What Can You Expect From the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship?

The Oprah Winfrey Scholarship is one of the most talked-about and popular scholarships out there, and is attracting a lot of attention. But just what is it? And more importantly, how do you get one? In this little post I'm going to tell you a bit more about it and what it means for you.

First of all, I should point out that the scholarship isn't actually a scholarship at all! In reality, it's an Endowment fund set up by Oprah Winfrey which aims to give money to other organisations which support the general ethos of the fund. In other words, the endowment fund has a pot of money that it dishes out to various scholarship funds which give opportunities to minorities with a strong academic record, but who face financial need.

The fund has a strong emphasis on empowering ethnic minorities and women in particular, and often the endowment fund will sponsor scholarships that tackle these groups directly. The fund recently helped the Lori Hacking scholarship fund in Salt Lake City which is aimed at women business students "seeking an education in the face of significant life changes". The scholarship was set up in memory of a young woman who disappeared and is presumed to have been killed by her husband.

If you're thinking about applying for one of the scholarships the Oprah Winfrey endowment fund sponsors then there's a few things you should think about:

Do your research!

Sounds obvious, but there's no point trying to apply for a scholarship that's unsuitable. By comparing a broader range of scholarships, you're more likely to find one that is best for you. You can get help searching for various scholarships by visiting this oprah winfrey scholarship link at in the resource box of this article.


Know what the board is looking for


Every scholarship is different, and you should tailor your application to suit each of them. If you've done your research, you will hopefully have a good idea of what the board is looking for. Even better, if you can you should try to seek out past winners of the scholarship, or try to get in touch with the scholarship fund first before applying. Often a phone call and a chat with someone within the organization can work wonders for your application.


Try to choose less popular scholarships


High profile scholarship funds can often be over-subscribed, so it's worth looking for those that are not often applied for. Applying for one of these 'neglected' scholarships can often be far more fruiful than one of the more popular ones.

Consider a grant

Sometimes a scholarship isn't the best option, especially if you cannot demonstrate obvious financial need. If you can't, the likelihood is that the scholarship will go to someone else who really needs it. But there are tons of grants out there, and even more since the last budget was announced in February.