Scholarship Talk

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While there are countless legitimate scholarship opportunities available, major corporations that offer scholarships are the most attractive.

Many Fortune 500 companies have started offering scholarships to prospective college students because they realize that to stay in business, they must give back to the community somehow.

Obviously, these large corporations can afford to give money away to college students, which make these scholarship opportunities highly competitive and very attractive.

The following guide details a selection of some of the most popular corporate scholarship opportunities available, with links to their respective websites so you can learn more about what they offer.

Keep in mind that these scholarship opportunities will have varying eligibility requirements, monetary awards and deadlines, so view their website for further information.

Basic Information

It’s obvious that large corporations can provide thousands of dollars in scholarship money, making these opportunities very popular for college students looking to fund their education.

Many people are unaware these opportunities exist however, or do not want to apply because they believe they don’t stand a chance.

However, corporate scholarships are really no different than any other scholarship opportunity, except they tend to offer more money to more students! Sounds good, doesn’t it?

There’s really no reason students shouldn’t find as many corporate scholarships as possible and apply to every one they are eligible for. The following lists some of the major corporations that offer scholarship opportunities and how to apply for them.

Corporate Scholarship Opportunities

1.  Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has sprung up all over the globe, and offers many scholarships in each of their communities to graduating high school seniors. If you are interested in learning more about their scholarship opportunities, please visit their website for further details.

2.  ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil offers some of the most diverse scholarship opportunities available. In Singapore, one of their corporate headquarter locations, the company offers a scholarship specifically for students who reside in Singapore.

Within the states, ExxonMobil funds several scholarship opportunities for both women and minorities in the fields of math and engineering. There are also opportunities available for students studying agriculture.

3.  AT&T

For women and minorities who are interested in a fellowship with AT&T, you may want to consider applying for the AT&T Labs Fellowship Program.

The program is open to women and minority grad students who are pursuing a degree in computers or communication-related studies. View their website for further details about how to apply and eligibility requirements.

4.  Coca-Cola

If you read the previous article on the Coca-Cola Scholars program, you are aware that Coca-Cola gives thousands of dollars away to many college students each year.

The company offers both four-year and two-year community college scholarships, with different monetary awards.

Scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors, who must apply by October 31^st of their senior year to be eligible.

Check out the previous article on Coca-Cola scholarships or visit their comprehensive website for further details.

5.  McDonalds

A corporation known for its long-standing community involvement, the Ronald McDonald House Charities program sponsors four national scholarship opportunities each year for graduating high school seniors.

Each opportunity has different eligibility requirements, so be sure to check if you are able to apply before sending in an application.

While the deadline for this semester has passed, students are encouraged to check back in the fall of 2007 to apply.

6.  Best Buy

A highly popular consumer electronics chain, since 1999 Best Buy has also given away over 12 million dollars in scholarship money. Over 10,000 students have benefited from Best Buy’s scholarships.

This year alone, over 2 million dollars were given away 1,700 lucky students. These awards came in $1,500 amounts and $10,000 amounts.

Applications will be accepted for next year starting in January, so bookmark their website and be sure to apply!

7.  Kentucky Fried Chicken

The corporate fast food chain also sponsors the Colonel’s Scholars opportunity, open to eligible high school seniors.

If you plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree at an accredited four-year university, you can apply to be a Colonel’s scholar. Eligible students can receive up to $20,000 for a four-year degree program.

View their website for complete details about this opportunity. Students are selected based on their entrepreneurial spirit, dedication, and financial need.

8.  Xerox

The Xerox Corporation also strives to help minority students pay for college, and offer the Technical Minority Scholarship Program to minority students who are pursuing a degree in a technical field.

Technical fields include chemistry, physics, information management, engineering and more. Check their website for further eligibility requirements.

The program offers scholarships in the amount of $1,000 to $10,000 depending on the student’s financial need, the cost of the program they are attending and their academic merits.

9.  Time Warner

Time Warner offers several scholarships to students who are financially needy. The general scholarship program offers $2,000 to students who can demonstrate economic need, as well as academic potential.

The company also offers other scholarship opportunities, available on their website. While applications are closed for this year, students can begin applying in January 2008. Be sure to check eligibility requirements.

There are plenty of corporate sponsored scholarship opportunities available to prospective college students – if you know where to look!

The previous list offers a small selection of scholarships that Fortune 500 companies run in order to give back to the community by helping fund the education of thousands of college students.

While these scholarships are highly competitive, both because they tend to offer more money than other scholarship opportunities and because they are well-known corporations, anyone who is eligible can apply.

Your chances of winning a corporate scholarship vs. a non-corporate scholarship are virtually no different – all scholarships are competitive!

I encourage you to research these companies, as well as others, because you never know what sort of opportunities are available to help fund your education.

Make sure to apply for every scholarship you are eligible for. Who knows? You just may be a recipient of a pretty nice chunk of change!