By 50, a lot must have happened in your life, you probably have married, have a kid(s) or even grandchildren, might have changed jobs, or maintained one job. Some of your kids might have even gotten their first degree if not all, but the question you might be asking now that you might not have any young lad to look after is, can I still return to school at 50 or older?
Let me start by telling you that you’re not alone, each year hundreds of thousands of students who are age 50 and older go back to school, and this is coming from AARP. Even at such an age, you can still get your first degree, pursue your master’s, or go further on your Ph.D.
To even spice it up, there are some scholarships for women over 50 that can help reduce your financial burden, and there are other scholarships for female students in agriculture or even those furthering careers as Helicopter Pilots.
One of the interesting things about these scholarships is that it is giving hope to lots of women, whether a widow that is finding opportunities through education, or a recovering addict who is fighting to achieve her dream of graduating from college.
Without much ado, let’s list these scholarships.
Table of Contents
Scholarships for Women Over 50
These Scholarships might not be so much, but you can still take advantage of your local community or do more research. There are so many other scholarships that don’t necessarily mention women of 50 but are open to them.
The biggest advantage of these scholarships is that it reduces the competition and removes millions of younger students.
1. Alma Baron Second Chance for Women
This scholarship was established by Alma Baron in 2001 to support a female returning adult student over 45 years of age. This scholarship was initiated due to her personal experience of returning to college at age 51 to get her doctorate after her youngest child grew.
Even though she died in 2006, her friends and family didn’t allow this initiative to die, they continue to support the fund in her memory. Besides being a woman of 45 years and above, you also need to be recently admitted or continuing at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, you need to demonstrate financial need, be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or another eligible non-citizen.
2. The Talbots Women’s Scholarship Fund
This is among the scholarships for women over 50 that are awarded to women that stopped school because of one condition or the other and now want to return to college to earn their undergraduate degree. Applicants must have graduated from high school or received their GED at least ten years ago.
Also, you can use the scholarship in the freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year of college. Also, recipients may choose a two-year technical college or four-year university and attend either part-time or full-time and must be U.S. citizens.
3. AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation has seen that 37 million older adults are struggling to get by, which has made them help tens of millions of older adults for the past 60 years. Annually, they provide millions of dollars for these people, including women that are 50 or older.
For instance, Google.org Makes a $10 Million Grant to AARP Foundation to Provide Digital Skills Training which will support free technology pieces of training to help older adults — particularly women and people of color — thrive in the digital economy.
4. Osher Scholars and Fellows Program
This is one of the scholarships for women between the ages of 25 and 50 that is affiliated with several institutions like The University of Alabama, Arizona State University, University of California, Berkeley University of Miami, etc.
These awards are meant for women pursuing their first baccalaureate degree.
To qualify, you need to have experienced a cumulative gap in your education of five or more years, anticipate workforce participation for a significant time after graduation, demonstrate financial need, and more.
5. Sally Stiles Scholarship
The Sally Stiles Scholarship in the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is awarded to a re-entry female, either a single mother or a woman over 50 years of age.
6. The Jeannette Rankin Foundation
The Jeannette Rankin Foundation was created to help women aged 35 and older that are returning to school to successfully finish their college degrees and transform the next chapter of their lives. So far, their scholarship has made 87% of their scholars either graduate or even continue their educational path toward achieving their degrees.
Also, they have awarded $4 million to over 1,300 women across the country to pursue their educational aspirations.
7. The Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society Continuing Education Scholarship
The Alpha Sigma Lambda is providing a total of six (6) $3,000 and fifteen (15) $2,500 scholarships to adult students in continuing higher education. It is required that applicants submit their applications to the chapter counselor for review, and it’s only the Chapter counselor that can forward application packets to the Home Office after verifying your GPA, completed hours at the institution, and other required information.
Conclusion
Please note that these are not the only scholarship opportunities for women above 50 years, you can still do extra research or even check your local community, or religious gathering for possible scholarships.
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