Where Are the White Scholarships At?

Yes, that's a take-off from a scene in Blazing Saddles, but it's a question posed many times by people who say, "There's no scholarships or scholastic grants for me, because I'm white."

You're wrong. While there are no scholarships for "white people" per se, there are plenty for non-minority ethnic groups. Go to Peterson's Scholarships, Grants and Prizes and peruse the section on "national or ethnic background." Armenians are well-represented, with scholarships from the Armenian Students Association of America and the Armenian Relief Society of Easter USA Inc. See other Armenian offerings here. If you are of Portugese descent, see the Cabrillo Civic Clubs of California Scholarship. There's a Croatian Scholarship Fund, and a scholarship for those of Slovak or Czech heritage from the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association. The Polish Women's Cultural Club of Milwaukee may give you a hand if you are Polish-American, or you might want to try your luck with the Polish Cultural Foundation. The National Welsh-American Foundation offers a scholarship, as does the Irish-American Home Society.

See a pattern here? If you are white and want a scholarship based on ethnicity, it's a good idea to check books like Peterson's, but also any ethnic club, society, or religious or ethnic mutual aid society. You can find these in Gale's Associations Unlimited, an online subscription database available through many libraries, or its print equivalent. the Encyclopedia of Associations.