CRITERIA: All scholarships are awarded for academic excellence, community service, and financial need.

MEMBERSHIP: The National Federation of the Blind is an organization dedicated to creating opportunity for all blind people. Recipients of NFB scholarships need not be members of the National Federation of the Blind.

REAPPLICATION: Those who have previously applied are encouraged to apply again.

WINNERS: The Scholarship Committee reviews all applications and selects the scholarship Finalists. These finalists will be notified of the selection by telephone no later than July 1, 2012 and will be required to attend the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina` convention, August 10 through 12 at the Marriott in Spartanburg. Family members and guests of the applicant must pay their own registration fee if they wish to attend the banquet on Saturday night. The Federation will provide room and convention registration for applicants only. Finalists will participate in the entire convention and in the scheduled scholarship program activities, beginning with functions on Friday. The Scholarship Committee will meet on Saturday to select winners from those finalists who are present at the convention. All decisions by the Scholarship Committee are final.

AWARDS: The morning of the convention banquet the Scholarship Committee will meet to determine which finalists will be awarded scholarships. The scholarship awards will be made during the banquet Saturday evening.

To apply for a scholarship, download and complete this application. This form and any attachments which are available electronically may be submitted via email to liz4jesus@gmail.com

The form and all attachments must be received by June 1, 2012.

The following attachments should accompany your application or can be sent directly to the scholarship committee (Note: if any of the following is not received by the time the Scholarship Committee meets for initial consideration of applications, the application will not be considered; therefore, it is advisable to confirm receipt of all components of the application prior to the deadline):

1. Personal Letter from Applicant. A statement in 250 words or less. Give your reason for applying for a scholarship and how it will assist you to achieve a professional goal. Include information about your visual acuity, indicating whether you are legally blind. NFB scholarships are awarded on the basis of scholastic excellence, financial need, and community service. In preparing your personal letter, keep in mind that the committee members are all successful blind college graduates. Consider how you can most effectively convey your best qualities. Since the awards are restricted to blind people, the committee will be interested in the techniques and approaches you use. Almost all blind students have financial need. Committee members will assume basic need, so you may choose merely to refer to this topic unless your need is unusual.<
2. One letter of recommendation, from an officer or member of the National Federation of the Blind of SC. If you need the name of an NFB Member in your area, Contact David Houck at (803) 254-3777 or email him at nfbsc@sc.rr.com.
3. Current transcript from institution now attending and transcripts from all other post-secondary institutions attended. If you have not yet attended such an institution or have not completed one year of study, send high school transcript.
4. Score Reports (for high school seniors only). Please attach a copy of your score reports for all standardized tests taken for college admission. Copies are acceptable; there is no need to attach official reports.