Financial Resources
Financial Assistance for Students with Disabilities
Many students are faced with the question of how to fund their college education. This dilemma may be even greater for students with disabilities who may have greater expenses depending on any auxiliary services they may need (i.e. personal assistants, tutors, equipment, etc.).
There are several resources for financial aid for students with disabilities.
- Texas A&M University Scholarships
- Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
- Federal Financial Aid
- General Information about potential funding sources (DO-IT)
- Web Resources
Texas A&M University Scholarships
All students at Texas A&M are encouraged to apply for scholarships that are administered by the university. The deadline for most of the scholarships is March 1st. Information and online applications for the following TAMU scholarships are available on the Student Financial Aid web page (http://financialaid.tamu.edu/):
- Academic Excellence Award
- Academic Incentive Award
- Opportunity Award
- Two Year College Transfer Scholarship
- TAMU Scholarships for Students with Disabilities
Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)
Students with disabilities should contact either the local office of DARS or their hometown DARS office to determine if they are eligible for services and/or financial assistance. The Bryan/College Station office of DARS can be contacted at (979) 680-5290. The primary goal of DARS is to help people become employed. Services that may be provided include: help with tuition expenses, books and supplies, tutoring expenses, technology aids, etc.
Tuition Waivers
If you are a Texas state resident who is legally blind, or legally deaf attending a public university in the State of Texas, you may be eligible for a tuition waiver. If you qualify, your tuition waiver can be used at any Texas state institution. For more information, contact the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) or read more details at the College for All Texans web page on waivers:
- DARS Division for Blind Services:http://www.dars.state.tx.us/dbs
- DARS Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS):http://www.dars.state.tx.us/dhhs
Certificates of Blindness and Certificates of Deafness should be sent directly to the Student Business Services office via their waiver guidelines in order for the waiver to be applied to the student's account:
Student Accounts & Billing
PO Box 30015
General Services Complex, Suite 2801
College Station, TX 77842-3015
Or by FAX to 979-845-9406 (Be sure to include full name and UIN #)
Federal Financial Aid
Applications for the following financial aid programs are available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
- Stafford Loans
- PLUS Loans
- Direct Loans
- Pell Grants
- Perkins Loans
- Work-Study
The above programs are federally administered loans and grants, many of which require repayment.
Web Resources
The following websites may be helpful in finding information about scholarships for students with disabilities:
Scholarship Searches
- TAMU Scholarships - https://scholarships.tamu.edu
- http://www.scholarships.com
- http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp
- http://www.collegenet.com/mach25/app
- http://www.scholarshipsandgrants.us
- http://www.fastweb.monster.com
- http://www.tstc.edu/financialaid/addscholarship
- http://www.college-scholarships.com
- http://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/spotlight/affordable-colleges-for-students-with-disabilities/
ADHD/ADD
- http://www.shireadhdscholarship.com/
- http://www.add.org/?page=MoultonFarnsworth
- http://www.add.org/?page=NovotniScholarship
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
- http://sertoma.org/what-we-do/scholarships/
- http://www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org/Document.aspx?id=266
Epilepsy
- Epilepsy Foundation - http://old.epilepsyfoundation.org/living/wellness/finance/scholarship.cfm. (Does not offer general scholarships, but provides information for other organizations that may).
GI Bill
- GI Bill information can be found at http://www.military.com/GIBill
Health Related Disabilities
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Scholarship - http://www.cff.org/LivingWithCF/Scholarships/
- Eric Marder Scholarship Program of The Immune Deficiency Foundation - http://primaryimmune.org/services/idf-academic-scholarship-programs/the-eric-marder-scholarship-program/
- JustNebulizers.com Respiratory Care Scholarship- http://justnebulizers.com/respiratory-care-scholarship
- Matt Stauffer Memorial Scholarship - http://ulmanfund.org/scholarships/
- National Hemophilia Foundation Scholarships - http://www.hemophilia.org/NHFWeb/MainPgs/MainNHF.aspx?menuid=53&contentid=36
- National MS Society's scholarship program - http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Resources-Support/Insurance-and-Financial-Information/Financial-Resources/Scholarship-Program
- Ross Maxwell Memorial Scholarship (childhood cancer) - http://www.accooncampus.org/tamu/scholarship/
Internships
- United Cerebral Palsy
http://www.ucp.org/about/jobs - Entrypoint
http://www.entrypoint.org - The Washington Center
http://www.twc.edu - American Association of People with Disabilities
http://www.aapd.com/ - Houston Mayor's Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities
http://www.hmcepd.org/ - Central Intelligence Agency: Undergraduate Program
https://www.cia.gov/careers/
Learning Disabilities
- FinAid
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/ld.phtml - P. Buckley Moss Society Scholarship
http://www.ncld.org/scholarships-and-awards/ - Anne Ford and Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarships
http://www.ncld.org/about-us/learning-disability-scholarships-awards/anne-ford-allegra-ford-scholarships
Physical Disabilities
- CMMS Deshae Lott Ministries' Outreach Program
- Foundation for Science and Disability, Inc.
http://www.cfnc.org/Gateway?command=GetBasedProgramDetail¬e=no&type=9&vocType=-1&vocational=no&id=108 (Must contact Rebecca Smith of S&D for information.) - Just Walkers Mobility Scholarship
http://justwalkers.com/mobility-scholarship-program - Karman Healthcare Scholarship Fund
http://www.karmanhealthcare.com/scholarships/ - May's Mission for the Handicapped
http://www.maysmission.org/programs.html - National Amputation Scholarships
http://nationalamputation.org/scholar1.html - 1800Wheelchair Scholarship
http://www.1800wheelchair.com/pages/scholarship.aspx
Schizophrenia
- Lilly Reintegration Scholarship
http://www.reintegration.com/scholarship-program/
Spina Bifida
- Spina Bifida Association of America
http://spinabifidaassociation.org/scholarships/
Unspecified
- disABLEDperson, Inc. (March 15th deadline)
https://www.disabledperson.com/scholarships/16 - Yes I Can! Foundation for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org/About-Us/CEC-Award-Programs/CEC-Student-Awards - Panasonic Young Soloists Award
http://www.washington.edu/doit/lessons/financial/panasonic.html - Horatio Alger Association Scholarship Program
http://www.horatioalger.com - Google Lime Scholarship
http://www.limeconnect.com/opportunities/page/google-lime-scholarship-program - For those looking to attend Law School:
http://surgicalwatch.com/scholarship-award/ - Vitality Medical Scholarship:
http://www.vitalitymedical.com/scholarship - The Springboard Foundation
http://www.thespringboardfoundation.org/
Visually Impaired
- National Federation of the Blind
http://nfb.org/scholarship-program - National Federation of the Blind of Texas
https://www.nfbtx.org/scholarships.php - American Foundation for the Blind
http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?Documentid=2962 - Christian Record Services for the Blind
http://services.christianrecord.org/scholarships - Blind Veterans Association
http://www.bva.org/services.html - American Council of the Blind of Texas, Inc.
http://www.acbtexas.org - Learning Ally National Achievement Awards
https://naa.learningally.org/