SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS WITH A DECEASED PARENT

The devastating loss of a parent can take a toll on students financially and emotionally. These college scholarships aim to help.

I lost my dad when I was 14. Life changed drastically for me from that point on. My mother and I struggled to find scholarships and funding for college, even as a kid with a single mom and a deceased parent. That was back in 1987. Today, there are scholarships and resources for everything imaginable—even the loss of a parent.

Students who have lost a parent may struggle to pay for college or graduate school without that financial support, but scholarships created specifically for students with a deceased parent can help.

The Life Lessons Scholarship Program is one such example. Sponsored by the nonprofit Life Happens, based in Virginia, it will award $200,000 this year to students who lost a parent and whose families lacked adequate life insurance.

The scholarship is open to college-bound high school seniors and current college students who submit an essay or video about how their parents’ death affected their lives financially or emotionally. Applicants can be from any of the 50 states in the U.S., Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Award amounts vary, with past scholarships ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.

"My mom died in her sleep. She was a few months shy of her 40th birthday," a student on the scholarship's website said in a video. "If my mom had life insurance, paying for the funeral as well as college would have been much easier."

For students facing such financial hardships, Jean O'Toole, a scholarship strategist and author of "Scholarship Strategies: Finding and Winning the Money You Need," says these kinds of scholarships are more common than students may think.

"Students need to recognize that there are outside scholarships for everybody and everything," O'Toole says. There are two common categories of scholarships for students with a deceased parent, she says: scholarships from nonprofit organizations and scholarships from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for children of members of the military.

Scholarships from nonprofit organizations are often specific to a particular illness or situation.

The MaryEllen Locher Scholarship Foundation, for example, helps students whose parents died from or are survivors of breast cancer or are in treatment for breast cancer. This scholarship is specifically for families within 50 miles of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and both high school seniors and current college students can apply.

Applicants must submit three written essays and a letter of recommendation, in addition to an official transcript and a death certificate or physician's verification of a breast cancer diagnosis for the surviving parent.

Military families also have scholarship options through Veterans Affairs and military-focused nonprofits.

Losing a parent is difficult. It can cause emotional and financial stress for a family. To help students who have experienced loss scholarships are available for students who have lost a parent.

Kids Chance of Michigan Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Kids Chance of Michigan
Amount: Up to $5,000
Closing Date: July 31, 2024
Description: The scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate students who are residents of Michigan and have had a parent who sustained a catastrophic injury or fatality in a Michigan work-related accident covered by workers’ compensation.

AFP&CC Scholarship
Sponsor: American Federation of Police and Concerned Citizens
Amount: Up to $1,000 per year for up to four years
Closing Date: No deadline
Description: The scholarship is open to incoming and current college students who are the surviving son, or daughter of a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.

American Police Hall of Fame Educational Scholarship
Sponsor: American Police Hall of Fame
Amount: $1,000 per year for up to four years
Closing Date: No Deadline
Description: The scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors and current college students who are a surviving son or daughter of a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.

Educational Benefits for Children of Deceased Veterans and Others
Sponsor: Delaware Department of Education
Amount: Tuition and fees at your college (see website for specific details)
Closing Date: Completed application is due 6-8 weeks before classes begin
Description: The program is open to residents of the state of Delaware between the ages of 16 and 24 whose parents were residents of Delaware at the time of death or declaration of mission in action or prisoner of war status.

Macy’s Emergency Scholarship Fund
Sponsor: Macy’s | LULAC National Educational Services Center, Inc.
Amount: Up to $500
Closing Date: Rolling
Description: The scholarship is open to deserving students facing economic hardship and immediate monetary needs that, if not met, could result in an inability to complete classes or a degree program. Emergency financial needs resulting from the following will qualify students from funding: change in family income/support, loss of job, death of an immediate family member, natural disaster, pending eviction or home foreclosure, burglary, or fire. Applicant must be a California, Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Puerto Rico, or Texas resident.