Below is some helpful information about financial aid resources, scholarships, and financial literacy. We encourage our students to explore scholarship opportunities on their own, but we are always here to help! Many schools also offer specific scholarships to their programs, so be sure to check your school’s site as they update their financial aid resources. Call us for an advising session for additional help!
FAFSA »
The first step in securing a student loan is always to fill out your FAFSA! It will help you determine how much loan money you are eligible to take out as well as qualify you for grants. Filling out your FAFSA is free and beneficial to adult learners.
Learn more about paying for college from US News.
Read Best College’s guide on Understanding the FAFSA.
Employer Assistance
Many companies and employers assist their employees in paying for post-secondary education. In some cases, your tuition will be paid outright. In other cases, you may pay out of pocket and they will reimburse you upon proof of completion or with qualifying grades. To determine if your employer offers full or partial tuition assistance, schedule an appointment with your Human Resources Department.
Financial Literacy
We partner with OperationHOPE and Primerica to assist adults with loans they may have previously defaulted on. You can contact us if you’d like to learn more about financial literacy, which includes careful budgeting, planning, and spending in order to begin paying off loans and leaving the default status. Students with defaulted loans are oftentimes unable to take out additional loans, but by making monthly payments on time, they can pull themselves out of default status in a year or less.
Grants and Scholarships
Grants and scholarships are forms of financial aid that do not have to be repaid. You may receive grants or scholarships based on need, sex, race, age, or military affiliation. (For more on military student resources, visit here). Remember, sites should never charge a fee for scholarship searches. You may also inquire at your school about their specific scholarships and grant programs.
- For African Americans
- For women
- For Hispanics
- For Memphis residents
- For Tennessee students
- For healthcare careers
- For undergraduate transfer students
- For a variety of minority students
General sites:
- Financial Aid for Minority Students
- Scholarships for Minority Groups
- Fastweb: Scholarships, Internships, Colleges and More
- Scholarship Monkey: Find scholarships
- Scholarship.com: Search over 3.7 million college scholarships & grants
- College for TN: Plan your journey from high school to college to career.
- Tennessee Student Assistant Corporation
- The SmartStudent(tm) Guide to Financial Aid
- Scholly: The simple, comprehensive and accurate
scholarship matching platform - Financial Aid and Scholarships for Minority Students
- Scholarship Search Platforms
- Guide to Applying for Scholarships
- Best Colleges for LGBTQ Students
- College Resources and Scholarships for Hispanic Students
- Best Scholarship Search Platforms of 2018 from Review.com
- Financial Aid for Vocational College
- Financial Aid for STEM
- Financial Aid for Native Americans
Local opportunities:
We’re committed to bringing our students updated and attainable scholarship and financial aid opportunities. The following financial aid opportunities are all for particular programs in the Memphis area and all offered by our education partners! Contact us for additional details.
- The UM Adult Scholarship (University of Memphis), $5,500/year
- The Joe and Malinda Ivey Scholarship (Freed-Hardeman University, Master’s students)
- Graduate Assistantship (Freed-Hardeman University), $2,880/semester
- Classroom Leadership Scholarship (Belhaven University, Master’s students), $350/class
- Military Discount (Belhaven University), roughly 50% for active military, 20% for retired, honorably discharged veterans, and/or spouses
- Pastor’s Scholarship (Belhaven University), $500
- Former Student Scholarship (Belhaven University), $250
- Alumni Scholarship (Belhaven University, Master’s students), $1,000
- Graduate Memphis Scholarship (Belhaven University), $25 application fee waived, $500 for tuition
- Transfer Scholarships (multiple!) (Baptist College of Health Sciences), $ varies
- Tennessee Hope Scholarship for Nontraditional Students (multiple schools)
- Tuition Deferral Program (Baptist College of Health Sciences)
- Financial Aid and Scholarships for Minority Students
- Step Ahead Scholarship: Offered to women between the ages of 17-30 who have lived in Shelby County for at least two years.