Scholarships For Aviation Enthusiasts

You love airplanes, you grew up wanting to be a pilot or maybe you just want to work around them. If so, there are a handful of scholarships available specifically for those students who are seeking aviation careers. Each scholarship has its own requirements and criteria - most are offered by organizations that support the love of aviation.

1. AERO Club of New England - The Aero Club of New England scholarships are awarded annually and recipients are selected on the basis of merit and need. ACONE's growing scholarship program provides a wonderful way for the Club and donors to assist deserving young people and to forge lasting relationships that can provide inspiration and support. Thanks to all that have worked to make this important part of ACONE a continued success.

2. AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) - AOPA offers two scholarships, the McAllister Memorial Scholarship and the Donald Burnside Memorial Scholarship. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation/McAllister Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually and administered jointly by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation and the University Aviation Association. One award in the amount of $1,000 will be made to a promising young man or woman who, without assistance, would find it difficult to obtain a college education. Award will be made to U.S. citizens without regard to sex, race, religion or national origin.

The recipient must be enrolled in and plan to continue a college curriculum leading to a degree in the field of aviation. Previous recipients are not eligible.

Announcement of scholarship awards will be made annually on or about July 1 by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation after consideration of applications received by the deadline submission date. Recipients will be notified by letter. Applicants must meet the following criteria:

a. Be a college junior or senior at the time the application is submitted with at l east one semester/quarter to be completed after September 1, 2008. b. Have achieved academic proficiency (grade point average) at time of application of 3.25 or better (on a 4.0 system). c. Be enrolled in a baccalaureate level, non-engineering aviation degree program at a four-year institution and plan to continue the following year (community college students are eligible when they have transferred to a four-year institution). The applicant's college must be listed as an organization described in section 170( c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. d. Submit a 250-word maximum typed, double-spaced essay on: "Assuming that pilots who voluntarily engage in safety education are safer pilots, how can ASF reach the other group of pilots who don't think they need safety education?" e. Application must be accompanied by an official transcript from applicant's college or university. The Registrar's Office can mail your official transcript to the below address or place in a sealed envelope so you can mail with your application form.

3. Astronaut Scholarship - This scholarship is supported by more than 70 astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Shuttle programs. In efforts to help retain leadership in science and technology, this organization provides scholarships for college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major. To date, the foundation has awarded nearly $2.5 million in scholarships to 226 deserving students interested in aviation maintenance, being pilots or aerospace engineers.

4. Boeing National Merit Scholarship - Every year Boeing provides scholarships to children of Boeing employees who are selected as National Merit Scholarship winners. Students enter this academic competition their junior year of high school by taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall.

5. ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and Naval ROTC Programs offered by the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and the Air Force, train qualified young men and women to become officers in those services upon graduation from college. ROTC is available in more than 1,000 colleges and universities throughout the U.S., both those that host ROTC units or detachments and those with cross-enrollment agreements with them. Requirements include taking a full course load, wearing uniforms once a week during military labs, drills, military science presentations, and other practical training activities.

Scholarships are competitively awarded on merit with main considerations are being High school academic record, SAT or ACT scores, extracurricular activities, and personal interview.

The length, value, and terms of ROTC scholarships vary by service. All services offer four-year scholarships that include full tuition, books, fees, and a monthly tax-free stipend.