All Majors

Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution

• Application deadline is 17 January 2026.

Funds MUST be used to attend a Virginia college or university and will be awarded to Virginia high school graduates.

• Cover Sheet for DAR Scholarship Application with the signature of the applicant.
• Virginia DAR Scholarship Application
• Transcript of high school grades (may be submitted in a sealed envelope)
• A letter by the applicant (maximum of 500 words) describing career objectives and reasons for desiring the scholarship
• A letter of recommendation from a teacher or guidance counselor (may be submitted in a sealed envelope)
• Virginia Scholarship Financial Need form (may be submitted in a sealed envelope)

Aviation or Aerospace

Virginia Department of Aviation

• Application Deadline is 27 February, 2026

A certification of acceptance into a non-engineering, aviation-related postsecondary education program is required. Examples of non-engineering aviation careers include (but are not limited to) pilots, aviation maintenance technicians, aviation managers, etc. Scholarship applicants must have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.5. One scholarship of $3,000 will be awarded each year and is renewable.

1. Complete the application and have your guidance counselor or other high school official sign all required certifications.
2. Attach an official copy of your current high school transcript and a copy of acceptance letters or other verification of enrollment or acceptance into a post-secondary institution.
3. Attach to the application a typed, double-spaced essay (350 word minimum/500 word maximum) on the subject: “Why I Wish to Pursue a Career in Aviation.”
4. Attach recommendation letters (no more than three) and a typed (one-page maximum) sheet listing both school-related and extracurricular activities demonstrating accomplishments and leadership capabilities.

The VDA also offers a ground and/or flight school scholarship for $1000.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Scholarships

AIAA Roger W. Kahn Scholarships
Requirements:

• Application deadline 7 January, 2026
• Current high school senior intending to pursue an aerospace or STEM major at a college or university (must provide proof of enrollment to receive the scholarship funds)
• Minimum high school GPA of 3.5
• Demonstrated interest in aerospace through extracurricular activities
• Must have an AIAA High School Membership – It’s Free!
• Transcript that shows high school unweighted GPA using the 4.0 scale
• 1-page statement that describes STEM-related studies and/or extracurricular activities
• Letter of recommendation from STEM educator or mentor
• Application form

AIAA and Club for the Future’s Resilient Student Scholarship
Requirements:

• Application deadline 16 February, 2026
• Currently enrolled high school senior intending to pursue a STEM degree at a college, university, or technical institution.
• Must be attending a U.S. institution in the fall
• Should demonstrate financial need
• Transcript or most recent report card showing your G.P.A. out of a 4.0 scale
• Brief description of your interest and experience with STEM subjects and a short (500 word) personal essay.
• Letter of recommendation from teachers, counselors, or professional references.

Get on the mailing list to be notified when these open:

Arlington Community Foundation

• Offers more than 100 4-year renewable scholarships each year to students graduating from Arlington County, VA, high schools. One application form will evaluate your eligibility for all of the scholarships.

Captain Earle Worley Scholarship

• $3500 one year scholarship to support a Virginia high school graduate who will pursue an aviation, aeronautics or aerospace degree. Applications open early in January.

Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond

• Students from all over Virginia are eligible for the scholarships listed at this link. Fill our only one application to apply to more than 20 different scholarships.

NVTC Foundation Kilberg Scholarship Fund

• For Northern Virginia women intending to major in a technology-related field. One-time award of $5000. Students who use the scholarship at Marymount University in Arlington will receive a matching scholarship from the university. Applications open in mid-January.

Community Foundation for Northern Virginia

• Administers 35+ scholarships for residents of Northern Virginia. Most applications open mid-January. Check the site to see if you meet the criteria for one!

Microsoft Disability Scholarship

• High value scholarship for students with disabilities (including learning) who wish to pursue a career in: Engineering​, Computer Science​, Computer Information Systems​, Law, or Business (including related fields such as paralegal studies, pre-law, finance, business administration, or marketing). GPA minimum of 2.5. Applications open in January

Marines Memorial Fund

• Scholarships are available to service members, veterans, intended service members, and the descendants (child or grandchild) of Marines. Applications for each scholarship are due in mid-March and open in January.

AFCEA DC Scholarships

• Application opens in January, deadline in March. For students who will pursue a four-year full time STEM curriculum for computer science, engineering [all], mathematics, physics, chemistry, cybersecurity and management information systems; and Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I)-related fields of study including electrical, computer, chemical, aerospace or systems engineering or electronics

When my students are trying to decide between schools, I often ask them to consider what the total cost will be at each option, and evaluate whether that difference is worth anything to them. Will it get them more income later? A better quality of life as a student? Any of their other priorities?

After all, they applied to these schools ONLY because they liked them. (Why bother applying to a “safety” school that you kinda hate, when there are so many great schools that admit at all GPAs or at all different price points?”).

But, it’s been a weird year for financial aid. FAFSAs weren’t accessible until the end of December, then there were glitches, delays, and errors that have brought us here to almost May 1, and many students still don’t know what their financial aid offers will be. But, they still have to make decisions. And some schools are sticking to the May 1 deposit deadline. And some schools are pressuring you to deposit now or you might not be guaranteed on campus housing. And… And…

And, because someone wrote to me yesterday asking my advice on other ways to choose between schools, here’s some things to compare that aren’t financial:

1. Courses they are REQUIRED to take for their likely major(s).
   • A major Computer Science, for example, sometimes requires 4+ advanced math courses, a compiler course, and a couple of seriously mathy electives. But, at other schools, the CS major is focused more on problem solving challenges and using CS to do interesting things. Comparing the core required courses will show you what kind of program you’re headed for.
2. The courses they will take as part of their “general education” requirements.
   • Aka the Core courses outside the major that are intended to make you a well rounded graduate. Are they all huge lectures like “Introduction to American History,” or do you get more freedom to pick the kind of course you’d like to take (discussion, lab, etc.) and the focus area that will be covered (“The Evolution of Military Technology from 1000-1900”)?
3. The placement and retention rates for people in your field.
   • Is this a top school FOR the things you want to study? Are there a lot of people taking it here? (Check the Common Data Set for each school to find out how many students graduate in each major each year)
   • CollegeFactual ranks schools in relation to major at https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/. Identify the major in the search bar, then scroll down a little bit to “Bachelor’s Degrees.” (Did you know that the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities may be the only school in the USA where you can major in “Native American Languages”?)
4. The walk time between the most common freshman residence halls and the most common classroom buildings they’ll have in the first year. Use Google Maps to see the estimations. Sometimes this walk time is almost 40 minutes!
   • While you’re on Google Maps, take the street view walk through the student off-campus district. Are there places you’d like to hang out? Or is it scary and dead?
5. The average weather in January.
6. TCK and International Student support.
   • Will they let you come to school during the International Student Orientation days instead of the regular domestic student orientations during the early summer?
   • Will that orientation time include rides to shopping and banking to help you get set up for the year, or is it just about filling out visa forms?
7. “A Day in the Life” videos on CampusReel.org or Youtube
   • Does the campus feel the way you thought it did? Do the people walking in the background feel like the kind of people you’d like to meet?

What are some other things you’d want to compare if you were deciding between two or three schools.