If you are Lutheran, have an interest in serving those who have disabilities, and you are about to enter college, there are several Lutheran scholarships that are offered by the Bethesda Lutheran Communities that you need to know about. Each Lutheran scholarship that is available has different award amounts, and different eligibility requirements.
Each year, two christian scholarships for Lutherans are awarded in the amount of $3000 each to students who are active members of a Lutheran church, who are sophomores in college, have at least a 3.0 GPA, and who at least show an interest in going into a field for developmental disabilities. This Lutheran scholarship has an application deadline that occurs in April of each year, and a short essay must be included with your application. Furthermore, you must have completed at least 100 hours of work in the field of developmental disabilities, and that work can be paid or volunteer. You will also needs letters of reference.
If you are in college and have completed at least one year of WELS, LCMS, or ELS seminary study, you may be eligible for the $3000 Lutheran Seminarian Scholarship. This Lutheran scholarship also requires a short essay with the application, 100 hours of volunteer or paid work in the developmental disabilities field, and letters of reference. You must be an active member of a Lutheran Church, and show more than a passing interest in entering a developmental disabilities field upon your graduation. The deadline for applying for this Seminarian scholarship is also in April of each year.
High School Seniors who are active members of a Lutheran Church can also apply for a Bethesda Lutheran scholarship. You must submit an application, your high school transcript, letters of reference, and have documentation of at least 25 hours of developmental disabilities work, which can be paid or volunteer. Two $500 scholarships for Lutherans are awarded each year. Additionally, you must actually interview two people who are professionals in the developmental disabilities field, and submit written summaries of those interviews with your application, have a 3.0 GPA, and have an interest in the developmental disabilities field. The application deadline occurs in April.
Additionally, there are Bethesda Scholarships for elementary students, but these awards are for entire classes. Two awards are given each year, in the amount of $250. One is awarded to a lower grade class – up to third grade, and the second is awarded to an upper grade class, from fourth to eighth grade. These classes will be in Lutheran schools, or Lutheran Sunday Schools, and the scholarship is designed to raise awareness of disabilities among elementary aged children.
You can learn more about all of Bethesda Scholarships programs, and apply for the various Lutheran scholarships through the Bethesda Lutheran Scholarship website. Make sure that you pay special attention to the requirements for each christian scholarship – particularly what is and is not acceptable in terms of paid or volunteer work in the field of developmental disabilities. Also, make sure that you are applying for the appropriate Lutheran scholarships for disabilities program – the one that applies to your specific situation.
Scholarships for disabled students can also be found from the Ameriglide Achievers program which is for those who have a wheelchair bound disability. The stipend is not large but qualifying guidelines make this a very fair and much easier scholarship to win. Anyone can apply to this wheelchair scholarship as long as their disability causes them to use a wheelchair. More and more scholarships for disabled college students seem to be more plentiful as more private organizations come out with them.