While there are many disability scholarships available for people with general disabilities, as well as for people with specific disabilities, there are relatively few scholarships for amputees available. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t any available – just that they are few and far between, and the competition for these amputee scholarships may be fairly stiff.
With that said, if you’ve had an amputation, you should definitely check into the Missing Limbs Entrepreneur Scholarship. This amputee scholarship is awarded once a year, usually in May, in the amount of $1000. You must have had at least one limb amputated. You must have at least a 3.0 GPA, and you must be either entering your first year or second year of college.
One scholarship program that absolutely must not be overlooked is the scholarships for amputees offered by Ye Notorious Krewe of the Peg-Leg Pirate. This organization will hook you up with various scholarship programs for amputee scholarships, and will also make sure that you get any special equipment or services that you need to help you attend college, or while you are attending college. While award amounts vary, and some awards are equipment based, instead of financial based, it is definitely worth looking into.
Through the National Amputation Foundation, you can apply for the Claude S. Weiler Scholarship for Amputee College Students. Each year, $500 is awarded to six students who have had a major limb amputated, if they will be attending an accredited college, be a full time student, have a letter from their attending physician, a letter from the college that he or she will be attending, a copy of their transcript, and a short letter from the student describing how the loss of a limb has affected the students life.
The Eastern Amputee Golf Association, or EAGA, also has many different scholarships for amputees available, in varying amounts, and with different eligibility requirements. These include the EAGA Scholarship Award, the Paul DesChamps Scholarship Award, The Howard Taylor Scholarship Fund, the Tom Reed Scholarship Fund, the Ray Froncillo Scholarship Fund, and the Sgt. Major William Wade Memorial Scholarship Fund. However, the Paul DesChamps Scholarship Award has been discontinued as of 2010, but will be replaced in 2011 with three new scholarships. To apply for any of these go to scholarships for amputees or call 610-867-9295.
The Amputee Coalition scholarships offers two awards which have two different qualifying criteria. The Bridge to Ability Scholarship and the Christina Skoski, M.D. Scholarship are amputation scholarships to highly consider.
As you can see, there really are few options available in terms of amputee scholarships. However, you should make it a point to check in with amputee organizations often to inquire as to whether they are aware of any additional – new – amputation scholarships that have become available for amputees, as this is information that is not widely reported in most cases. You should additionally apply for any other disability related scholarships that may apply to your specific situation as well, as well as academic scholarships, and scholarships that are guaranteed because you have achieved certain things, or hold certain memberships – such as belonging to a particular church affiliation. Focusing on disability scholarships in general may broaden your scholarship choices ten fold when looking for scholarships for amputees.
Related Reading
- Disability Scholarships Grants Make College Easy
- A List of Scholarships for College Students
- Google Scholarships for Disability
- More on disabilities scholarships