The Life Scholarship for Lupus as offered by the Lupus Inspiration Foundation for Excellence (LIFE) provides financial assistance to those disability students who are living under the condition of having had lupus, which often does interrupt the normal course of their lives. It’s one of the few Lupus scholarships for disabilities offered today. When suffering from a condition which threatens life and limb, it can be very easy for education to quickly become a second priority. This is often the case for students who are suffering from lupus, a disease which affects the body’s organs and can result in death if not treated appropriately.
The LIFE scholarships overall goal is to help those with lupus take a small load off of their mind as living with a life threatening condition can add an incredible amount of stress to a person’s life. I’t one of the few lupus scholarships offered today. Additional financial burdens brought on by trying to afford higher education can affect the quality of an individual’s life in many ways and by bringing in financial assistance the hope is that those with lupus will have a little less on their minds.
Founded in 2001, LIFE has worked to promote not only awareness of the condition but also to provide financial assistance to students with the disease. Lupus itself affects over a million Americans, making it a fairly wide spread condition, and though affects both men and women has shown to be prevalent in older women. It is important for those who are suffering a number of possible symptoms to get checked out by a physician as soon as possible.
LIFE SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS
While generally affecting more women than men, the Life disability scholarship for Lupus is open to all students interested in finding additional funding for their higher education goals. At the very least one student will be awarded with the $500 Life Lupus Scholarship each year and the money will be applied to the college the applicant is currently enrolled at or attending. Students must be attending their chosen college at least part time or have no fewer than six credit hours in a given semester while maintaining a 3.0 grade point average at a minimum.
Further, interested applicants must be actively participating in one extracurricular activity including but not limited to student clubs, community organizations and jobs. All applicants will have to get a letter from their physician verifying that they have lupus and provide a transcript from the last semester of school they attended. A letter of recommendation from somebody actively involved in the applicant’s education must be obtained and an essay of no more than 500 words regarding how lupus as affected their life must be submitted. The yearly deadline for the Life Scholarship is July 1.
As with many such programs, a selection committee of judges will determine the winners of the Life Scholarship for having Lupus. The Life Scholarship has awarded around 48 Lupus scholarships since 2001, giving an average of right around 5-6 students every academic year.
Because the disease affects women disproportionately as compared to men, a gender bias is not only likely but pretty clear in the previous winners. Despite this, men who are interested in this Lupus scholarship absolutely should apply for the Life Scholarship as this gender bias is based more on a rough demographic percentage than indicating anything about the selection committee itself.
Segments of the personal essays as submitted to the Life Scholarship selection committee and published on their website emphasize the organization’s interest in showing hope in those with lupus. Nearly every winning entry concerns working hard to achieve goals, realizing the importance of life, fighting through depression, and being grateful for the life applicants have yet to live. This suggests that those interested in applying for the LIFE Scholarship for Lupus should be hopeful with regards to their plight in life, looking forward to the next day and interested in not letting lupus get them down. Keeping an eye towards the sky and indicating an interest in working hard through the 500 word essay will help convey a sincere interest in education. Adhering to LIFE’s wish to show courage, strength and an ability to push forward through the essay will further help indicate to the selection committee that a particular application is worth the $500 Life scholarship for disabilities.
