How to Get Grants and Scholarships

Choose Ohio First: This scholarship is designed to significantly strengthen Ohio’s competitiveness within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and to increase the number of STEM teachers. Funding is provided to Ohio’s colleges and universities to support students in innovative academic programs. Participating universities and colleges award scholarships to students desiring a certificate, associate degree, baccalaureate degree or graduate degree in eligible STEM fields or to students who want to become STEM teachers. 

College Adoption Grant: This grant provides a one-time award of $2,500 to students who were adopted and choose to attend a qualifying college or university in Ohio.

College Comeback: Approximately 1.5 million Ohioans attended some college but have no degree or credential. This presents a critical challenge to maximizing the economic opportunity for that individual as well as the greater good of Ohio’s economy. This program offers student-loan forgiveness in exchange for new tuition at participating schools in Ohio, even if that school is different than the one a student originally attended. 

Governor’s Merit Scholarship: This program encourages Ohio's top graduates to attend a college or university in the state while recognizing their academic achievements. Up to $5,000 is offered to the top 5% of juniors on track to graduate from each of Ohio's public and chartered private high schools; it is also offered to the top 5% of homeschooled applicants. 

Grow Your Own Teacher Scholarship Program: This program helps Ohio school districts recruit their own students and staff to become teachers in the district. Recipients agree to teach for a minimum of four years at their home school district in exchange for a scholarship of up to $7,500 per year for four years.

Ohio College Opportunity Grant: The Ohio Department of Higher Education administers this grant program, which provides funding to Ohio residents who demonstrate the highest levels of financial need as determined by the results of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Eligible students must be enrolled at Ohio public colleges or universities; Ohio private, nonprofit colleges or universities; or Ohio private, for-profit institutions.

Ohio Hidden Heroes Scholarship: In Ohio, more than 900 individuals are enrolled with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a caregiver, and approximately 40% of those enrolled have some previous college experience. This scholarship program enables eligible caregivers who attend participating institutions of higher education to receive funding toward tuition, fees and books, as well as assistance with credit transfers and gaining additional credits based on a caregiver’s experience, if applicable. 

Ohio Safety Officers College Memorial Fund: This program provides undergraduate tuition assistance to a child, spouse or qualified former spouse of police officers, firefighters and certain other safety officers who were killed in the line of duty anywhere in the United States. Recipients are required to be current Ohio residents; however, recipients are not required to have been Ohio residents at the time their family member was killed in the line of duty. Recipients must be earning an associate or bachelor’s degree or be enrolled in a certificate program.

Ohio Talent Ready: This program provides financial assistance to students enrolled in workforce credential and certificate programs of fewer than 30 credit hours at a community college or university branch campus, or fewer than 900 clock hours at an Ohio Technical Center.

Ohio War Orphan & Severely Disabled Veterans’ Children Scholarship Program: This program awards tuition assistance to the children of deceased or severely disabled Ohio veterans who served in the armed forces during a period of declared war or conflict. Students must attend full-time, and prior recipients must meet a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average.

Ohio Work Ready Grant: This grant provides funding to Ohio residents who demonstrate the highest levels of financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Eligible students must be enrolled in a qualified program at an Ohio community, state community or technical college, an Ohio Technical Center or a state
university branch campus.

Second Chance Grant Program: This program provides financial assistance in the form of $3,000 grants to eligible students re-enrolling at a qualifying institution to obtain a degree or credential. The grants are applied against the student’s cost of attendance after all need-based federal and state grants have been applied. Grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

More information about these programs can be found by searching the name of each at highered.ohio.gov.

This story ran in the Summer-Fall 2024 issue of College 101.