10 Awesome Scholarships for Women in STEM
Women are largely underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. Despite making up roughly 50% of the workforce, women fill only 28% of STEM jobs. In recent years though, more female students have been studying STEM in college—in 2016, more than 200,000 women graduated with a STEM degree, compared to just over 140,000 in 2009. However, the number of men studying STEM has grown even faster, resulting in a widening of the gender gap in STEM fields. Because of the gender gap in STEM fields, there’s an effort to attract more women to STEM. Part of that effort is through college scholarships. If you’re planning to study STEM in college, keep reading to learn about the 10 best scholarships for women in STEM. Amount: Full tuition Deadline: Application open in the fall Eligibility: Female high school senior or college undergraduate Application Requirements: Three-minute video of yourself explaining a STEM topic that you’re passionate about Funded by the party game Cards Against Humanity, the Science Ambassador Scholarship provides a full-tuition scholarship to a woman studying science, technology, engineering, or math. One of most generous scholarships for women in STEM you’ll find, this substantial reward requires you to create a three-minute video about any STEM topic and upload it to YouTube. Structure the video like a mini-lecture, make sure it’s scientifically accurate, and cite sources. Don’t worry about production value, as the judges are focused on content. Amount: $15,000 Deadline: February 14, 2021; 5:00 pm Central Time Eligibility: Application Requirements: In 2018, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) disbursed more than $830,000 through 238 new and renewed scholarships—one of which is their scholarship aimed at undergraduates intending to study engineering. To win this valuable female-focused STEM scholarship, you’re encouraged to demonstrate enthusiasm for and active involvement in engineering. In addition to a passion for engineering, the SWE is searching for academically excellent candidates who participate in extracurricular and volunteer activities. Amount: $10,000 Deadline: TBD Eligibility: Application Requirements: Founded to encourage women to participate and lead in the tech industry, the Women Techmakers Scholars Program is open to all qualifying students and strongly encourages women to apply. One of the higher-awarding scholarships for girls in STEM, recipients are chosen based on the strength of their academics, along with their impact on diversity and leadership. In addition to a generous award, Women Techmaker Scholars are invited to attend the Google Scholars Retreat, providing them an opportunity to connect with other recipients, network with Google employees, and participate in workshops. Amount: $7,000 Deadline: March 22, 2020; 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time Eligibility: Application Requirements: Launched in 2010 by the software company Palantir, the Palantir Women in Technology is one of the more valuable scholarships for girls in STEM—10 recipients receive $7,000 grants, along with an all-expenses-paid trip to the company’s Palo Alto, California headquarters where they will participate in a developmental workshop. Amount: $3,000 Deadline: April 15, 2020 Eligibility: Application Requirements: The BHW Group is an Austin, Texas-based custom web and mobile app development company. Made up of designers, developers, and architects, BHW is passionate about software and creating intuitive applications. One of the more valuable STEM scholarships for females, the BHW Women in STEM Scholarship offers a $3,000 award for a winning essay about apps. Amount: $2,500 Deadline: April 1, 2020 Eligibility: Application Requirements: Named after the American chemist, biochemist, and engineer, Virginia “Ginny” Heinlein (also the third wife of notable science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein), the Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a female candidate majoring in engineering, math, or biological or physical sciences. One of the more highly-valued STEM scholarships for females, the winner is chosen through an essay contest focusing on topics and themes woven throughout Virginia Heinlein’s husband’s work. Amount: $1,000 Deadline: July 1, 2020; 11:59 pm Eligibility: Application Requirements: The ABC Humane Wildlife Academic Scholarship was created by Urban Wildlife Manager and entrepreneur, Rebecca Fyffe, who is uniquely positioned in her industry as a female business owner—only 3% of pest control and management firms are owned by women. Fyffe credits her business and research success to her STEM background, and developed the ABC Humane Wildlife Academic Scholarship to increase the number of women studying STEM by providing them with the chance to pursue STEM degrees. Amount: $500 Deadline: TBD Eligibility: Application Requirements: The Girls in STEM (GIS) Scholarship was funded to increase access and participation of women in STEM fields and help the next generation of young, women STEM students reach their academic goals. Offering a modest award to academically-accomplished female students studying STEM in college, recipients must also be passionate about furthering the inclusion of women in STEM fields, and work in their communities to promote this cause. Amount: $500 Deadline: Mar 31, 2020; 11:59 pm Eligibility: Application Requirements: AfterCollege, the online provider that connects job-seeking college students and alumni with employers, has awarded more than $1,000,000 in scholarships and student activities to date. Although the AfterCollege STEM Inclusion Scholarship is not limited to female applicants, it’s focused on underrepresented groups, of which women are included, which makes it worth targeting for any woman working toward a STEM degree. Amount: Varies Deadline: March 15, 2020; 12:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time Eligibility: Application Requirements: Although not STEM-specific, HORIZONS has awarded more than a half-million dollars to more than 150 recipients pursuing degrees ranging from STEM fields such as engineering and math to non-STEM sectors like public policy since 1988. The Women in Defense Scholarship’s intention is to increase diversity and innovation in national security and defense by investing in high-performing women. Outside scholarships (scholarships not directly provided by your college) are an excellent way to offset the cost of higher education; however, they can also negatively affect the amount of financial aid you receive. Schools may consider the scholarship an asset—increasing your family’s contribution and decreasing your financial aid package. On a positive note, when schools adjust financial aid packages to account for scholarships, they generally remove or decrease the least desirable forms of aid, such as work-study contributions. Check out our blog post How Outside Scholarships Impact Your Financial Aid Award for an in-depth look at how scholarships impact financial aid. The people awarding scholarships want recipients to reflect well on their company, foundation, society, etc. With this in mind, they may Google you before handing out an award (after all, Google sponsors the Women Techmaker Scholars Program). Audit your social media profiles and clean up anything that could cost you a scholarship and freshen up (or create) a professional account on LinkedIn. Building a website or online portfolio is an easy way to take some control over the search and show off your tech skills. The majority of the scholarships listed above require an essay or video along with the application. This is your opportunity to stand out from the competition, as you can share your personality, highlight what’s important to you, and explain why you deserve to win. Here are a few tips for constructing an essay that wows or scripting a winning video: Whether it’s filling out your application or writing your essay, avoid standing out from the crowd for the wrong reasons. When applying for competitive scholarships, silly mistakes in spelling, punctuation, and grammar can mean the difference between winning an award and coming up empty handed. Many of the scholarships listed above require accompanying letters of recommendation. It’s common courtesy to leave your letter writer at least a month to compose their letter. In addition to leaving them enough time to write a compelling recommendation, be sure to provide them with an overview of the scholarship, your related strengths, a copy of your resume, and any other relevant information. Although there is no way to ensure winning an award, the more scholarships you apply for, the greater your chances are of winning one. Don’t just apply to the big awards like the The Science Ambassador Scholarship; it’s surprising how quickly winning a few smaller awards like the AfterCollege STEM Inclusion Scholarship can add up to a considerable amount of money. CollegeVine can’t tell you your chances of winning a prestigious STEM scholarship, but we can help predict your odds of college admission. Our free chancing engine uses criteria like GPA, test scores, and extracurricular activities to predict your likelihood of acceptance at over 500 colleges and universities. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account to start using our chancing engine today! We'll send you information to help you throughout the college admissions process.10 Best Scholarships for Women in STEM
1.The Science Ambassador Scholarship
2. Society of Women Engineers Scholarship Program
3. Women Techmakers Scholars Program
4. Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship
5. BHW Women in STEM Scholarship
6. Virginia Heinlein Memorial Scholarship
7. ABC Humane Wildlife Academic Scholarship—Women In STEM
8. Girls in STEM (GIS) Scholarship
9. AfterCollege STEM Inclusion Scholarship
10. HORIZONS Women in Defense Scholarship
How Outside Scholarships Impact Your Financial Aid Award
5 Tips for Applying for Scholarships
1. Polish Your Presence
2. Stand Out From the Crowd
3. No Silly Mistakes
4. Get Remarkable Recommendations
5. Apply for Lots of Scholarships
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