://syf.org/scholarships/
- $500 - $1,500 given by the PA Restaurant Association to seniors that have been accepted into a hospitality or culinary arts program. (Deadline: March 1, 2018). Details here: http://www.prla.org/scholarship
- $1,000 from the Allentown Chamber of Commerce Scholarship. One outstanding high school senior from each of the William Allen, Central Catholic and Dieruff high schools. Each student receives $1,000. Applications are available in the College & Career Center. (Deadline: March 2, 2018)
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Scholarship
Full-tuition Scholarship – awarded to two students. Graduating seniors and legal residents of PA, with a minimum 3.0 GPA, planning to attend any 4 year college in PA, and demonstrating leadership and community service.
Deadline: March 1, 2018
Details: https://www.tfec.org/scholarships/pennsylvania-house-of-representatives-scholarship/
The Philadelphia Foundation
Manages over 50 scholarships. Search their directory and individual criteria.
Details: http://www.philafound.org/Scholarships/AvailableScholarships.aspx
National websites to find more scholarships:
-The Foundation for Enhancing Communities: https://www.tfec.org/tfec-scholarships/scholarships-overview/
TFEC offers over 120 scholarship opportunities through various scholarship funds administered by TFEC, In 2017, more than $1.37 million in scholarships was awarded to 479 students.
-College Scholarships.org: http://www.collegescholarships.org/states/pennsylvania.htm
Free scholarship search with no log-in or personal information required.
-Scholarships.com: https://www.scholarships.com/
Free scholarship search that has you fill out a profile and uses your criteria to filter through over $19 billion in scholarships.
-Fastweb.com: ttps://www.fastweb.com/
Owned by Monster.com, claims to have over 1.5 million scholarships in its database.
-The College Board Scholarship Search:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
Its scholarships search engine provides information on more than $6 billion in scholarships, financial aid and internships.
Many organizations and businesses are eager to recognize and support local students with their college aspirations. Spend some time researching and applying for local scholarships - you may be surprised at how quickly a few small scholarships will add up to help you pay for tuition, books, or other expenses.
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