Finding Situation-Specific Scholarships

• Scholarships for ex-convicts are rare. However, the few scholarships specifically designed for ex-convicts can be found through a simple Internet search using any search engine. For instance, a search of "scholarships for ex-convicts" brought up the Institute for Prison Ministries' Charles W. Colson scholarship. A few institutions, such as Lorraine County Community College, also offer scholarships for ex-convicts.
  
  

Making General Scholarships Work

• While there are some scholarships out there specifically designed to help ex-convicts transform their lives through an education, most scholarships available to ex-convicts are not specifically for them. Rather, these scholarships simply don't ask about past criminal offenses, allowing ex-convicts to quality. A search for scholarships through sites like FastWeb can yield a long list of possible scholarships. Ex-convicts would then have to go through each listing's eligibility requirements to see if they can qualify despite having a criminal past.
  
  

What to Look For

• Scholarships designed for individuals from a disadvantaged background, first-generation college students and minorities often work for ex-convicts. While prison time may not disqualify someone from getting a scholarship, other qualifying criteria will likely need to be met. Commonly, criteria include being a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and having a high school diploma.
  
  

Winning Scholarship Competitions

• Whether you decide to disclose your criminal past on scholarship applications that don't explicitly ask is completely up to you. That being said, foundations that award scholarships often put a high value on life experience. Thus, you could use your past as an ex-convict when writing scholarship essays to explain what valuable lessons you learned and how the experience transformed you, as well as how you hope a college education will help make you a better citizen.