Gates Millennium Scholars Program for Undergraduates in USA

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation offers Gates Millennium Scholars Program for undergraduates. The Program provides outstanding African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American students an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest. Continuing Gates Millennium Scholars may request

funding for a graduate degree program in computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science. If selected as GMS finalists, students must demonstrate eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant Program as part of their financial aid package for the 2014 academic year. The application deadline is January 15, 2014.

Study Subject(s): Scholarships are provided for undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest. Continuing Gates Millennium Scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.
Course Level: Scholarships are available for pursuing undergraduate degree level in the USA.
Scholarship Provider: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Scholarship can be taken at: USA

Eligibility: Students are eligible to be considered for a GMS scholarship if they meet all of the following criteria:
-Are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian & Pacific Islander American or Hispanic American.
-Are a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States.
-Have attained a cumulative high school GPA of 3.3 on an unweighted 4.0 scale or have earned a GED.
-Will enroll for the first time at a U.S. located, accredited college or university (with the exception of students concurrently pursuing a high school diploma) in the fall of 2014 as a full-time, degree-seeking, first-year student. First-time college enrollees can also be GED recipients.
-Have demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities
-Meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility criteria.
-Have completed and submitted all three required forms: the student’s application (Nominee Personal Information Form), an evaluation of the student’s academic record (Nominator Form) and an evaluation of the student’s community service and leadership activities (Recommender Form) by the deadline.
-American Indian/Alaska Native Requirements: American Indian/Alaska Natives must be enrolled in a U.S. Federal or State recognized tribe or be able to document descent from an enrolled tribal member. If selected as a GMS finalist, applicants will be asked to provide proof of tribal enrollment or descent.
-Asian and Pacific Islander American includes persons having origins from Asia and/or Pacific Islands. Asian includes persons having origins in any of the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent. Pacific Islander includes persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa or other Pacific Islands. Citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau are eligible to be nominated. This is not an all-inclusive list.
-To be eligible for the GMS scholarship, the student must matriculate at a college or university that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The following are accreditation resources: Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education Programs Candidates; American Council of Education published in consultation with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation; Higher Education Directory published by Higher Education Publications, Inc.

Scholarship Open for International Students: U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident / Foreign National can apply for these scholarships. African American, American Indian – Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, Hispanic American ethnicities are eligible.

Scholarship Description: The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide outstanding African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest. Continuing Gates Millennium Scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.  In 1999, a bold vision of what America’s future would look like began to take shape. In that view, America’s leadership would include 20,000 individuals, all people of color, who would make a significant impact on the future direction of the nation. Coming from among the most financially needy students and attending the nation’s best colleges and universities, they would represent the extraordinary promise inherent among all highly academically capable individuals, no matter what their background. Moreover, the planners envisioned that the researched experiences of the students’ matriculation and retention, the fact of these individuals’ extraordinary successes to terminal degrees, and the testimony of their voices, would spark conversation, and perhaps debate, leading to public policies and added philanthropic contributions in support of similarly able and financially challenged young people. That vision of Bill and Melinda Gates was funded by a historic grant of more than 1 billion dollars to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) — still the largest single gift to any scholarship organization.

Number of award(s): 1000 scholarships are offered per year.

Duration of award(s): The Gates Millennium Scholars Program provides an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education.

What does it cover? Support for the cost of education by covering unmet need and self-help aid, including graduate school funding for continuing Scholars in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.

How to Apply:- The mode of applying is online. A Complete Application Consists of:
-Student Application (Nominee Personal Information Form)
-Educator’s evaluation of the student’s academic record (Nominator Form)
-Evaluation of the student’s community service and leadership activities (Recommender Form)

Scholarship Application Deadline: The application deadline is January 15, 2014.

Note: If selected as GMS finalists, students must demonstrate eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant Program as part of their financial aid package for the 2014 academic year. Students should not submit a FAFSA with the GMS application. GMS does not have a school code that a student can use on their FAFSA. If a student is selected as a finalist, GMS will request that he/she send a copy of his/her Student Aid Report (SAR) to the GMS office. We recommend students set a target date of February 15, 2014.

Further Official Scholarship Information and Application