Looking for help paying for college?
Explore federal and Arkansas financial aid, disability-related funding, scholarships, and trusted search tools that can help make college or career training more affordable.
Start Here: Financial Aid
FAFSA
Complete the FAFSA each year to be considered for federal grants, work-study, loans, and many state and college financial aid programs.
Arkansas SAMS
Use Arkansas SAMS to apply for state scholarships and grants, including the Academic Challenge Scholarship and workforce-related aid.
Arkansas Rehabilitation Services
Eligible Arkansans with disabilities may receive assistance with approved college or career-training costs and related support services.
Before You Apply
Scholarship Tips
• Begin searching early and continue throughout the year. Application periods and deadlines vary.
• Carefully review eligibility requirements before spending time completing an application.
• Prepare commonly requested materials, including transcripts, recommendation letters, financial information and a personal essay.
• Check with the student’s high school counselor, college financial-aid office, local community foundation, employers and disability-related organizations.
• Never pay to search or apply for a scholarship, and never share a StudentAid.gov username or password.
• Confirm every opportunity through the sponsoring organization’s official website before submitting personal information.
• Report outside scholarships to the college’s financial-aid office and ask how the award may affect the student’s financial-aid package.
• Students should reapply for eligible scholarships and financial aid every year.
Scholarships & Financial Support for Students with Disabilities
Arkansas Transition Scholarship
Provides up to $2,500 per eligible semester for Arkansas students accepted into approved college transition programs serving students with cognitive disabilities.
AGCPD Scholarship
Provides financial assistance to Arkansas students with disabilities who plan to attend college or technical school within the state.
National Disability Scholarship
The disABLEDperson National Scholarship Competition supports enrolled college students with physical or mental disabilities as defined by the ADA.
Lime Connect Pathways
An annual scholarship for high school seniors with visible or non-visible disabilities who plan to attend a four-year college in the United States or Canada.
Tony Coelho Media Scholarship
Supports high school seniors, undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities pursuing careers in media, communications, or entertainment.
Frederick J. Krause Scholarship
An annual scholarship for undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities pursuing studies related to disability, health, or improving quality of life.
Scholarships by Disability
Autism
The Organization for Autism Research offers scholarships for autistic students attending four-year colleges, two-year colleges, trade or technical schools, vocational programs, and qualifying life-skills programs.
Learning Disability
The National Center for Learning Disabilities offers scholarships to graduating seniors with documented learning disabilities entering four-year, two-year, vocational, or technical programs.
Blindness Scholarships
Description: The National Federation of the Blind offers an annual national scholarship program for legally blind students pursuing full-time postsecondary education in the United States.
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Sertoma offers scholarships to graduating seniors and undergraduate students with significant bilateral hearing loss who are pursuing four-year college degrees.
Down Syndrome
Ruby’s Rainbow provides scholarships to students with Down syndrome pursuing higher education, vocational training, enrichment classes and programs that support greater independence.
Epilepsy
The UCB Family Epilepsy Scholarship Program supports people living with epilepsy, along with eligible family members and caregivers, who are pursuing higher education.
Mobility Disabilities
The Permobil Foundation provides financial assistance to students with mobility disabilities who have been accepted to or are currently attending a U.S. college or university.
Chronic Illness & Cancer
Patient Advocate Foundation offers scholarships to eligible students who have been diagnosed with or recently treated for cancer or another qualifying chronic illness.
Mental Health
The Prochnow Foundation offers an annual scholarship to an eligible student with a diagnosed mental illness attending a four-year college or full-length trade school.
Scholarship availability and eligibility requirements may change each year. Students should search using both their specific diagnosis and broader terms such as disability, chronic illness, mobility disability, learning disability or mental health.
Arkansas Scholarships & Grants
Academic Challenge Scholarship
Provides scholarship funding to eligible traditional and nontraditional Arkansas students attending approved two-year or four-year colleges.
Arkansas Future Grant
Helps cover tuition and mandatory fees for eligible certificate and associate-degree programs in STEM and other high-demand fields.
Workforce Challenge Scholarship
Provides up to $3,000 for eligible workforce training in manufacturing, construction, health care, information technology, logistics, and transportation.
Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship
This scholarship supports high-achieving Arkansas graduating seniors who meet the program’s current ACT or SAT, grade-point average and FAFSA requirements.
Arkansas Teacher Academy Scholarship
The Arkansas Teacher Academy Scholarship assists eligible students pursuing teacher licensure in exchange for teaching in an Arkansas public school after completing the program.
Arkansas Community
Foundation
Arkansas Community Foundation administers numerous scholarships for students attending two-year colleges, four-year universities, vocational schools and technical-training programs.
Single Parents
Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship programs help eligible single parents pursue college, technical education or career training while supporting their families.
Arkansas Heroes
This scholarship assists qualifying spouses and dependent children of certain military members, first responders, teachers and other public servants killed or permanently disabled in service.
National Guard
Eligible Arkansas Army and Air National Guard members may receive a tuition waiver for approved undergraduate programs at Arkansas public colleges and universities.
Scholarship Search Tools
Use these trusted search tools to locate additional national, state, local, college and career-training scholarships.
New opportunities and deadlines are added throughout the year.
CareerOneStop
Search thousands of scholarships, grants, fellowships and other financial-aid opportunities using the free tool sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
BigFuture
Create a free profile and receive scholarship matches based on the student’s education plans, background, interests and other eligibility information.
Scholarship America
Browse currently open and upcoming scholarships for high school seniors, college students, technical-school students and graduate students.
Scholarship programs, eligibility requirements, award amounts, and deadlines may change.
Always review the sponsoring organization’s official website for the most current information before applying.
