10 Wyoming Scholarships to Save You Thousands on College
What’s Covered:
Wyoming is the least populous state in the nation and trails only Alaska as the state with the fewest colleges. The Cowboy State is home to just the University of Wyoming, seven community colleges, one for-profit college (WyoTech), and one tribal college (Wind River Tribal College). One thing Wyoming isn’t short on, however, is great scholarships like those listed below.
10 Wyoming Scholarships
1. Allen A. & Dorothy Belle Dickey Scholarship
Amount: Varies
Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Graduate of a Weston County high school
Application Requirements: Transcript, short answer questions, and essay
This Wyoming scholarship is solely for graduates from Weston County high schools. The renewable award honors lifelong rancher Allen A. Dickey and his wife Dorothy Belle. Applicants are asked to share information about their extracurricular activities, community involvement, and accomplishments as part of their application. They are also tasked with composing an essay detailing what influenced them to choose their particular field of study and their plans for using education to succeed in life.
2. Walter Urbigkit Scholarship
Amount: $2,000
Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Graduating seniors or past graduates of Wyoming high schools planning to study an aviation-related field
Application Requirements: Transcript and short answer questions
Young Wyomingites with an interest in aviation will want to explore the Walter Urbigkit Scholarship, which is aimed at students planning to pursue one of the many fields related to aviation. The one-time award is available to any graduate/graduands from any Wyoming high school, but preference is given to students from Fremont and Hot Springs Counties.
3. Hathaway Opportunity Scholarship
Amount: $840 to $1,680 per semester
Deadline: N/A
Eligibility: Every Wyoming middle and high school student provided they hit certain academic benchmarks
Application Requirements: Specific class requirements
This great Wyoming scholarship honors former Governor, Stanley K. Hathaway, and his many contributions and is available to all the state’s students. Recipients can use the award at any Wyoming community college or at the University of Wyoming. Awards are renewable for up to eight full-time semesters. The scholarship is merit-based and the value of the awards is tiered: the better a student performs in high school, the larger the award they’re eligible to receive.
4. Douvas Memorial Scholarship
Amount: $500
Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: First-generation Wyoming high school seniors
Application Requirements: Information about parents’ background
Peter Douvas, an immigrant from Greece, funded the Douvas Memorial Scholarship to support first-generation Americans with financial need in achieving their goals of post-secondary education. Recipients can use the award at any of Wyoming’s community colleges or at the University of Wyoming.
5. Wyoming County Commissioners’ Scholarships
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Wyoming students planning to attend one of the state’s community colleges or the University of Wyoming
Application Requirements: Minimum 2.5 GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and an essay
A number of these great Wyoming scholarships are awarded annually—each county commissioner (there are 23 counties in the state) awards three scholarships. As part of their application, students must compose a short essay (500-word maximum) on an issue facing local or state government, why it’s important to them, and offer possible solutions to resolve it. Recipients are chosen using a variety of criteria including GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and extracurricular activities.
6. Wyoming Homemakers Scholarship
Amount: $250
Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: Wyoming residents who are college sophomores or juniors
Application Requirements: Transcript and essay
The intent of the Wyoming Homemakers Scholarship is to promote the values of the group, which include homemaking, family living, and community service. Recipients can use the award at any Wyoming community college, the University of Wyoming, a Wyoming trade school, or an affiliated college in the Western Undergraduate Exchange program. Winners are chosen based on their academic achievement, financial need, citizenship, leadership, and community involvement.
7. Clifford P. Hansen Memorial Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: College sophomores, juniors, and seniors studying agriculture or a field related to natural resources who are members, or whose parents are members, of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association (WSGA)
Application Requirements: Minimum 3.2 GPA, transcript, and essay
The WSGA sponsors this scholarship which is open to its members and the children of its members. The award honors Clifford P. Hansen, a Teton country rancher, past President of WSGA, the Governor of Wyoming, and a U.S. Senator. Two scholarships are awarded annually to undergraduates studying agriculture or other natural resource-related fields at a Wyoming community college or the University of Wyoming. Students must write a 500-word essay as part of their application.
8. WGWA Richard A. Stockdale Memorial Scholarship
Amount: $2,500
Deadline: January 5
Eligibility: Wyoming residents who are high school seniors or enrolled full time at a college, university, or other educational institution
Application Requirements: Minimum 2.0 GPA, transcript, ACT score, essay, and a letter of recommendation
The Richard A. Stockdale Memorial Scholarship is provided by the Wyoming Ground Water Association (WGWA), a trade association dedicated to protecting groundwater. Five scholarships are awarded annually with priority given to applicants who are related to a WGWA member. As part of their application, applicants need to compose a 250- to 500-word essay sharing information about themselves and what winning the award will mean to them.
9. Wyoming Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship
Amount: $3,000
Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Female Wyoming residents who have graduated high school and are of at least 1/8 American Indian descent
Application Requirements: Transcript, short answer questions, and an essay
The Daughters of the American Revolution is committed to promoting education and literacy through educational outreach and scholarships, like the aptly named Wyoming Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship. This award is available to female Wyoming residents who are of at least 1/8 American Indian descent and are demonstrating success in their post-secondary education. A 2,000- to 3,000 character essay detailing the applicant’s American Indian heritage, tribal affiliation, and how an education will help better their lives, as well as the lives of other American Indians, is required as part of the application.
10. WGA Celebrate the West Contest
Amount: $200 to $1,500
Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12 from one of the 17 states and three territories that participate in the WGA
Application Requirements: Original work of art
The Western Governors Association (WGA) Celebrate the West Contest isn’t exactly a Wyoming scholarship, but certainly is something young Cowboy State artists will want to look into. The contest challenges young Wyominites—as well as students from 16 other states and three territories—to create an original piece of artwork that expresses what it means to call the West home. Numerous art forms are acceptable for submissions including painting, drawing, lithography, silkscreen, mixed media, computer graphics, and collage. Photo and video submissions are not accepted. An abundance of awards are available: first-place take home $1,500, second-place $750, and third-place $500. Additionally, state winners are awarded $200.
Tips on Applying to Scholarships
Wyoming is often called “the Equality State,” but not all scholarship applicants are created equal. Here are some simple steps you can take to improve your odds of winning an award.
Maximize Institutional Aid
Colleges and universities provide significantly more scholarship dollars than outside organizations—they award $175 billion in scholarships annually compared to just $11 billion from other organizations. Consequently, you have better odds of winning an award (and of that award being larger) at schools you are applying to. Before focusing your time and energy on outside scholarships, make sure you’ve maximized the value of scholarship dollars available to you from the schools themselves.
Apply Where You Merit an Award
Super-selective colleges, like those of the Ivy League, generally do not award merit aid—after all, they have a robust pool of applicants and do not need to attract top students to their schools. That said, many colleges and universities use merit aid to lure desirable candidates to their campuses. When building your college list, make sure to include one or two “safety” schools where you have a strong chance of earning an award.
Private School Prospects
Private colleges and universities are commonly more generous in doling out merit aid than their public school counterparts. For example, all 50 colleges on our list of the colleges that give out the most merit aid are private institutions. Private schools typically have larger endowments than public schools and use merit aid to boost enrollment, grow attendance, and increase prestige. Add one or two private institutions to your college list and angle for a large award.
