Summer is on its way out the door once again and its time to look into Fall and Spring semester scholarships for gay and lesbian college students.

Financing college is a challenge for most students. LGBTQ students may have special financing needs, particularly if coming out has caused a break with family. All college students should start their financial aid application process with the Federal Application for Student Aid or FAFSA. This application determines your eligibility for federal loans, grants and other aid. Lesbian and gay students are eligible for some specific scholarships. If your college or university has a gay and lesbian student center, they may be aware of other local scholarships appropriate for gay students. These organizations and your school’s financial aid office may also be able to help you advocate if parents are not cooperating with FAFSA applications or other issues.

The Point Foundation is one excellent possibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. The Point Foundation is the National LGBT Scholarship Fund and manages a number of different scholarships. Options are available for both graduate and undergraduate students and application details may be found at http://www.pointfoundation.org/index.html. Preference is granted to students without family support due to their sexuality or gender. The League Foundation at AT&T offers several $1500 and $2500 scholarships to LGBT high school seniors who have excelled academically. College acceptance is required, as is community service in order to qualify for these scholarship options. Specialty scholarships for specific majors and fields are also available from some organizations. Some colleges, universities and graduate programs offer their own scholarships directed at gay, lesbian and transgender students. With a lower overall pool of applicants, you may find that these are quite accessible.

If you expect to be applying for scholarships, you should make sure that you have completed the basic requirements of many programs. Scholarships for gay and lesbian students do expect that you will be open about your sexuality, having come out to family and friends. The majority of scholarships expect good grades and a good community service background, whether in your school or your community. Scholarships specifically intended for gay students may expect that service to have been done within the LGBT community, like the Live Out Loud program. Do keep in mind that there are many scholarship options that have nothing at all to do with your sexuality and gender, and look for these at your university, local area and online.


For a thorough listing of possible scholarships, see http://www.washburn.edu/sobu/broach/glbt-scholar.html. This listing includes both scholarships for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, as well as scholarships for those studying issues relevant to the gay community. Some scholarships may also be open to gay and lesbian allies who have done valuable and relevant community service.