The National Federation of the Blind currently offers over 30 $8,000 merit-based scholarships. All scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, community service, and leadership. Applicants must: be legally blind in both eyes; be a resident of the fifty states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico; be at least 18 by the beggining of July; be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, post-secondary course of study in a degree program at a U.S. institution in the fall of the year of application; and be able to participate in the entire NFB National Convention and in all of its scheduled scholarship program activities.
It is not necessary to demonstrate financial need, and financial status is not considered when the scholarship committee makes its decisions. If you have applied in a previous year, you are welcome to apply again as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. Applications run from December until the due date, and recipients are notified by the middle of May.