HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The Hillsborough Education Foundation has nearly $600,000 in scholarship money to award to 12th graders in Hillsborough County.
“I like to say we have a little bit of funding for everybody,” said Angie Anthony, Director of Scholarships and Grant Programs for Hillsborough Education Foundation.
HEF has about 200 scholarships available, ranging from $500-$40,000.
Students just need to complete one online application before 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31.
“Once they get on and fill out the application, it’s going to tell them what they qualify for,” said Anthony.
HEF said there’s funding available for all kinds of students with all kinds of higher education goals, including four-year universities, community colleges and technical schools.
“I have funding for cosmetology, and welding, and electrical,” said Anthony.
Scholarships will be awarded based on a variety of criteria like GPA, field of study, financial need, extracurricular activities and challenges students have overcome.
“There is funding for everybody. Don’t think you’re not good enough,” said Anthony.
They hope this can help alleviate some of the financial burden of paying for education after high school.
“The more we can support students and their families to obtain higher education, to learn a trade, the more that benefits all of us,” said Anthony.
She said students should apply by the deadline whether they think they’re qualified or not.
These scholarships are not related to FAFSA.
“So if anybody thinks they need to do the FAFSA first, that is not true. You can apply for this independent of that,” said Anthony.
