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The #TransgenderFirst Scholarship

The first national scholarship exclusively dedicated to helping underserved Transgender students get affordable access to a college education.

Apply Below Today!

The Time For Change Is Now

Transgender students are often never able to access a college education due to disproportionate and significant disadvantages.

Whether it’s biased difficulty in getting full-time employment to afford school, losing family and parental support after coming out, or lacking the ability to access student housing on campus, transgender students are at a disadvantage when it comes to affording the large costs associated with a college degree.

In addition, almost no resources currently exist (whether Grants, Scholarships, etc) exclusively dedicated to serve their needs and interests nationwide.  As with many in the LGBTQ community, this is tragic as many other groups are adequately represented.

We’re going to change that.

A Simple And Impactful Mission

We want to help every transgender student get $2,500 towards higher education.

Our goal is to both raise student awareness and bring necessary funding from donors everywhere.

We’re off to a great start.

Love & Support Across The Globe

None of this would be possible without raising awareness and the support of the community. Post a link sharing this scholarship, or share on social media #TransgenderFirst and you’ll show up here as a supporter!

Real Challenges to Affordable College

1. Difficulty Gaining Full-Time Employment– Transgender students face an immense bias in finding jobs in our current economy, and as a result are not able to normally support themselves through college.

2. Lack of Family and Parental Support– It’s common for individuals to lose family and parental support after coming out. Unfortunately, many students rely on that support to access college and afford their degree.

3. Lack of Access to Affordable On-Campus Housing– Many campuses have policies against transgender students living in dorms or on-campus housing with their identified gender.

Made Possible Through Our Initial Grant

The first annual $2,500 scholarship has been made possible by our founding donor organization OnlineDegree.com, and it’s mission to make college more affordable and accessible for everyone.

The goal is to increase the available scholarships every year through the help and support of additional donors, both corporate and individual. We want to grow the available scholarships from 1, to 100, to 1000, and eventually help every transgender student get the access to education they deserve.

Would you like to become a donor? If you’re a company or individual who would like to support this worthy endeavor, please reach out and we’ll add you here!

Donors:

Prior Award Recipient- Dylan Fetterman

Prior Award Recipient- Dylan Fetterman

I was so excited to hear from the TransgenderFirst Scholarship team that I was the recipient of the 2020 award. As a first-generation college student that, like so many other Trans* students, doesn’t have steady financial support, this award will help me focus on my studies while in school. Transgender students face so many unique hardships and roadblocks that prevent them from accessing higher education, and to have a scholarship that directly helps the Transgender and Non-Binary student community find funding is an amazing step forward toward greater equity and equality in education. I hope that the TransgenderFirst Scholarship team gains more support so that they can continue to contribute to more Trans* and Non-Binary student’s educational goals for many years to come. Thank you so much to the TransgenderFirst Scholarship team for their generosity and caring for the Trans* and Non-Binary student community!

For Whichever Degree Program You Choose

The TransgenderFirst National Scholarship can be applied to whichever higher education program you choose or are currently enrolled in at an accredited US-based university or college.

We want help you overcome the hardships and get the education you need, regardless of whether that’s an undergraduate associates or bachelors degree, masters, doctorate or certificate program.

If you aren’t sure yet, you can also research program ideas here:

Transgender First Scholarship

“After learning about the challenges the Transgender community faces in affording college education, we said to ourselves, “This isn’t right”. We knew something needed to be done.”

– The Aldrich Family, Founding Supporters

Applying for the Scholarship

We’re outspoken critics of the complexity involved with modern applications, and are determined to make it more available, real, and simple for transgender students.

Tell us your story and follow the simple process to apply.

Amount: $2,500 (awarded annually)

Payment is made directly to your accredited U.S. College or University.

Current Deadline: 12/31/2024

Simple Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

  • Identify as Transgender or Non-Binary
  • Plan to pursue a degree, or currently pursuing a degree, at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution
  • Have a high school diploma or GED
  • Be a U.S. Citizen

Apply Now!

Get In Touch

Whether you’re a potential donor, member of the press, or a student seeking more info, please reach out!

Contact Us

Apply Today

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • Educational Background

  • Please enter a number less than or equal to 4.00.
    High school, or current GPA at a community college or 4-year university
  • Tell Us About You

  • We want to meet the beautiful "you" (your background, what you enjoy doing, what you're passionate about, etc.)
  • Blog/Social Media

  • A big part of what we're trying to achieve is raising awareness of the issues facing transgender students. We ask that you write a post (blog or website is preferred, Facebook is acceptable) on why it's challenging for Transgender students to afford and approach college. 1) Be yourself and don't overthink this. Just flow through your answer...we want the real you as a stream of consciousness 2) 350-1000 words 3) Include a link back to the TransgenderFirst page

The TransgenderFirst Scholarship Terms and Conditions

  1. Applicants must meet all eligibility requirements in order to be considered.
  2. Only complete applications accompanied by all necessary documents will be considered.
  3. Scholarships are awarded based on eligibility, financial need, personal hardship, academic merit, and other related considerations.  Awards will be determined upon the organization’s sole discretion.
  4. Scholarships are limited in number, and subject to availability.
  5. Applicants may be requested to provide substantiation that all information submitted in the application are valid and true, submit further or additional information, or to attend a virtual interview if they become a finalist for award consideration.
  6. Scholarships are not transferable.
  7. If Applicant is chosen for an award, they will be notified by email along with an Award Letter.  Applicant has 3 months (90 days) to respond and accept.
  8. Awards will be made directly to the Award-recipient’s U.S. based post-secondary accredited institution, and may be used for tuition, fees, books or other educational expenses.
  9. After accepting the award, Award-recipient must enroll or utilize the award amount within 12 months, or will otherwise forfeit the award.
  10. Award-recipients consent to participate in marketing activities as appropriate, which include but are not limited to their name and image being shared publicly on the TransgenderFirst webpage/website, media interviews, and inclusion in social media content.
  11. If Award-recipient is suspected or proven to have provided false or misleading information, Award-recipient will be liable to re-pay the total sum of any scholarship award payments.

The TransgenderFirst Scholarship Privacy Statement

We do not collect highly confidential information for the privacy and protection of our scholarship applicants. All information collected during the application process is securely managed and not shared with anyone outside of the selection committee for application review and awarding purposes, and the accounting team to distribute scholarship payments to recipient’s accredited university.

We do not sell, license or otherwise use applicant information or data for any other purposes.

To track scholarship recipient payments and to ensure that each recipient only receives one scholarship, we will retain the names and details of all scholarship winners indefinitely.  All other electronic applicant records will be removed and deleted after the scholarship award selection process has concluded.

Marketing and Media Activity Consent

Scholarship award recipients authorize that their name and/or image may be shared publicly on the TransgenderFirst webpage/website, and agree to participate in marketing activities as appropriate, which include but are not limited to media interviews, and inclusion in social media content.

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