Financial Aid for Female Students

As the now famous saying goes, “The future is female.” At its inception, the typical college student was a white male. In fact, that was the only type of student. However, over many, many decades and years of hard-fought cultural change, the majority make-up of a college campus looks decidedly different. According to the Department of Education, women make up 57% of students enrolled in college. The Washington Post states that as of 2019, more female graduates than male were entering the workforce. Still, there is a disparity between the resources given to male students versus those distributed to females in order to ensure academic, financial, and graduation outcomes success. As a result, the need for female-specific financial aid and scholarship resources are vital to engaging and encouraging women to have the best college and post-grad experience. Female students can find financial aid opportunities that are completely exclusive to them. With the help of these resources, female students can hope to better afford college tuition.

Databases

ProFellow
This page provides a database list of more than 1,000 professional and academic fellowships in the U.S. and throughout the world. You can search by fellowship type, discipline and even your desired fellowship location. Graduate Fellowship Notebook (Cornell)
The fellowship notebook at Cornell contains a large searchable text database of graduate fellowships, including fellowships specifically for women and minorities. UCLA’s Fellowship Database (GRAPES) UCLA’s Fellowship Database, otherwise known as GRAPES, features over 625 scholarships, grants, fellowships, and postdoctoral awards. Students can search by gender as well as by race, ethnicity, and disability. Fellowship Listing at Yale University
This page lists fellowship programs and other resources for graduate students in computer science, with a focus on women and minorities. This page is part of the Ada Project (TAP).

Award Programs

American Association of University Women (AAUW)
AAUW is a nationwide organization dedicated to promoting education and equity for women and girls. The AAUW Foundation offers direct support to women through fellowships, grants and awards; research; voter education; educational resources; grassroots activism; community action projects; and legal assistance against sex discrimination in higher education. Jeannette Rankin Foundation
The Jeannette Rankin Foundation Women's Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to low-income women age 35 or older who are US citizens. The deadline is March 1. Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation
The Patsy Mink Foundation offers scholarships for low-income women with children each year. Raise the Nation
Raise the Nation provides scholarships to single parent women and their children who demonstrate financial need. Soroptimist Women's Opportunity Awards
The Soroptimist Women's Opportunity Awards provide scholarships to women who are the primary wage-earner for their family and demonstrate financial need. Women In Defense HORIZONS Scholarship Foundation
Women In Defense (WID) established the HORIZONS Scholarship Foundation to assist women who are pursuing or plan to pursue, careers related to US national security. Women's Independence Scholarship Program
The Women's Independence Scholarship Program provides scholarships to survivors of domestic violence and people who work in the field of domestic violence (e.g., women's shelter staff).

Scholarships for Women

AMWA Medical Education Scholarship Deadline: Varies Available to: Graduate Students, Years 1-5 Award Amount: 4 Awards of $500 The Medical Education Scholarship is available to female medical students. You must be a student member of the American Medical Women's Association to be eligible for this award. Learn more about the AMWA Medical Education Scholarship. Greta Nissen Scholarship Deadline: Varies Available to: College Freshmen through College Seniors Award Amount: Varies The Greta Nissen Scholarship is available to students at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. You must be a female student to qualify for this award. Learn more about the Greta Nissen Scholarship. O Wines Opportunity for Success Scholarship Deadline: Varies Available to: High School Seniors through College Freshmen Award Amount: 8 Awards of $5,000 The O Wines Opportunity for Success Scholarship is available to female high school seniors who plan to enroll full-time in a four-year undergraduate program. You must have a minimum 3.2 GPA and demonstrate financial need to be eligible for this award. Get more information on the O Wines Opportunity for Success Scholarship. If you would like to qualify for scholarships for women, ensure that your Fastweb profile is filled out completely. An updated profile helps us find more scholarship opportunities that you would actually qualify for, including scholarships that are specific to your gender. For even more funding opportunities, check out Fastweb’s Scholarships for Women.