Two hundred eight diversity scholarships are available at Kent State thanks to the work of a three person team.

Even with FAFSA, school can be hard to afford. The College of Communication and Information tries to make school more affordable with more options every year.

This past summer, a team was put together to ensure that the hyperlinks on the diversity scholarships website took students to the correct website and were legitimate and helped students find as many scholarships as possible. 

Diversity scholarships are very different from regular scholarships. Instead of being based purely on academic performance, this financial aid looks at your heritage and cultural obstacles. 

The summer scholarship team is assembled at least once a year with different students each time. 

One of the people on the team, senior early childhood education major Megan Miller, said, “Finding scholarships for people was really cool. We even found scholarships that we (personally) could apply for.”

Miller added, “Diverse students can have a really hard time finding funding.”

The team did their part and had great success finding over a hundred new scholarships for Kent State students. 

“The list probably doubled, but not all scholarships are directly through Kent,” CCI diversity director AJ Leu, said. “There are categories on the website that help you find what you might be eligible for.”

Most of the scholarships are external, which means that they are not directly offered by Kent State.

The categories include, but are not limited to, LGBTQ+, Hispanic, Latinx, African American and black students. After you select a category that you qualify for, you will see a list of hyperlinks with brief descriptions that will take you to the website where you can apply.

Leu is in charge of assembling the team and has a driving passion to make higher education more affordable to those not eligible for regular scholarships.

“Our goal is to help students find scholarships,” Leu said. “ I had a few students help me scour the corners of the internet.”

The team’s findings were brought to Leu for a final check and then quickly posted online. Those interested in applying for these scholarships can do so on the CCI website.

Contact Terry Lee III at [email protected].