Best Scholarships for Non-Traditional Students | Find Yours!

Best Scholarships for Non Traditional Students
Nayreth Garcia

Nayreth Garcia

Content Writer at Gradehacker

Updated January, 2023

Are you more of a visual person? Then find this blog as a video!

You are looking for the best scholarships for non-traditional students, so you’re here!

Education has long been encouraged by parents and teachers for generations, but maybe you didn’t know what your passion was after finishing high school, and you needed more time to figure it out. Or perhaps, after finishing high school, you had different responsibilities and priorities, began a full-time job or had children to take care of. 

Whatever the case, if you are an adult with just a school diploma but want academic achievements, you may be eligible for a non-traditional student’s scholarship.

If you are unsure what a non-traditional student is, check out our video and find out!

We believe age doesn’t matter; it is just a number! There are many great reasons education is good for us, and scholarships are an important part of helping your educational and career goals as an undergraduate student. 

Here at Gradehacker, we have years of experience assisting adult learners of all ages and guiding students like you as one of the most trusted non-traditional student resources.

That’s why we want to give you a list of scholarships for non-traditional students to help you earn a professional degree!

Let’s start!

The ”Mom to Scholar” scholarship drawing is open to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Legal Residents, or DACA. As its name indicates, it was created especially for mothers who want to begin or continue their journey in a technical or college degree and is funded by Scholarships360’s own Maria Geiger. 

As a mother pursuing your degree, you are the embodiment of a true nontraditional student.

Application requirements for the "Mom to Scholar" Scholarship:

Additional Information:

If you get selected as a winner, you will need to send income and college enrollment information. They choose the winner based on the essay response’s strength regarding your life experiences as a mother and your motivation to achieve higher education.

Amount:

This scholarship is worth $1,000, and the funds will be sent directly to the college the winner is/will be attending.

Deadline:

The American Legion Auxiliary Scholarship for Non-traditional Student’s goal is to allow adult learners who are part of The Legion Family to follow their post-secondary education, get a college degree or get back on track from where they were if they stopped their studies. 

That way, you can find a better job or improve your workplace.

Application requirements for the ALA Scholarship for Non-Traditional Students:

Amount:

It is an annual scholarship of $2,000 per Auxiliary geographic division.

Deadline:

The application deadline is March 1st. Since it is an annual scholarship, in case you missed it, you can try next year!

Veteran Student

The Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship is open to students of all ages, which is great if you are a nontraditional student! Gen and Kelly Tanabe started this grant program to support and contribute something to students

They were accepted to all of the Ivy League colleges and won more than $100,000 in merit-based scholarships to graduate from Harvard debt-free.

Additional information:

This Scholarship is completely merit-based, so they do not consider your financial resources a need for requirement.

The committee takes the essay you write in the  application form very seriously. This essay should be short (250 words or less) and answer one of the three following questions:

Students couple

Application requirements for Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship:

Amount:

It is a $1,000 scholarship. This fund can be used for tuition, room and board, required fees, or educational expenses.

This scholarship program has two deadlines, July 31st, and December 31st.

If you are a single dad, the Little Bundle Superdad Scholarship might be perfect for you. They allow you to focus on your education to give your children a better start in life. This scholarship recognizes your efforts and pushes you to pursue your higher education goals.

Application requirements for the Little Bundle Superdad Scholarship:

Amount:

It’s a $2,000 scholarship. In addition to this, the winners receive a year of free organic baby formula from Little Bundle. In case you do not need it, you can defer it for later use or donate it.

Deadline:

They award one college winner and one high school winner. The application are open every 6 months. 

The first application deadline is on June 30th, and the second one on December 31st. The winner is announced on the 31st of the following month.

The College JumpStart Scholarship is an annual and merit-based scholarship funded by corporate donations, so they do not accept individuals’ contributions. It has a wide range of eligibility since it is open for 10th-12th graders, college students, and non-traditional students.

So, keep reading; you may be an eligible student for this scholarship!

Requirements for the College JumpStart Scholarship Application:

  • What are your educational goals?
  • How will winning this scholarship help you attain your goals?
  • Write about a time when “hard work” paid off
scholarship-application

Amount:

The winner gets $1,000, which can help cover educational expenses. The best thing about this scholarship is that it can be used at any college or university in the U.S.

Deadline:

For this scholarship, the deadline are April 15th and October 17th.

The AAUW Scholarship Trust St. Paul Branch created the Returning Woman Scholarship, designed for female students who had their education interrupted by life events and are now prepared to continue their education.

The AAUW members develop grant programs that will allow women to grow and improve their education for the future of other women.

Group Of Mature Adult Students

Amount:

With this scholarship, the woman who wins will have the assistance they need to complete and pursue a Baccalaureate or Associate’s degree for the amount of $2,000.

Deadline:

Applications must be sent by February 23, 2023, or received no later than February 28, 2023.

For this scholarship, the priority of candidates are women, part of the nontraditional student population who have suffered from an abusive partner and have the greatest barriers to continuing and completing their education.

Women student

Amount:

The women who win this scholarship receive an amount from $500-$2,000 per semester or quarter from the financial aid office. For master’s degrees, it is an average of $1,000 per semester or quarter too. 

You must know that the number of credit hours students are enrolled in can influence the scholarship amount awarded.

Deadline:

They accept first-time applications twice a year, from January 1st to March 1st and September 1st to November 1st.

The Courage To Grow Scholarship awards men and women non-traditional graduate students who indicate the need for financial help and demonstrate educational achievement. If you want to be eligible for this scholarship, you must be a non-traditional student member of ANTSHE.

Female student

Amount:

This scholarship offers you the minimum amount of $500 so you can continue your education at any university.

Deadline:

This application was accepted until January 31, 2023

If you missed the date, don’t worry! You can try again next year.

Funded by The Poway Peñasquitos Branch of the American Association of Women, this scholarship is designed to help nontraditional students who have experienced life challenges to continue a traditional four-year educational path.

Requirements for Re-entry Woman Scholarship Application

Amount:

This scholarship offers not only one but three winners for the scholarship amount of $2,000.

Deadline:

The applications must be sent by April 15th. It is available each year if you missed the date.

Students preparing

It's Never Too Late To Pursue The Education You Want!

Stop thinking your age is an inconvenience to go back to school and accomplish the career you want. whether you become a full-time student or part-time student, you might have complete eligibility, so fill out an application and start. It does not cost you anything to try, and it can only benefit you and your pocket.

This list proves you have a wide variety of options; from private scholarships for low-income women to a lot of different award amounts, and they all can benefit you! 

We encourage everyone not to give up on the education they want to get their degree and push their lives forward. We know how expensive and frightening it can be to attend some colleges after your 25s and go through the application process. However, the benefits of a college education will always be higher than the disadvantages.

We hope you can fulfill some of the eligibility requirements in the non-traditional scholarship options we presented.

And remember that if you want to finish your degree faster, you can count on Gradehacker to help with essays and even full classes!

If you’re a non-traditional student and want to learn more information about your options, we have some interesting articles for you to read:

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