Financial Aid Student? Apply For This $25K Need-Based Scholarship By Oct. 25

0K Views
by James Duffy Updated on December 4, 2020
Students on a campus walking toward a building
Stanley Morales

Horatio Alger Jr. was a famous American writer in the 19th century who wrote rags-to-riches stories. Alger wrote about adversity, perseverance, and hard work in his novels.

Despite his death in 1899, these themes live on through the annual Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program, which awards $25,000 to 106 students who display courage in the face of adversity.

Alger once said, “No period of my life has been one of such unmixed happiness as the four years which have been spent within college walls.” In that spirit, his legacy will assist students with critical financial aid to attend college.

Applying For The Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program

The scholarship, above all else, is need-based. According to the website, the program “is one of the major scholarship programs nationally that specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives.”

To apply, your family must have an adjusted gross income of $55,000 or less. Information on how to prove income and what documents to submit can be found on the program’s FAQ.

In addition to financial need, the applicants must:

  • Be enrolled full time as a high school senior in the United States or progressing normally toward graduation in spring 2019 with plans to attend college in the United States
  • Maintain a 2.0 GPA or better
  • Plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree at an accredited non-profit public or private institution in the United States
  • Be involved in co-curricular and community service activities
  • Display integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity
  • Be a U.S. citizen

In addition to the $25,000 scholarship, all recipients must attend an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. in the spring of their senior year of high school.

Even though Alger was a writer, there’s no essay required to apply.

The online application portal is open until Oct. 25. Even if you don’t qualify, share this scholarship with someone who might. Costs are one of the leading reasons high schoolers choose not to attend college, but this program can help change lives.