Scholarships from Outside Sources

Scholarships from Outside Sources

Gift aid (grants and scholarships, or "free money") from outside (an external provider) sources can be a great way to help pay for your education. There are plenty of opportunities to earn free money for college—you just have to be patient and persistent! 

P.S. Don't be afraid to apply for the lower amounts of outside resources for $500 - $2,000 (in addition to the bigger awards worth $5,000+). Every dollar counts, and even small scholarships add up!

How to Find Outside Scholarships

Be on the lookout for scholarships from foundations, businesses, clubs and organizations, associations, religious affiliations, and more. It’s helpful to be specific in your searches, so you can find scholarships that match your exact qualifications—like “Pennsylvania women in STEM scholarships” or “study abroad in Australia scholarships.” Remember that deadlines and application procedures vary widely so you should never stop researching external scholarship sources.

Here are a few search engines that we recommend: 

Here are a few specific scholarship opportunities that we recommend you apply for: 

  • Completing the Dream Scholarships - The Sallie Mae Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund offers the Completing the Dream Scholarship Program as a way to help under-resourced and underrepresented students and those from historically underserved communities who face financial challenges complete their post-secondary education. Two hundred sixty (260) students will be selected to receive a gap scholarship of $2,500 for the 2023-2024 academic year. Applications are currently being accepted from now through June 28, 2024 or until all scholarship dollars have been awarded. Eligibility requirements and application instructions are available here. 
  • Phyllis G. Kreider Education & Care Fund - the Phyllis G. Kreider Education & Care Fund offers one (1) $8,000 scholarship to a Moravian University student from Lancaster County that is renewable so long as a minimum 2.5 GPA (on a four point scale) is maintained. Interested applicants must be admitted to Moravian University. Once admitted, they should request that the Office of Admission and Financial Aid Services forward your approved application to the Phyllis G. Kreider Education and Care Fund, administered at the Faithful Journey Foundation (1722 Oregon Pike, Suite 201, Lancaster, PA 17601). To apply, please write a short cover letter describing our educational and career goals and why you would be a fit with the principles Phyllis promotes.
  • LLA's Nuestro Futuro Scholarship - the Latino Leadership Alliance of Lehigh Valley (LLALV) offers one (1) $500 scholarship to a student who is of Latino/a heritage and a resident of Lehigh or Northampton County. Additional criteria taken into consideration includes: demonstration of financial need, indication of potential based on grades and academic performance, demonstration of participation in school or community activities, indication of student's motivation, sincerity, and/or special circumstances as revealed through the letter of recommendation, and indication of student's motivation and sincerity as revealed through the personal essay. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2023.
  • Andrew Budraitis Foundation Scholarships - one (1) $7,500 Lehigh Valley Veterans Scholarship and one (1) $7,500 Lehigh Valley High School Graduate Scholarship will be awarded annually to students who meet the individual scholarship criteria and attend a college in the Greater Lehigh Valley Area. 
  • 2023 Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling (PACAC) Scholarships - three (3) students will be selected for the $1,000 PACAC Scholarship and one (1) student will be selected for the $1,500 Benjamin James Memorial Scholarship. Deadline to apply is February 1, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.
  • AAUW Scholarships for Women - the American Association of University Women, Harrisburg branch, announces six (6) college scholarships available to women from Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry County who are pursuing degrees in the 2023-2024 academic year. Each of the six (b) available scholarships have a deadline (mail postmarked or received by email) of July 2023. 

Graduate Students: you may find that there are some additional outside scholarship opportunities worth looking into here. 

Reporting Your Award

Because financial need is the basis for much of the financial aid awarded by Moravian University, you are required, as a condition of your financial aid offer, to inform the Office of Financial Aid Services of any grants, scholarships, tuition benefits, and/or additional financial aid resources that you receive from a source that is not already listed on your financial aid offer. To alert us about additional funding earned, please email finaid@moravian.edu. 

Policies

For years prior to and including the 2022-2023 academic year, the first $5,000 of outside grants, scholarships, and/or tuition benefits awarded may first be used to meet any existing unmet financial need and then used to reduce self-help (student loans and work-study). Any outside grant, scholarship, and/or tuition benefit that causes your total gift aid to exceed your demonstrated financial need will result in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in need-based grant money from Moravian University.

Beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year and moving forward, any amount of outside grants, scholarships, and/or tuition benefits that a student earns will be awarded to meet any existing unmet financial need.

It is important to keep in mind that:

  • Your total financial aid from all sources (including educational loans and outside resources) cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance (COA) determined by the university. In the event that your total aid exceeds your COA, a reduction may be necessary. 
  • In the event that any outside resources earned that causes your total gift aid to exceed your demonstrated financial need may result in a reduction to your need-based loans (e.g., Subsidized Federal Direct Loan) and/or work-study per federal regulations.