Scholarships for Community College Students With Disabilities

by A Guest Author

Community College ScholarshipsStudents with learning or other disabilities often face an uphill battle when it comes to functioning in "normal" society.

Although they are just like everyone else, with both strengths and weaknesses, they are likely to face greater challenges because of their disabilities, whether from physical, mental, or emotional differences.

And they may deal with difficulties on a variety of planes.

Those that are physically impaired may encounter very real barriers in the form of buildings and byways that weren't designed with handicapped people in mind, whereas students with learning disabilities could have trouble keeping up with coursework and testing if they aren't granted additional resources that will help them to succeed.

Unfortunately, many disabled students must also deal with some amount of social stigma associated with their particular differences.

Of course, many campuses take great pains to ensure that every student they accept has the chance to grow and flourish during their time in college.

And for disabled students that have economic hardship to add to their other setbacks, there are a number of helpful scholarships available.

Community College Opportunity

The first thing community college students with disabilities should be aware of is that they may have more opportunities where financial aid is concerned.

Many schools are looking for ways to encourage diversity on campus and the result is that they are reaching out to disabled students and offering them attractive financial aid packages as a recruitment tactic.

You can find out if the schools you are interested in participate in such programs by simply calling the Office of Admissions to ask.

But you may not want to take on loads of debt if you don't have to, or you might need additional help in the form of scholarship funds. Regardless of why you are seeking scholarships, there are several out there that cater specifically to students with disabilities.

A Prime Example

The Courage Center in Minnesota, for example, offers $1,000 scholarships to cover tuition, books, and supplies to U.S. citizens that utilize their disability services (or Minnesota residents with disabilities), and 180 Medical, a supplier of disposable medical supplies, also offers $1,000 scholarships, although they limit application to students with spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, and transverse myelitis.

Students that suffer from either dyslexia or blindness may be eligible for grants of $2,000 to $6,000 from the Marion Huber Learning Through Listening Awards program, while those that are deaf may apply for one of twenty $1,000 grants from the Sertoma Scholarship for Hearing Impaired Students.

And the folks at 1800wheelchair provide $500 scholarships to mobility-impaired students. There are even scholarships for students who have parents with disabilities; the Through the Looking Glass Center offers 15 such scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each.

And those are just a few of the scholarships out there for disabled students looking to attain a higher education.

With a bit of research you may find grants based on your state of residence, a particular disability, or disabilities in general, regardless of the state you live in or the challenges you face in regards to your disability.

But one thing is certain: if you don't make the effort to find and take advantage of these scholarships for disabled students they aren't going to come looking for you.

And since they could help you afford going to community college (and beyond) you have every reason to seek them out and apply.

This post was written by A Guest Author

This post was written by a guest author. If you have high quality, useful information to share with students, send us an email or click Write For Us to learn more. And in case you're wondering - yes, you can promote yourself in this fancy author byline.

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