Online-Degree-Scholarships Blog

Besides numerous need-based scholarship programs, minority scholarships and merit based financial aid, there are several faith-based funding opportunities available for you as well. There are many academic institutions that offer Christian scholarships to candidates who are pursuing seminary degrees and those Christians who aspire to pursue advanced degrees. Most of these scholarship opportunities for Christians are available at the universities and colleges where you get enrolled. So, before you get enrolled in a degree program at a college or university, you can get in touch with the financial aid advisor at the institution whether there are scholarships that target Christian students. Doing some research on your own will equip you with more information.

In addition to universities and colleges, there are multiple church foundations that offer scholarship to Christians. A good example is the United Church of Christ's Scholarships. More information on church foundations financial aid will be available with the clergyman. Even if you wish to enter the clergy or aspire to perform some missionary work, you can avail yourself of many Christian scholarship opportunities. Whether you are graduate student or an undergraduate, you can be eligible to apply for such financial aid programs and receive the free education funding.

General Christian scholarships are available abundantly. However, it may be tough to find specific Catholic scholarships. A branch of Christianity, Catholicism refers to the beliefs and practices of a Catholic church. As per 2001, Christianity boasted more than 2.1 billion followers. Out of this 2.1 billion Christians, around 1 billion called themselves Catholics. Since a large number of Catholics reside in the United States, Catholic scholarships are hard to find in the US.

Scholarship funding is also available for Christian women. Give below are some popular church foundations, associations and organizations that offer awards to the followers of Christianity.

United Church of Christ
The church foundation offers scholarship awards known as the Brown Scholarships. Under this funding scheme, the United Church of Christ (UCC) offers up to $10,000 annually to college students who wish to enroll into pastoral degree programs. Before you apply for this funding program, you should note the eligibility criteria which are as follows.

Candidates must fulfill the general qualification criteria of the UCC.
Before applying, the candidates must have held a membership of the UCC for at least one year.s
Candidates must have got enrolled into accredited seminary school.
Candidates must have a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Upon completing graduation, the candidate must serve in the United Church of Christ or other partner church.

American Bible Society
The society funds scholarships to students pursuing education, medical and seminary studies. Scholarships awarded by the American Bible Society include William and Alice Brown endowment. The funding is offered to students who have shown excellent academic achievements in the fields of Medicine and Education, the award being $3,000. For more information regarding this Christian funding program, you can either send the society an email at scholarships@americanbible.org or write at the following address.

American Bible Society,
Scripture Grants Dept.,
1865 Broadway, 3rd fl.,
New York, NY 10023.

Women's Missionary Union
If you are a woman and associated with missionaries or clergy, the WMU has multiple scholarships available for you. Not only for women of women missionaries, but the WMU also offers financial support for children of these missionaries. Some of the awards offered include R. Keith Parks Scholarship Fund, Carolyn Weatherford Scholarship Fund, Julia C. Pugh Scholarship and Mattie J. C. Russell Scholarship. The award money is up to $1,000.

Lee Frances Heller Memorial Award
Sponsored by Julie Ann Johnson, the scholarship award targets Christian transgendered students. This award is available to all Christian college students who wish to pursue religious studies, regardless of which university or college they get enrolled in. The eligibility criteria also include submitting to them some church related and leadership experience. Deserving candidates will receive an amount of $1,500 under this scholarship funding scheme.

There are several independent organizations, academic institutions, businesses and government organizations that offer financial support for students aspiring to pursue international education opportunities. Whether you call it Euro, Yen or Dollar, if you interested in studying abroad, you are definitely going to need it to support your education expenses. These financial aid programs are offered either on the basis of the country you are studying in or the field of study you are pursuing. Resources for receiving aid for international education opportunities are too many. All you need to do is perform some research on your own and locate these study abroad funding opportunities.

Eligibility for the Aid
Before you actually apply for the financial aid programs, you need to be informed whether you are eligible for the international funding or not. The financial aid amount that you receive for studying overseas depends on the following factors.

The financial aid amount your qualify for at home campus
The price label on the study-abroad education program
The level of commitment your college has for the promotion of study abroad opportunities
Whether or not the education program you select is approved by your college

Using the Financial Aid You Have Already Received
Hardly do many students are aware that many of the financial aid and federal aid they have already got are transferable to studying overseas. Therefore, the very first step towards funding your international education program is to check out whether you can use your existing education aid. For this, you need to check all the usual educational aid including federal need-based aid, state need-based scholarships and state merit scholarships, institutional financial aid etc.

When it comes to using federal aid like the Pell Grants, Stafford loans and PLUS loans, candidates are required to fulfill the international education aid eligibility. However, your school can not deny the transfer of educational fund just because you are interested to pursue a study abroad education program. Of course, there are some requirements that you need to fulfill for a hassle-free transfer of funds to a college or university abroad. For further details on the limitations both for federal financial aid and other state-based and institutional aid, students can get in touch with the financial aid department at their schools.

Other Sources of Aid for Pursuing Education Abroad
Besides using the existing financial aid or the scholarship you have already got, you can also search and apply for other education aid programs, offered by numerous scholarship organizations, business establishments, educational commissions, state based agencies and corporations, government funds and research foundations among others.

Candidates can also check out several fellowships programs and educational grants that the United States government offers to students studying abroad. Some of the most useful resources for study abroad aid are as follows.

National Security Education Program (NSEP)
NAFSA Grants and Scholarships
Rotary Foundation Scholarships
Study Abroad Scholarships (University of Minnesota)
U.S Department of State
U.S. Department of Education
Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS)
Hispanic Study Abroad Scholarships (HSAS)
Gilman International Scholarship Program
Association of Commonwealth Universities

Education expenses for completing your education abroad should never hold you back. Financial aid opportunities await candidates all over the world. There are numerous private organizations and civic groups that offer education aid for international education programs. Apart from that, there are ethnic organizations as well serving students of specific communities and backgrounds. Candidates should look out for study abroad aid locally, nationally and internationally. Most of the students give up on their decisions of studying abroad just because they think the cost of pursuing a degree program abroad will be unrealistic. The tuition fees and the cost of living are considerably lower in many parts of the world. With some research, you can find really affordable study abroad education programs and get financial aid to support your education expenses.

Parents and students may have many questions regarding when to apply for scholarship awards and financial aid. Suppose, your son is a high school senior and he is going to apply to colleges this fall. So, should your son wait for applying to scholarships until he gets admission into a college? The advice is that your son needs to begin the scholarship search as soon as possible. You should be aware that scholarships and financial aid programs come with deadlines. And there are financial supports available for children who are aged below 13.

Scholarship awards have a much greater number of applicants than the amount of funds actually available. If the candidate applies for multiple awards, they can enhance their chances of winning scholarships. One important thing to notice here is that you should not apply for a financial aid program where you do not fit in with the eligibility criteria. If you find yourself not qualifying (as per the scholarship eligibility criteria), you need not waste your time applying.

Applying for FAFSA
Scholarship deadlines may vary from one state to another. If you are applying for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you can not submit the application form before 1st January. The financial aid program is based on income from the previous financial year, ending on 31st December. Therefore, students need to submit their FAFSA scholarship application form after 1st January, but as soon as possible. It is advisable not to wait to apply for FAFSA until you have got admission into a college or your have filed your income tax returns.

Applying for Federal Student Aid after You Filed for Bankruptcy
Many candidates have queries like whether they are eligible to receive federal student financial aid since they filed for bankruptcy. One can not be denied federal student aid like the Pell Grant and the Perkins Loan only because they filed for bankruptcy. However, when it comes to repaying Perkins loan, college may have a look at the candidate's post-bankruptcy credit history. Yes, a students will be ineligible for federal student aid if the candidate's federal student loans were not discharged by the bankruptcy. Being not discharged by the bankruptcy means the candidate's federal student loans are currently in default.

Bankruptcy and Private Student Loans
Yes, the bankruptcy will be considered by most of the private student loans. If the borrower or the student has had a bankruptcy over the past 7-10 years, private student loans will be denied to the borrower by most of the scholarship sponsors and organizations. Previously, the scenario was different and the lenders had some exceptions in cases where the borrower had no control; conditions may include natural calamities or unbearable medical costs. Today, the leniency has vanished owing to the credit crisis.

Continuing Receiving Federal Student Financial Aid
To be able to continue getting the federal student aid, students also need to abide by federal laws. According to the federal laws, the scholarship receiving candidate should keep on making satisfactory academic progress (SAP). The point is that if the student fails to male progress consistently, the taxpayer money used to fund the student college education is simply wasted. Therefore, students need to score at least a C average (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) to be able to continue receiving the financial aid.

If a student fails to perform consistently, most of the colleges will issue a warning, referred to as ‘academic probation'. There are some special cases where the college may decide to waive the requirements temporarily. These special circumstances behind the failure of academic progress can be personal injury, student ailment or the death of a close relative. In order to regain the eligibility for receiving the scholarship award, students will need to improve their GPA above the C average threshold. Under these circumstances, students will need to use their own financial resources or take up a private student loan.