Graduating Northwest Indian College students making last- minute adjustments to their robes.

Anya Big Road (Oglala Lakota) of Pine Ridge, South Dakota was chosen as a winner in the student survey drawing for $100. Anya is attending Oglala Lakota College , where she completed her first year of studies as an elementary education major. Congratulations, Anya!

Scholarships Available

The American Indian College Fund provides scholarship support to each tribal college. We also administer several scholarship programs offered to American Indian students attending tribal colleges and state and private universities.

Thank you for your interest in the American Indian College Fund. We currently have two different scholarship programs available, our Tribal College Scholarship Program and our Special Scholarship Program.

Special Scholarship Program
We are currently accepting online applications for special scholarships for American Indian students attending mainstream and tribal colleges pursuing undergrad, graduate and professional degrees for 2010-11 academic year.Applications are available on our website January of each year and the application deadline is always May 31st for the upcoming school year. Award/Denial Letters are sent out in September.

Special Scholarships Application Guidelines
Please note: Incomplete applications will not be accepted and you will be ineligible for a scholarship.

A recent digital photo and four documents are required to complete this application. The required documents include:

• official college transcript
  
• tribal enrollment verification or proof of descent,
  
• one recommendation letter; and
  
• financial needs analysis form (this can be found on the online application)

Please ensure the contact information under the Basic Information portion of the application is accurate and up to date, we will contact you through the information you provide.
Please read the descriptions for the scholarships offered and only apply for those you are eligible to receive.

If you have previously received a scholarship from the American Indian College Fund and are seeking to renew your scholarship, please check the renewal box indicating a renewal application at the beginning of the Special Scholarship Application. Please only apply for the scholarship you are seeking to renew.

All of your documents must be uploaded correctly before you are able to submit your application. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the documents are completely uploaded onto their application. Once your application is submitted, you cannot access or revise it.

Please do not mail hard copies to the American Indian College Fund, we will not accept paper copies. If assistance is needed, please call American Indian College Fund and speak to the Scholarship Team.

Financial Need Analysis Form – Please ensure the budget period dates cover the entire academic year, from 08/2010 through 05/2011. The Special Scholarship is awarded once a year. The financial analysis is to determine the financial need for the academic year.

Transcripts – Upload your most recent official college transcript. Please obtain this from your institution. Transcripts will not be accepted without an official institution seal. If you are currently attending college the spring semester and will not receive your final grades until after the May 31st deadline, please upload your transcript with your fall 2009 grades, then mail your spring 2010 transcripts in separately when available. On all transcripts, please ensure your cumulative GPA is indicated. If you are a high school student and do not have a college transcript, please upload your high school transcript into the college transcript field.

Tribal Enrollment Verification – Please provide scanned copies of proof of enrollment into a federally recognized tribe. A copy of a Tribal Enrollment Card or Certificate of Indian Blood is acceptable for this field.

• If you are a descendant, you must provide a copy of Tribal Enrollment information for the family member that is an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe and birth certificates linking the student to the enrolled member to complete this requirement.

One Recommendation Letter – This may be from any professional reference such as professors, high school or college staff, employers, etc.

Digital Photo – A photo is required along with the student application. The photo must be portrait size.   Photos will not be used publicly, unless endorsed by you; the photos are used in donor reports to show scholarships donors who received their funding.

Do: Smile at the camera, submit photos with families, or wear traditional dress.

Don’t: Wear sunglasses or hats, submit photos with friends, make inappropriate hand gestures, or submit dated photos.

If you are interested in applying for this program, please click here to proceed to log on to apply.

Thank you for your interest in the American Indian College Fund. We wish you the best of luck in your educational endeavors.

For more information on the special scholarship program, please contact the scholarships team at 800-776-3863.

Tribal College General Scholarship Program

The tribal colleges and universities, not the American Indian College Fund, determine student eligibility and award the scholarships. If you are a tribal college student or high school senior interested in applying for this program, please click here to proceed to log on and start a new General Fund Scholarship Application.

A digital photo and a complete application are required in order for the student to submit their application. 

Application: All required fields are highlighted by an asterisk (*) they must be filled out or highlighted.

Photo: A photo is required along with the student application. The photo must be portrait size. Photos will not be used publicly, unless endorsed by you; the photos are used in donor reports to show scholarships donors who received their funding.

Do: Smile at the camera, submit photos with families, or wear traditional dress.

Don’t: Wear sunglasses or hats, submit photos with friends, make inappropriate hand gestures, or submit dated photos.

Please note: Incomplete applications will not be considered for that semester’s applicant pool. Please double check all your information and make sure you click the ‘submit’ button. 

Once you have submitted your secure online application, follow up with your tribal college financial aid office.

For more information on the tribal college general scholarship program, please contact your financial aid office or the scholarship team at 800-776-3863.

Thank you for your interest in the American Indian College Fund. We wish you the best of luck in your educational endeavors.

Other Scholarship Opportunities
In addition to our scholarships, you'll find more resources here.

Video

American Indian College Fund scholar Ashley Renville talks about surviving peer pressure, growing up Indian and what is beneficial about her scholarship she received from the Fund.