Hispanics are Americans who have their origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or Spain. In spite of increasing educational opportunities, minority students continue to be under-represented on college and university campuses. Studies show that middle-income children are about half as likely to complete college as wealthier children. The good news is that there are many government grants as well as private organizations that award scholarships for students of the Hispanic community. As a result, more and more young Hispanic students are attending college and joining the workforce. Prospective Hispanic students who are desirous of seeking higher education in their related fields, but are not financially strong can avail these scholarships. Hispanic students who do not come from a low-income family also have a chance to receive a scholarship. Usually, scholarships are awarded regardless of age. A good starting point for finding scholarships for Hispanics is to check with the Minority Affairs Office of the college or university you are seeking admission in. In addition to these specific scholarships that are meant for Hispanics, it is best that you also apply for regular college scholarships. There are many easy scholarships to apply for, and if you can avail even part of your tuition course through them, then it will be greatly beneficial for you. The scholarships are based on several criteria including nationality, the institute where you are going to study, location, college year, GPA, commitment to the particular field of education, scholastic achievement, community awareness, and financial need, etc. There are scholarships by state of residence, by vocation, by religion, and by gender. One of the most famous scholarship for Hispanics is the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). Founded in 1975, the HSF has administered over $470 million in scholarships. HSF gets millions of dollars from well-known corporate giants like McDonalds, Procter & Gamble, and Wal-Mart. Merit-based scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate students. All majors and graduate fields are accepted. Scholarship awards range from $500 to $5,000. For example, there is a scholarship from the Hispanic scholarship fund where Macy's partners with HSF and assists Hispanic students with an outstanding academic record. They provide a scholarship amount of $5000. The selected students may also be offered an opportunity to participate in a summer internship in Macy's. The Gates Millennium Scholarship program promotes academic excellence and encourages students to complete an undergraduate education in all discipline areas and graduate education in computer science, mathematics, life/physical science, engineering, education, public health, library science, and/or information science. The Goldman Sachs (GS) Scholarship for Excellence (SFE) program helps attract Hispanic/Latino undergraduate students to careers at Goldman Sachs. Students, on accepting the summer internship offer, are awarded up to $15,000. Hispanic women also can avail a special scholarship which is called the HSF/Goldman Sachs 10000 Women Business Leadership Awards. Students who are entering their junior year of college are eligible for this scholarship. This scholarship for Hispanics, sponsored by Goldman Sachs has an award of $10,000 which is distributed over two years (at $5,000 per year), and is open to only female students who have shown interest in entrepreneurship and business. The AWG (Association for Women Geoscientists) Minority Scholarship is a Hispanic scholarship intended for female students majoring in geoscience. There are several awards ranging from $5,000 to $6,000. You should also check the Mundelein College Hispanic Women's Leadership Program and the program offered by the100 Hispanic Women's Young Latinas Leadership Institute. This scholarship offers opportunity to Hispanic students who have demonstrated interest in public service and have done substantial community services. The scholarship amount is $5000 for attending a graduate level college or $2500 for attending a 4 year academic institution. A student in a community college or AA/AS granting institution will receive $1,000. These funds are evenly distributed over the years required for the student to graduate. Students who have a proven history of public service-oriented activities within their communities can apply for this scholarship. The First in My Family Scholarship is a national scholarship open to all Latinos in the United States. This scholarship as the name suggests is for students who are first in their family to seek college education, and there is a grant of $500 to $5000 awarded each year to such Hispanic students. For those Hispanic students who want to study journalism, but are not able to do so because of financial hardships, there is the Joel Garcia Memorial Scholarship. It offers a scholarship to graduate students, and there are 10 awards (the number of awards may vary) each with a scholarship award ranging from $500 to $2000. To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be attending a college or university in California or should be a California resident. There are many law school scholarships for Hispanics, and the most notable among them are those offered by the MALDEF Law School Scholarship Program. The MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Foundation) Scholarship Program offers scholarships for Hispanic students who are enrolled full-time in an American-accredited law school. The scholarship amount can be $1000 - $5000. The La Raza Lawyers Charitable Foundation of Santa Clara County offers $2,500 scholarship for Hispanic law students who are from the bay area. To be eligible for this scholarship, the students should be attending law school in Santa Clara University, Lincoln Law School, University of California, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of California Hastings, Stanford, Golden Gate University, University of California Davis School of Law, Monterey College of Law, or McGeorge School of Law. Besides the scholarships mentioned above, there are many other scholarships that are available for Hispanics. They are: ➺ Earl G. Graves NAACP Scholarship ➺ Morgan Stanley Richard B. Fisher Scholarship Program ➺ Hispanic Business Association Scholarship ➺ Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation ➺ Lagrant Foundation ➺ Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Foundation ➺ Arizona State University Library Science Fellowship Grant ➺ The scholarship offered by The Spanish American Institute (SAI) ➺ Maria Borrero Scholarship ➺ El Paso Natural Gas Company Scholarship ➺ The Mas Family Scholarships ➺ Catharine Lealtad Scholarships ➺ José Martí Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund ➺ Immaculata College Sister Mary Consuela Scholarship ➺ HCF-UAG Medical School Scholarship Program ➺ Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) - Graduate Fellowship Awards ➺ Jose Marti Scholarship Challenge Grant Fund ➺ McDonald's Hispanic American Commitment to Educational Resources (HACER) Program These were some scholarships that are open for Hispanics. Remember that scholarship is money for your education that you do not have to pay back. The more scholarship you can get, the less amount of student loan you have to take and later pay. Take some time out to research different scholarships available for Hispanics, and you are sure to find funding for your studies.